dpb

After someone in the government came up wit something intelligent , for once

urban

iTrader: (1)

Yes,

And don't forget to ask them what their thoughts are on the Bruno movie

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

If they are serious about peace, yes. But, I'm sorry, but I really don't think that is what the Taliban is after and everyone knows this.

Turbo2

Go on then I'll do it. It's been a bit quiet at work today. Have you got their number?

TelBoy

Nice.

David Lock

No - the Afghan Gov't should be talking to them and tell NATO what has been agreed.

We should pull out and split the money saved into greatly increasing home security, stop this ***** footing around, and give proper support to Pakistan who seem to have come to their senses.

Oh, and when the boys return, give them an extra weeks' wages and send them on the **** for a week

dl

MJW

Their was no need for that !!

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

The systematic annihilation of the "Taliban"/"al quaeda" (or whatever) is possibly the only way to deal with this.
They have proven that they want all of us dead.

Better them than us.

TelBoy

You could have said that about the IRA, twenty years ago. Protestant/Catholic is arguably as deep-rooted as Islamic/Christian. But we didn't have to kill every last one of them did we? Arguably this is different though i grant you, radicalism is all but impossible to reason with, but what the hell the UK is doing sorting out Afghanistan's problems is beyond me. If Cameron gets in, i'd urge him to do an Obama and save whatever face he can by getting the hell out of there and urging some sort of conciliation, painful though it would be for many Brits, myself included, to talk to that bunch of heathens.

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

The problem is, now that you have pissed them off even more, they will come after you again and again.

TelBoy

Things change. But sometimes they just need a catalyst. Getting out of their country would in my opinion be a good first step.

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

They sure do when you drop a FAE (Fuel-Air-Explosive) down those rat holes.

JamJay

Be good to catch up a bit, I wonder what they got up to on the weekend? Perhaps they went to Walkabout Kabul or Liquid/Envy Jalalabad. They haven't logged onto Facebook for ages.

amahrap

Of course we need to speak, it is their country that we have invaded after all so they will always see us as the agressor. Please remember that Taliban and AQ are very different beasts that in a massive oversimplification get lumped together. Prior to the invasion one was actually considering asking the other to leave the country, something that has become lost in the noise in the time since. Now we end up with the 'my enemy's enemy is my friend' situation.

I wonder how we would have felt if Libya invaded the UK after the US used our bases to launch bombing raids on Tripoli !!! Even if you had disagreed with the raids would you have fought the invading Libyans in your country?

Turbo2

Yeah that novelty soon wore off everywhere, didn't it? I guess these days any self-respecting Mujahideen has to choose between logging on to Scoobynet or spending the day just sitting at the roadside in an opium-induced haze whilst staring into space and chuntering incoherently to themselves.

See, they're not so different to us after all!

boomer

+1, but give them an extra month's wages, plus a month of paid leave (and take any costs out of Tony Blair's, Dubya's, et al's salary/pension)!

mb

gunner068

unfortuanly just trying to wipe them out is never going to work, you just make martyrs of them and for each one you kill 10 more take their place FACT! what needs to be done is to talk to them and even out the last 20 years of american and british foreign policy as lets not forget we were on the side of the mujahadin against the russians in the 80s but then left them to rot, hence the bitterness towards the west. i for one hate the fact we are there as being in the military it takes up too much of my life going out there fighting for bugger all when the cost to life is too great. sit down with a good old brew and talk it through with them and with their help rebuild their country.

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

Shame that things did not go as good as that for the LTTE.

In fact it just shows you that you can wipe them out.

dpb

Nobody has ever won a war against insurgents/guerillas/fundamentalists

This is all about the American premacy going after the Bad guy cos it needs to be seen to to do something , exactly same as Che Guevara et al count to a hundred

and because our daft presidency still believes america will remain a superpower we have to cow tow

The Dogs B******s

Just get our lads out,then bomb the whole country

Timwinner

iTrader: (3)

I'll talk to anyone me....

jods

+1

EddScott

I actually struggle to believe that any of this fighting in Afganistan results in genuinely stopping terrorist activity in the western world.

You get the PM and other politicos stuffed in front of a camera every time some poor bugger gets killed and they use the "Well its linked to terrorism and 9/11 7/7 etc etc so we have too" - Prove it! Show me some actual evidence that our soldiers die specifically to save X number of people from a planted bomb.

Until then I fail to see the point.

urban

iTrader: (1)

So that's why you have a post count of over 77,000.
Because you've got **** all better to do except post something just for the sake of posting

Leslie

I don't see how anyone could put any reliance on a verbal agreement with the Taliban.

It is an organisation which is endemic in Afghanistan amd I think that trying to make a treaty with them would probably fail, and trying to destroy them just won't happen.

It does not help that our troops are out there fighting with unsuitable and inferior equipment and that our so called Eu allies are avoiding the dangerous parts completely. Not surprising really that our leaders just don't have the guts to stand up to the Eu countries in this respect.

Billy liar made us a prime terrorist target with his slavish backing of the Iraqi war of course!

Les

dpb

Its Al qaeda that are hiding out in the hills is it not , some cos its home and others together because they can

mrtheedge2u2

I was listening to a news report on Radio 4 the other week and it had the Russian General (Oleg Kalugin) who was in charge of the offensive for Russia when Russia was at war in Afghanistan. Anyway, NATO had commissioned him to write a report on where the UK/US is going wrong and how it can be made right.

He stated that the US/UK (like Russia) believed that peace can be achieved by installing western policies and regimes and he said it is simply not the case and that they will never work in Afghanistan

He also stated that the US/UK believe that it is the Taliban they are fighting when that is not the case. They are fighting lots of small local malitias, one of them being the Taliban but most having nothing to do with the Taliban or supporting them, but they are united in the reluctance to have US/UK systems in place there.

And finally, when he was asked if increases the number of soldiers is the answer he stated that for every one soldier increase the malitias increased theirs by 4.

Timwinner

iTrader: (3)

No harm in talking to them, Does'nt mean we have to agree, and does'nt mean anything will be achieved but no harm in making contact.

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

To be honest, it has gone beyond talking.
The problem started a long time ago, 80's and before.
Now if you pull out you are compounding the problem, you have to take it all the way now.

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

Who knows?