Total number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan = 210
This is the Afghan War’s tipping point
Our eight years presence there has been a failure. On drugs, human rights, on pacification, on poverty eradication and on human rights. The cost is human lives has been catastrophic. Today’s confession is a searing blow for those relatives of the fallen who cling to the hope that their love ones died for a successful cause. But it is the authentic voice of an intelligent General who has had the courage to admit that a giant mistake has been made.
I asked David Milliband in July if he had ever talked to the Taliban. He said he has not. Neither have our generals. When people are killing our soldiers, it’s important to ask them why.
Would the Taliban’s answer be?
(a) We are killing them so that when the last British soldier dies we can go and plant bombs in Birmingham and Newport.
(b) We are killing them because they are Ferengi infidels in our country; it is our sacred duty in this Jihad to drive them from our country.
Answer (a) is the preposterous fiction that Government and opposition peddle.
General Mac Crystal should stop the aggressive attacks and the bombings. Our British troops should return to their defended compounds and end the patrols that are killing them. The end game has begun. A peace strategy is under way. We have a duty to avoid further loss of life. Who will be the last person to die for politicians’ failures? A confession from Britain’s two main parties would be cathartic for them. They are inching reluctantly to an exit strategy.
The sooner we reach it, the fewer lives will be lost for no good purpose.
Rogerstone Fete
Great Cause.
Try to get to this very, very good cause. You will not regret it.
Trevor Palmer
ResponsABLE assistance
'When people are killing our soldiers, it’s important to ask them why.'
This is an important but overlooked question. Obama and Brown recently addressed this question:
Obama: "So let me be clear: Al Qaeda and its allies -- the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks -- are in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the United States homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan. And if the Afghan government falls to the Taliban -- or allows al Qaeda to go unchallenged -- that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can."
Brown: "In 2001 the case for intervention in Afghanistan was to take on a global terrorist threat and prevent terrorist attacks in Britain and across the world," he said. "In 2009 the overriding reason for our continued involvement is the same -- to take on, at its source, the terrorist threat, and prevent attacks here and elsewhere."
The Taliban is not Al-Qaeda. The insurgents motivation is one of expelling foreign troops from Afghanistan as well as grievances at NATO bombings of civilians and an economic enticement to fight. The Taliban are not a threat to us, and I cannot see that we are justified in fighting them.
It is for an indirect cause then. Supposedly the core group of Al-Qaeda, whose remnants are said to be in Pakistan, would be in a position to strike America and the UK unless the war with the insurgency continues.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations this overlooks several developments since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001:
'The international crackdown that followed the 9/11 attacks greatly cut into al-Qaeda's resources and many of al-Qaeda’s former leaders were captured or killed, leading experts to question the relevance of al-Qaeda’s central leadership... al-Qaeda transformed from what was once a hierarchical organization with a large operating budget into an an ideological movement. Whereas al-Qaeda once trained its own operatives and deployed them to carry out attacks, it is just as likely to inspire individuals or small groups to carry out attacks, often with no operational support from the larger organization. Experts say al-Qaeda is able to spread its ideology effectively through the internet and al-Sahab, its media wing.'
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9126/#p6
Our security does not depend upon fighting this insurgency in Afghanistan.
The ‘Safe Haven Myth’:
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/08/18/the_safe_haven_myth
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/08/20/safe_haven_2_a_response_to_peter_bergen
Posted by: Adam | September 01, 2009 at 12:16 PM
I appreciate that Adam. the links are very informative.
Posted by: Paul Flynn | September 02, 2009 at 05:14 PM
A good speech by John Pilger linked here
titled
Obama & Empire: Power, Illusion & America's Last Taboo
http://www.zmag.org/zvideo/3227
also with the text of the speech for those who do not wish to view the video.
Should be considered essential reading for those who consider Obama to represent change you can believe in.
Posted by: HuwOS | September 03, 2009 at 02:23 PM