Guest 672- Registered: 3 Jun 2008
- Posts: 2,119
#1
So sad to hear of the deaths of six soldiers out in Afghanistan. I wonder who is supplying these monsters with that amount of explosives?
Both myself and Ted belonged to this Regiment so we have more reason to feel a little sadder than most.
Any one serving and still out there will tell you " We still have a mission to finish and will take as long as it takes "
My thoughts go out to those guy's and all of their families.
grass grows by the inches but dies by the feet.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
#2
yes very sad news indeed ian,my condolences go to the famlys concernd.
Guest 641- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 2,335
#3
Very sad news indeed, my heart goes out to the soldiers and their families.
Guest 658- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 660
#4
My thoughts are with the families a tragedy at any time but just three weeks into the tour. The families of the whole battalion face a very worrying 6 months.
beer the food of the gods
Guest 719- Registered: 11 Jul 2011
- Posts: 443
#5
Yorkshire Born And Yorkshire Bred
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#6
a tragic tale i believe they were new arrivals in afghanistan so more vulnerable.
early reports suggested it was an old soviet land mine because of the size of the blast.
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
#7
Try reading the article on Sky News.
The comments pages under the article are inundated with words of scorn towards the politicians who send our soldiers to be sacrificed for a lost cause in Afghanistan.
The phrase keeps being repeated by the vast majority: bring our boys back home now!
Guest 698- Registered: 28 May 2010
- Posts: 8,664
#8
For once I agree with Alexander. This isn't our war, nobody has EVER won a war in Afghanistan except the Afghans, this war is just the pursuit of American foreign policy by military means and should stop now. NOW. Bring our boys home.
I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#9
spot on peter, the "invincible" red coats and red army will testify to that.
the country is ungovernable and we have announced already when we are leaving.
Guest 658- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 660
#10
We cannot leave until the job is finished if only for the sake of the local population, yes we should not have gone in but we cannot just leave, having spoken to people recently returned they know the task must be completed.RIP.
beer the food of the gods
Guest 698- Registered: 28 May 2010
- Posts: 8,664
#11
History tells us that it will go on forever, Tom. It's not our war and never was.
I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
#12
The local population in Helmand, where the British soldiers in Afgunistan are, NEVER partake in the grief of the mothers and families of fallen British soldiers, they never send a flower to the funeral in Britain, never say one word of sorrow. They have never thanked any British mother for the sacrifice of her son, and NEVER will!
Many of them are relatives of the Taliban, and they will remember how they fought the British and Americans and Canadians and other allies of ours in 10 years time, and feel proud about it, long after the British soldiers have withdrawn and the Taliban are back in power.
The local population of Helmand will then tell you that they NEVER asked the British to go to their country and fight the Taliban.
But no-one in this world is going to return a lost British son to his mother.
Sod the local population of Helmand, and let our soldiers come home.
Stop brain-washing them with defending queen and country in Afgunistan nonsense!
Guest 698- Registered: 28 May 2010
- Posts: 8,664
#13
Agreed. Why do our governments do these things? Now we hear that the government is concerned about Iran developing WMDs. Familiar? Watch this space.
I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
#14
Yep, Peter!
And IF a war broke out between Iran and us in the West, God forbid, but just IF, we can bet our spare boots that the Iranians will immediately start cutting off all supplies to well over 100,000 allied troops in Afghanistan.
The Taliban, who are not Sciite, and have no expressed sympathy for them, will immediately accept an alliance with Teheran, and invite them over to fight our and other soldiers there.
In fact, Pakistan months ago blocked all supplies to our and other forces in Afghanistan, so how these supplies get through, is no secret. They can only get through via the Uzbekistan to the north. Not far from Iran and their missiles and air force capabilities.
Over 100,000 troops would be trapped in Afghanistan. No supplies, and soon no ammunition.
The title of this threat is 100% right: a mission to finish. Finish it now and get our soldiers the hell out of there.
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
#15
The biggest single loss since the fighting there started. Terribly sad for every one concerned and although I don't like to say it, whenever we leave, it will, within a very short space of time, go back to exactly how it was before we went there; the Taliban will be running the country and the advances made for the people there (especially the women and girls) will revert back.
The poppy fields will once again be blooming and heroin once again be plentiful - has there been a shortfall ?
Roger
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
#16
The British Regiment is itself a family - so Ted and Ian, you have lost family in a very real sense, it is a terrible loss for you, their immediate families and the country.
They must be allowed to carry on and finish the mission, its what the troops want. Pulling them out before the job is done would be a betrayal not only of the dead but also of all the troops who have served.
Roger - I am not so pessimistic. Have you watched the latest documentaries, the Royal Marine one, Mission Afghanistan, for instance that has just finished? Then there is the latest Ross Kemp series currently out on DVD that was on Sky? Very real progress is being made with preparing the Afghan security forces. OK they will never be efficient and businesslike as British and American troops are but they certainly do not lack courage and are benefiting massively from the training. You should listen as well to what the troops are saying, they want to finish the job and have been critical of the government for setting a withdrawal date too soon. Our troops are doing a superb job and must be allowed to finish it as they want to do.
Alexander - this is no longer the 1800's and we are not an invading occupying force and have no intention of taking over the country. You idea of the tactical situation is so very Victorian.
Guest 686- Registered: 5 May 2009
- Posts: 556
#17
Spot on Barry. Putting our troops in there in the first place may have been a mistake, but they're in there AND making a difference so they must be allowed to finish the job.
Phil West
If at first you don't succeed, use a BIGGER hammer!!
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#18
the taleban will return, the president knows he cannot defeat them.
let's bear in mind that he is an adherent of the islamic code that allows men to beat up their wives.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
#19
And the Taliban are better than that? No, Howard - they are far worse. You are so pessimistic, the mission is to equip the Afghan forces to be able to contain and beat any insurgency. They are succeeding in that and since the surge are making huge progress with 'hearts and minds' as recent documentaries are making clear.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#20
not in outlying areas barry, gangs of bandits held sway until the taleban came along.
many people outside the main cities see them as their security and are quite happy to go along with their strict rules.
their are too many ethnic groups each with their own dialect for a national government to be successful.
grass grows by the inches but dies by the feet.
