Blood on their Hands.
Col Bob Stewart with
Andrew Pearce Deputy Political Editor of the Telegraph
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Afghanistan carnage: eight die in 36 hours
The bodies of dead soldiers are driven through Wootton Basset yesterday. Picture: Getty
Earlier on Thursday, a serviceman from the 4th Battalion The Rifles was killed in an explosion while on a foot patrol near Nad-e-Ali in Helmand.
The eight fatalities took the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan past the death toll for the entire Iraq war.
A total of 15 soldiers have been killed in the past nine days, bringing the number of fatalities in Afghanistan since October 2001 to 184 – surpassing the 179 recorded in Iraq.
Even that shocking statistic masked the full human tragedy of recent events.
"Whether it's the 179th or the 200th, the (serving] soldier will not think twice about that number," said Captain Doug Beattie, recently retired from the army after 27 years. "They're just numbers – but every number and every name has a story behind it.
"No soldier serving in Afghanistan will say, 'That's 179'. They will say, 'That's my friend', 'That's my room-mate', 'That's my commanding officer'.
"Very soon, we are going to hit the 200 mark. The likelihood is before we leave Afghanistan we are going to hit the 500 mark – maybe even the 1,000 mark. But they are all false landmarks.
"For the politicians and for the Ministry of Defence, public perception of the loss is crucial. For the soldiers on the ground, it won't matter."
Task Force Helmand spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Nick Richardson said: "These fine British soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice and their memory will live with us for ever. We mourn their loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends at this very sad time. We know that their deaths were not in vain."
The Prime Minister passed on his condolences to the men's families, but he had suggested that there would be many more tragedies to come when he warned earlier that British forces would face a "very hard summer".
Gordon Brown spoke at the G8 summit in Italy as he attempted to defend himself from a growing clamour of criticism from military experts, who have condemned his government for failing to devote enough resources to the armed forces.
News of the first two of the latest eight deaths filtered back to Britain at the same time as coffins containing five of their comrades were flown back to Britain yesterday.
The fierce casualty rate in recent days has prompted criticism of the government, which has been accused of endangering the lives of soldiers by failing to provide the military with enough funds.
That criticism escalated last night when Colonel Bob Stewart, the first British UN commander in Bosnia, said it was "absurd" for ministers to say the Afghanistan conflict was a top priority while sending troops without enough "ammunition, helicopters or the correct equipment".
He told The Scotsman: "We are actually fighting a war in Afghanistan from a peacetime mentality in this country. This country's got to wake up to the idea that this isn't quite the Second World War.
"But to the soldiers it is. The army has recognised it now, because, actually, every single soldier in the United Kingdom is now on a war footing."
He said that senior military sources had told him the army was on a "war footing", because all military resources were now "devoted towards Afghanistan".
He added: "Quite frankly, I don't understand why people have been under any illusion about this for so long. Of course, the soldiers have been lacking resources, manpower, equipment, transport. These things have been crucially missing right from the start.
"We've had to modify operations hugely. We haven't had ammunition, helicopters, the correct equipment, but most of all what we haven't had is troops on the ground, and it is quite absurd for ministers to say this is a top priority.
"If it is a vital interest of the United Kingdom, why were 2,000 soldiers not allowed to go when our generals asked?"
His comments followed remarks by Lord Guthrie, chief of the defence staff between 1997 and 2001, who said a shortage of helicopters was to blame for the heavy losses of British troops from roadside bombs.
The MoD declined to reveal how many helicopters were on duty in Afghanistan "for operational reasons". But the government has claimed helicopter provision has risen by 60 per cent since 2007, when there were estimated to be eight Chinook HC2 transport helicopters, eight Longbow Apache attack helicopters and five Lynx Mk 7 battlefield support helicopters.
Over the same period, the number of troops has risen from 5,000 to 9,000.
But the Prime Minister said: "I think we have responded to the demands of the military for extra equipment for particular things – night-vision equipment – but also for armoured vehicles and the protection of these vehicles, as well as the helicopters."
MORALE HIGH AS TRAGEDIES GALVANISE TROOPS IN NEW ONSLAUGHT
NEARLY all of the deaths of military personnel in Afghanistan this month were linked to the new British onslaught called Operation Panther's Claw.
It began when Scots soldiers took part in one of the biggest air operations of modern times on 19 June, targeting a Taleban stronghold in Helmand Province.
More than 350 troops from the Black Watch were dropped into Babaji, north of Lashkar Gah, with the aim of securing an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) presence in the area.
The insurgents launched a number of attacks against the Black Watch but each was fought off and the Scottish troops secured three main crossing points: the Lui Mandey Wadi crossing, the Nahr-e-Burgha canal and the Shamalan canal. In the following days, they progressed along the Shamalan canal which was a supply route used by Taleban fighters, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Since then, fierce fighting has ensued and eight out of the ten deaths of British military personnel in the country this month were linked to the operation.
Brigadier Tim Radford, Commander of Task Force Helmand, said morale among troops was high and they felt they were gradually winning.
He said: "If anything, our losses have just galvanised their determination to succeed. Morale is high and that's because, hour-by-hour and day-by-day, they can feel they are winning."
And last night, Britain's Chief of Defence Staff Sir Jock Stirrup insisted the Taleban were "losing" the conflict in Afghanistan.
He said: "Our armed forces in Afghanistan have taken some very sad casualties over the last several days. We feel each loss keenly and our hearts go out to the bereaved families.
"But it is important we also remember why our people are fighting in Afghanistan and what they are achieving through their sacrifice and their courage.
"The mission is about supporting the delivery of governance in order to reduce the opportunities for extremist terrorist groups who are a threat to the United Kingdom, its citizens and their interests."
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