A number of soldiers died yesterday in a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. The campaign against the Taliban is taking its toll and Gordon Brown has warned that the death rate will rise. Lest we forget their sacrifice, questions still remain over all aspects of this war. British forces have engaged with the enemy alongside a sustained campaign by the Americans
It is known that the British Army's equipment and level of forces are inadequate. The lack of helicoptors exposes soldiers to a far greater risk of sophisticated IEDs and the refusal to provide additional forces by Gordon Brown leaves our soldiers overexposed. One must ask why politicians are making judgements on the number of soldiers needed to win a war; that is the job of the military commanders.
The Government will, however, face questions about the way it has responded to the call from military commanders to send reinforcements to Afghanistan.
The senior command had wanted to send about 2,500 extra troops, but Gordon Brown refused the request, agreeing to the temporary deployment of 700 just for the period of the Afghan elections scheduled for August.
One of the senior officers intimately involved in drawing up the reinforcement plan said last night: "What has happened has shown the sheer danger our forces face out there day in, day out. We know the force levels needed for safety. This was not a spurious request and there is sincere hope the Government will think again."
In such matters, you cannot afford to make the wrong value-judgement; we already lost one war. As always, the blood on this government's hands keeps dripping over the flagged coffins that fly into Brize Norton.
