If we pull out now, 204 will have died for nothing
Wednesday 19th August 2009, 2:29PM BST.
A GUERNSEY soldier said the rising death toll in Afghanistan would not put him off going back.
Alex Knowelden (pictured) spent six months and three weeks on the front line in Helmand province with his battalion of 29 Commando Royal Artillery Regiment.
‘Me, and the lads I have spoken to, are still happy to be out there and doing what we do, regardless of the numbers,’ said Mr Knowelden, 25.
The total number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan stands at 204 after five men were killed at the weekend.
The Ministry of Defence announced casualty figures including 94 British service personnel who were wounded in action in Afghanistan last month – twice the 46 recorded in June.
Nineteen personnel were recorded as ‘very seriously injured’, a category which includes those who lose limbs. Another 12 were ‘seriously injured’.
‘If they said I was going again tomorrow I wouldn’t bat an eyelid – I’d be more than happy. But I know my parents would hate it,’ said Mr Knowelden.
The UK casualty rate rose sharply in July as British forces launched Operation Panther’s Claw, an offensive against the Taliban in central Helmand, where Guernsey-born Mr Knowelden was based. Twenty-two British personnel were killed in July, the worst month for British forces since they entered the country in 2001.
‘There is still a job to do out there,’ said Mr Knowelden, whose six-month tour ended in May. ‘If we pulled out now, those 204 lives would have been for nothing,’ he said.
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I recall British soldiers coming out with this exact load of tosh when they were based in Northern Ireland…experience is not a tutor obviously.
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The Taliban need to be checked if only to stop them getting hold of nuclear weapons from neighbouring Pakistan.
They also know they cannot gain power legitimately (through the democratic process) so they resort to the brutal suppression of the Afghan people. Our troops have a valid role in countering their extremist agenda.
I personally think that there is a legitmate case for our operations in Afghanistan and for that reason, while my heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones, I do not feel our casualties have been entirely in vain.
What is not acceptable however is that our troops are being denied vital equipment and men on the ground. They do not have enough troops or resources to consolidate their victories. They take a town, move on and the Taliban occupy it again. Every time they have to repeat the process more of our troops and innocent civilians are killed.
We should be moving troops around by helicopter rather then losing hundreds of lives to roadside bombs – the army has been asking for helicopter support ever since the campaign started and still the government prevaricates. It is a disgrace.
Gordon Brown should be ashamed of the way his government has let our forces down by starving them of essential resouces at a time of war.
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“Gordon Brown should be ashamed of the way his government has let our forces down by starving them of essential resouces at a time of war.” Gordon Brown should be ashamed of all he has done or not done ,he cares little of anyone or anything, apart from himself and his inflated ego ! he wont lose any sleep thinking of our heros who are now dying almost daily (in vain) fighting a war that will never be won.
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