'Forget Iraq, think Afghanistan'

Following on from a previous post we have the attached article.
Instead, of finishing off the work in Iraq the Brownites prefer to concentrate their energy on promoting the case for Britain's continued involvement in Afghanistan, which, they argue, has a more legitimate claim to be the front line in what was not so long ago known as the war on terror.

In one quote it maybe sums up all that is wrong with Gordon Brown and his government

This radical change of tack is best epitomised by the approach taken by David Miliband, the new Foreign Secretary, in setting out his foreign policy priorities.

As he boasts in this week's Spectator, he decided that his first visit outside Europe should be to Afghanistan and Pakistan because British interests are directly under threat from the activities of terror groups operating on both sides of the 1,500-mile border between the two countries.

By contrast, the fate of Iraq seems hardly to figure in his calculations, to the extent that senior Foreign Office officials privately complain that their new boss finds it difficult to stifle a yawn whenever the subject is raised at policy briefing sessions.

Yes the bad news is rolling in so just ignore it and it will go away. How often can Labour keep doing this to us?

'Forget Iraq, think Afghanistan' - Telegraph

Gagged by the Clunking Fist

Having allowed the sailors who were captured in Iran to sell their stories the MOD is now gagging the armed services from speaking out about conditions they are serving under. The use of forums, bulletin boards and blogs to do this has been increasing in the past months as conditions and the casualty rates have been increasing.

Let us wonder who might have prompted this "modernised" policy. The great "clunking fist" of Broon seems to be the most likely source as he attempts to control the political quagmire that is Iraq and Afghanistan.

Unfortunately for him, the stories and details of what is happening there are more and more coming into the public arena, particularly from members of the armed forces who have served in the area and have returned to the UK, who are passing on details to their friends and relatives. The true extent of casualties is coming out and the conditions and problems they are encountering are becoming well known.

This attempt to gag the Armed Forces will I predict backfire as the feelings in the Services are rising. The ability to post and blog anonymously is rather easy even from Iraq. Expect an increase in blogging from this area.

Update: Also have a look at this link in the Register which has some good comments about the effectiveness of this gagging order.

Update 2: Perhaps the new rules have been put in place because the MOD army of 1000 PR personnel is not quite getting it right and "bad" stories are appearing more frequently.

Also pop along to AARSE for some more discussion on this.

MoD issues gag order on armed forces | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Fighting for Pride

This article in the Times highlights the pressures and stresses our Armed Forces are encountering while serving in Iraq, and I doubt that Afghanistan will be any better.

The whole resolve to sort out the situation has disappeared from our Political Masters who can see the mounting body count and see only one way to come out of this whilst continuing to serve at the altar of the gravy train at Westminster. They will withdraw and leave Iraq to fend for itself.

What will we have achieved during our time in Iraq.

The truth is we will have achieved nothing and made Iraq a worse place to live. We went into Iraq saying we would bring them freedom and prosperity. All we have done is watch them disappear into anarchy. The least we can do is stay there with committed Politicians and Leaders and try to ensure peace for the majority of Iraqis.

The Americans at least are trying to do this now in the Baghdad area, whilst we are withdrawing from Basra, a city where we were initially welcomed, with our tails firmly between our legs.

The price for our armed forces and the conditions in which they operate is truly appalling, but the price being paid by Iraqi citizens is even worse. We cannot just withdraw and say get on with it.



Fighting for pride as pressure mounts on beleaguered troops - Times Online

Bottom Fetish?

First blog for along time. Stand by for resumption of Blogging as the Summer hols come to an end.



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