I am writing this to you on the most poignant day of the Armed Force’s calendar- 11th November. Whether you know it as Armistice, Remembrance, Poppy or Veterans day its purpose remains the same; to remember and commemorate those who have sacrificed their lives in times of conflict.
This year the last three surviving British WW1 Veterans: Bill Stoke, Harry Patch and Henry Allingham passed away but unfortunately for those left behind, the reality of War lives on and is very much alive in Afghanistan.
With the bravery of heroes fresh in my mind I can’t help but think about those who are still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 229 who have already been killed and wonder how many more lives will be sacrificed.
The priority of the Forces at this moment is to train the Afghan Army and Police force and according to Gordon Brown this will “make Afghanistan more secure, but above all make Britain safer from the terrorism and extremism which continues to threaten us from the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan”. This is a limited war aim that is generally perceived as credible, but it is the practicalities of putting this theory into practice which give due cause for concern. The apparent smear campaign against Gordon Brown is something which we must circumvent for purposes of objectivity; we must seek the facts as to whether this is a ‘winnable’ endeavour.
One of the particularly contentious areas of debate is equipment. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) say we can be assured that “sufficient equipment was sent out [to troops], and when problems arose we took steps to ensure all units were properly protected”. Meanwhile, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alastair Darling concurs. "The Army has said this is what we want in terms of troops and equipment and we have provided that and financed it."
Chief of the MOD Jock Strirrup says “Our equipment is good and improving; commanders speak of it very highly”. Yet even he acknowledges that whilst Troops have equipment “the enemy adapt their tactics” and thus the equipment given may not be fit for purpose. The Troops’ perspective on this is all too frequently silenced by their respect for their cause and pride in serving for their country yet their grieving families and occasionally they, themselves, provide some insight. Jacqui Janes whose son Jamie died believes in the fight and that “he was helping protect his Queen and country” but due to “lack- LACK of helicopters, lack of equipment my child bled to death” and Lt. Col. Rupert Thornloe, the highest ranking officer to die in the conflict, noted in his weekly report to the MOD: “I have tried to avoid griping about helicopters - we all know we don't have enough.”
Although there is endless media coverage to both of these ends there is sadly very little equipment which could save our Troops from the huge IED (Improvised Explosive Device) threat. This is an inevitable and as of yet unsolvable problem.
The recent fatalities were in a ‘secure’ Afghan Police training base where “an individual Afghan policeman possibly acting with another started firing within the checkpoint before fleeing the scene."-Army spokesperson Lt. Col David Wakefield. Now we may have been able to take this as a unique incident but calls for the effort to be stopped due to a corrupt Afghan Police force are increasing. Retired Capt. Beattie believes “that the Afghan police are infiltrated by the Taliban at every level, from the very lowest to the very highest." The fear is that whilst recruits are not joining pre-determinedly corrupt, they are easily bought and thus infiltrated by the Taliban. History tells us, that this is likely the case (as evidenced in a majority of war-torn areas) but the hope is that the corrupt can be beaten by determination and perseverance. The premise is that by providing this training, Afghanistan can be made a safer place, its status as a “Terrorist Training ground” can be relinquished and our troops can come home- the hopeful outcome for all involved.
But how long will this training take? According to Lt. Col. Jasper de Quincey Adams “The ANA (Afghan National Army) is already a credible force and they've had about three years more investment in terms of money, equipment and training than the ANP (Afghan National Police Force), so that's probably a good yardstick to use." With the proposed training of 8 weeks this could be perceived as a pessimistic target but if training is to be sufficient it needs to be prolonged and improved after which three years is a far more realistic target.
Most would probably agree that this is more of a risk than we would like to condone and whilst we pray for our Troops to be successful in their aim there is a point at which we must cut our losses. The death toll of this fight is rapidly approaching that of the Falklands War.
The effectiveness of the fight on terror is yet to be seen however some solace can be taken from the apparent lull in international terror attacks. Too many have died already, but for the sake of perseverance, maybe we should assure that the ultimate sacrifice of those already lost hasn’t been in vain by winning this difficult fight. And, whatever your view of the war, the only unarguable fact is that the Troops need our support and this support is crucial in maintaining their morale- whether you back the War or not.
