Afghanistan. Your thoughts!

[sandyr1]

What do the people in the UK think of the Afghanistan situation?
The UK has approx 10,000 troops there just now, and the projection is for possibly 400 to meet their death there! 312 have been killed so far.
There are also over 1000 wounded.
I have my own thoughts on this, but will let others post.

[sam09]

It is my opinion that all outside forces should be brought home,our troops are only there to protect big business interest and we have no right to be there. What would happen if another country decided they did not approve of our government,would it give them a right to invade us?

[upolian]

It's grim to say the least,out of interest when did the war start?

[sam09]

It is my opinion that all troops should be brought home. Whatever our government tells us,we are only there to protect big business interests.

[ducati]

It is my opinion that all troops should be brought home. Whatever our government tells us,we are only there to protect big business interests.

And what would they be?

[The Angel Of Death]

First of all any lose of life is a tragic loss including in a war

Ignore the facts of if it was right or wrong to go there as there are way to many arguments for both sides the long and short is were there now and need to finish the job we cant leave the job half finished

However given the time that we have been over there and the amount of troops that have come and gone there on various tours I am sure if at the start of the campaign the powers that be were offered a near ten year war with only 400 casualties most would have taken that number to start with yes its not ideal but say the numbers was at 4000 over the same period and you can see where I'm coming from

In comparison how many people died within both the world wars (I know its not technically the same thing but its a war none the less) over the timescales and then also the Falklands for the timescales we was there also

War is an ugly business but some people are forgetting that loss of life comes with it that’s almost a dead cert no one wants it but it comes as part of the war package

[Green_not_greed]

Pull out the brits and send in the Israelis...... They don't take crepe from anyone!

[sandyr1]

Pull out the brits and send in the Isrealis...... They don't take crepe from anyone!

The Russians were there for 11 years, and pulled out with no success!!

[John Little]

I just wrote a long reply to this and lost it - apparently I do not have access to this thread. Testing......


Lost a long post through Org glitch!

[Bill Fernie]

I have moved a flippant comment from Green Not Greed referring to Rambo in this situation. I did not think this flippant comment was helpful in a thread asking for a serious debate on peoples views on the war where people on all sides are dying or being wounded.

Normally the odd flippant comment on almost any topic is not removed but in this case with due respect to the forces involved in the conflict and to the families of those who have given their lives and the civilian Afghan population caught up in this I do feel we should show some respect to everyone involved.

I would therefor ask that the contributions be kept serious and advance the discussion on how folk on here feel about the conflict whatever the views might be but show some deference for the feelings and contributions made by our troops and their families and to the wider arena of the people of Afghanistan who have lost heavily in yet another conflict on their soil.

[Gleber2]

The Russians were there for 11 years, and pulled out with no success!!

As the US in Vietnam, the Russians were chased out of Afghanistan. The Russians were invited in by the,then,government in Kabul. The Taliban had stopped opium production and had the previous government forces penned up in Mhazar Shariff when the losing side pulled in the UN forces who have yet to subdue the insurgents. How can a warrior who is fighthing to save his country from invaders be considered an insurgent?
We of the west may not agree with the tenets of the Taliban's extrteme religion but it is their beliefs and their prerogative to believe in their own country. If the UN is prepared to invade a country to supposedly protect the rights of a people then why are they not fighthing in Palestine , Zimbabwe, Chechnya or other places where the indigenous population is being inhumanely treated.
We hear daily reports of the number of UN dead but we are never told how many Afghans have been killed. How many terrorist attacks has there been in the West one wonders. In the face of things, not many I believe.
The governments of the West are quick to put up specious and spurious arguments to excuse their warmongering ways such as the WMD excuse with Iraq but only apply these arguments when it suits their questionable politics.
This war in Afghanistan is costing £20billion but we of the British population are facing huge cuts in public services to cut national debt.
Bring back the army and leave the Afghans to fight among themselves as they have been doing for centuries.
WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE THERE.

[Alan16]

In my opinion, withdrawing the troops is not a solution. These men and women are there to do a job, and to leave in the middle of it would not help anybody. As for the casualty numbers, I'd agree with Angel of Death - 400 casualties in what is now almost a 10 year war is not that bad. Every loss of life is a sad event, but this is a war and there are casualties in war - all of these men and women signed up knowing what they were getting in to. Compared with the wars of the past, then these numbers are better than we could've hoped for.

