Mission Impossible

Yesterday a British soldier, understood to have been serving with the Special Forces, was killed in action in Afghanistan.

He was killed as a result of enemy fire whilst on operations east of Kabul.

The death takes the number of British Forces personnel who have lost their lives since the war began in October 2001 to 447.

Another family blown apart by grief and despair.  May their suffering ease with the passing of time.

Last week David Cameron said, during a visit to Camp Bastion, that Afghanistan was ‘mission accomplished’ and that British troops could return to the UK with their ‘heads held high’, although he’s aware they leave Afghanistan amidst reports that violence is on the increase and the security system is complicit in rampant corruption and abuse.

Our military’s presence in Afghanistan has been an abysmal failure. The minimal economic activity that does take place is almost entirely dependent on foreign aid which accounted for an astounding 97% of GDP in 2010.  The rest of the economy, mainly unofficial, depends on the spiralling opium poppy trade.

Our troops may return with their heads held high but they know their job was ‘mission impossible’. The loss of 447 of our military is 447 too many.

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The IMF's Second Biggest Problem After The Greek Bailout

Another British soldier, from the 3rd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Staffords), has lost his life in Afghanistan.  He was shot on yesterday while on patrol on the Nahr-e Saraj District of Helmand Province.

He was killed on the same day as the US decided to announce they are already in talks with the Taliban and the week when the IMF rejected Afghanistan's plan to deal with a failed bank at the centre of a corruption crisis, a step that has blocked tens of millions of dollars in aid and may put development projects, worth billions more, at risk.

Corruption, bad loans and mismanagement cost the politically well-connected Kabulbank, Afghanistan's biggest private lender, hundreds of millions of dollars in what Western officials in Afghanistan now openly call a classic Ponzi scheme.

The Kabul Bank crisis began last year as the public discovered the bank made hundreds of millions of dollars in questionable loans to shareholders - including the elder brother of President Karzai. Some used the loans to buy luxurious mansions in Dubai, United Arab Emirates while others used the money to invest in risky prestige projects like an airline and shopping malls in Kabul.

The bank doled out nearly half a billion dollars in unsecured loans to Karsai's pals. Many of the loans were made 'undocumented' so there was no system to ensure they were paid back. It has about $926 million in loans of which around $900 million is considered at risk.  Afghan officials say about $347 million will be recovered, but donors want more work done on asset recovery. One Western diplomat in Kabul, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the bank stalemate as "the IMP's second biggest problem after the Greek bailout."

Afghanistan's Finance Minister is in Russia on a 12 day visit.  In july 2000, Russia scrapped almost all of Afghanistan's $12 billion debt. A Russian official said Zakhilwal was "in Russia for one goal only: debt relief."

The World Bank says 97% of Afghanistan's GDP is linked to spending by the international military and donor community.

So while our politicians continue to throw our hard-earned taxes at this corrupt country, our military continue to lose their lives.  The only winners are those who cock a snook at Western governments. The situation can only deteriorate even more once civil servants find they won't receive any pay.

The total deaths of British military personnel in this war now stands at 374. The total injured runs into thousands.

source

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