The war in Afghanistan is just, and NATO should stay there for as long as it takes to defeat the mediaeval Taliban.
The British people support the war. A poll in the national Metro newspaper asked "Should British troops be pulled out of Afghanistan?" 36% said YES, and 64% said NO.
This is despite the recent increase in fatalities of British troops in Afghanistan.
According to an ICM poll, opposition to the war in Britain is SLIGHTLY ahead of those in favour of the war - 47% AGAINST, 46% FOR.
However, despite the increasing number of fatalities of British troops in Afghanistan this has NOT, as you may expect, put the British people off the war.
In fact, since 2006 the backing for the war has increased by 15%, so if that trend continues then it's only a matter of time before an ICM poll finds the majority of the British people in favour of the war.
We also need stronger support from out so-called NATO allies, such as from the French and Germans. There is no point those two nations being in Afghanistan with the paltry number of troops they have there and the miniscule amount of combat they are undertaking. France and Germany MUST send more troops and stop leaving all the hard work to the British and Americans, otherwise France and Germany will just increase the view that many people hold around the world that they are second-rate military powers whose militaries haven't got what it takes to perform in missions such as that in Afghanistan.
Back our boys - they fight for your lives
By Sue Carroll
14/07/2009
The Mirror
For Queen and Country: British soldiers relax in their accommodations at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Sangin in Sangin, Helmand Province, 22nd July 2008 (click to enlarge)
Public support for war in Afghanistan is firm, despite British deaths -
Public support for war in Afghanistan is firm, despite deaths | UK news | The Guardian
Enjoy your barbecue at the weekend? Sleep easy in your bed last night? Get to work without any problems?
I trust you did because this is what liberty is all about. The right to live safely in a civilised community free from the oppression of thugs and fanatics who wouldn’t think twice about crushing our democracy and slaughtering us as we sleep.
It’s hard-earned, this easy living. Millions of men have died for our freedom and more are losing their lives in Afghanistan to protect us. So less of the hand-wringing please about whether we should or should not be fighting a war against the Taliban. It’s a no-brainer.
And if you don’t fully understand what this mission is all about, fear not. Every serviceman and woman, from the humblest private to the highest ranking officer, knows why blood must be spilled in the heat and dust of bandit country. In the past days 15 British soldiers have been lost to bullets and roadside bombs and the Prime Minister has warned us we’ll need strong stomachs to deal with a “difficult summer”.
He, at least, is being realistic unlike the lily-livered Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg who tells us the death toll proves the war is being lost. If he wanted to hand the propaganda card to the Taliban and demoralise our men he couldn’t have done a finer job. Though I doubt it’ll stop him turning up in Helmand to glad-hand the troops when it’s politically expedient.
Cynics have called this war Gordon Brown’s Vietnam. It’s not. Vietnam was a civil war between two halves of a divided nation.
They had no ambitions to export their violence to foreign streets. The Taliban are motivated by hate for everything the West embraces and believe death in battle is the fast track to Paradise. They send young girls on suicide missions, egged on by a mentor who stays with them till the eleventh hour. They ruthlessly kill their own.
British soldiers are taking on these barbarians with extraordinary courage and real heroism while back home we pontificate about the wisdom of their task.
When historians tell us a crucial part of the Second World War was fought on the home front they were referring to the stoicism and support of the British public for men fighting often hopeless battles. Do we really imagine mistakes were never made or equipment was never scarce back then?
Yes, if we can commit money to wretched bankers we must find it for this infinitely more noble cause. But it ill behoves MPs whose closest encounter with an explosion is a fireworks display to use Afghanistan to score political points. They could learn a lot from the camaraderie displayed by those taking the bullets.
Eighteen-year-old rifleman Joe Murphy died trying to carry his wounded “battle buddy” to safety at the weekend.
Earlier that same day Rifleman Will Aldridge was killed helping his mate escape an explosion. The esprit de corps among our soldiers is legendary. It’s hard to find a serviceman or woman’s family who doesn’t say: “They died doing a job they love.”
Before his death last week on foot patrol in Afghanistan’s Nad-e-Ali, Rifleman Daniel Hume told his parents he planned to move battalion when he got home, so he could guarantee an early return to Afghanistan.
Oh Danny boy, we know a song about you. And for every man who lost their life so we can sleep easy, let there be a chorus of appreciation. And respect.
Meanwhile is it too much to hope that at this crucial time the point-scoring party political snipers in Westminster call a ceasefire?
mirror.co.uk