[Aaldtimer]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan_Oil_Pipeline

[Green_not_greed]

I have moved a flippant comment from Green Not Greed referring to Rambo in this situation. I did not think this flippant comment was helpful in a thread asking for a serious debate on peoples views on the war where people on all sides are dying or being wounded.

Normally the odd flippant comment on almost any topic is not removed but in this case with due respect to the forces involved in the conflict and to the families of those who have given their lives and the civilian Afghan population caught up in this I do feel we should show some respect to everyone involved.

I would therefor ask that the contributions be kept serious and advance the discussion on how folk on here feel about the conflict whatever the views might be but show some deference for the feelings and contributions made by our troops and their families and to the wider arena of the people of Afghanistan who have lost heavily in yet another conflict on their soil.

Ummmm....open forum, freedom of speech and all that?

[Alan16]

I have moved a flippant comment from Green Not Greed referring to Rambo in this situation. I did not think this flippant comment was helpful in a thread asking for a serious debate on peoples views on the war where people on all sides are dying or being wounded.

Normally the odd flippant comment on almost any topic is not removed but in this case with due respect to the forces involved in the conflict and to the families of those who have given their lives and the civilian Afghan population caught up in this I do feel we should show some respect to everyone involved.

I would therefor ask that the contributions be kept serious and advance the discussion on how folk on here feel about the conflict whatever the views might be but show some deference for the feelings and contributions made by our troops and their families and to the wider arena of the people of Afghanistan who have lost heavily in yet another conflict on their soil.

Ummmm....open forum, freedom of speech and all that?

I'd agree with Green not Greed on this one. There's a level of self-governance here anyway, if there is a comment that is flippant it'll either be ignored or lambasted - what surely isn't needed is the censoring of it? What is or is not suitable as long as it is within forum rules, surely comes down to more than the person with the most powers opinion.

[John Little]

Ummmm....open forum, freedom of speech and all that?

Forum rules?

Nonsense Posting
This describes posts that are purely based on fantasy. We do not wish to see serious threads hyjacked by changing the main topic into fantasy nonsense. That is not to imply that humour is not allowed, as this is can always be added as an amusing aside. We simply wish to prevent sensible threads being spoiled.

Threads which begin as fantasy will be removed and the poster will receive 3 Infraction points, duration 3 months.

[Alan16]

Forum rules?

Nonsense Posting
This describes posts that are purely based on fantasy. We do not wish to see serious threads hyjacked by changing the main topic into fantasy nonsense. That is not to imply that humour is not allowed, as this is can always be added as an amusing aside. We simply wish to prevent sensible threads being spoiled.

Threads which begin as fantasy will be removed and the poster will receive 3 Infraction points, duration 3 months.

I don't know what the original post was, but there is surely a difference between hijacking a thread and making a joke?

[Alan16]

Forum rules?

Nonsense Posting
This describes posts that are purely based on fantasy. We do not wish to see serious threads hyjacked by changing the main topic into fantasy nonsense. That is not to imply that humour is not allowed, as this is can always be added as an amusing aside. We simply wish to prevent sensible threads being spoiled.

Threads which begin as fantasy will be removed and the poster will receive 3 Infraction points, duration 3 months.

And also, if anything our responses to this are more likely to be hijacking the thread than anything else.

[Gleber2]

In my opinion, withdrawing the troops is not a solution. These men and women are there to do a job, and to leave in the middle of it would not help anybody..

In which case we will have to be there forever. As soon as the job 'is done' the mujhahadim(sp) will get back to their own war which was interupted by the UN.

[Alan16]

In which case we will have to be there forever. As soon as the job 'is done' the mujhahadim(sp) will get back to their own war which was interupted by the UN.

Not if we manage to eradicate them and their movement. If we can get Afghanistan to the state where it is a democracy then the Afghans themselves can control the Mujahideem and the Taliban. The Mujahideem claim to fight for freedom, however if we give the Afghans a country in which they are happy then there is little to no support for these people.