General Chat

Being an Army wife I see first hand what effect this war has on soldiers and their families..We have already lost a friend and have another friend who is on his way to Afghan, he has 4 young children under the age of 10...
My heart goes out to the wounded and the guys that don't make it home, but at the end of the day they join the army knowing that one day they may be called upon to give their lives....

We may win the battle but not the war!!

Jules x

I was touched by a comment I read from a young serving soldier: he said that if he wasn't fighting in Afghanistan we'd end up fighting them in the UK and the deaths would be far greater.

I always thought there had to be 6mths between tours before they were allowed inTheatre , I think afganistan is going to be another Viatmam pray to god it isnt, Of course I think this country is worth fighting for, I dont reckon much to government as it is, I am glad that people thought it was 60 years ago when some were away fighting for all of the 6 years.


your grandson will be in my prayers Bernie and his mates xx

Purple Diamond

Thank you for your thoughts about our service personell. At last someone recognises that the recruits volunteer for the forces and each of them have their own reasons. I am proud to say that my family have had people serving in either the Army or Navy for many generations. Of course anyone who has a family member on active service is concerned but what support can we give if all we do is talk about "we shouldn't be there" etc. How many young people are killed each week on the streets of the UK, the papers seem to be full of nothing else. Now that must be just as heart breaking for the families.
My serving sun had always wanted to be in the |Army but he did his degree and then worked for several years before he finally decided that the Army really was where he should be. As he has an identical twin brother it must have been even more difficult as they had only been apart for a short time previously. They went to different Unis but ended up after 18 months being together again.

Let us all rally ariound our troops, support them through everything, have pride in the fact that they are volunteers and be there in sopirit if nothing else.

I will stop now, keep saying the prayers, have positive thoughts, stand quietly for a minute or two each day and remember them.


Bridget

I quite agree with Uggers and Bridget, we need to realise not all the people there are bad people and we should support our folk out there and pressure the government to make sure they have the equipment they need now.

I think saying we should buy opium for the nhs to stop the illegal trade and wars over it, is too simplistic. I am sure the official price we would pay for it wouldn't satisfy those who can sell it or trade it for much higher value illegally.

I do think we need our politicians to be more honest about why we get involved, but weren't we dragged into the initial problems through the power crazy George Bush and his best friend Tony Blair?

I don't fully understand the politics of it all but I do think we have to be careful now and not just pull out and leave countries to sort themselves out. There are far too many innocent people, who are just like those of us in the rest of the world, who just want to live their lives in peace and harmony, but can't due to the greed and lust for power of some of their fellow countrymen.

And as I said before, these young people go into the forces knowing the past history of death or disabling injuries that have happened to other servicemen and women before them. They must know it isn't a game of soldiers in the playground, the tv news etc has shown us for a long time the reality of it all and they will have seen and heard what happens. It isn't as if they are conscripted into the services, they made their choices for whatever reason and most of them do their job with courage and dignity. We can only hope they get the equipment they need to keep as many as possible safe while they carry out their jobs.

Lizx

I agree with you all, bring our troops home, Gordon Brown, telling us they are defending us against terrorists. what a load of bunkam. If my TV had not been so dear, I would throw my shoe at it,every time that unmentionable comes on the screen.

We were lied to about Iraq, and I think we will not be lied to about this.

As mentioned ,if we bought the Poppy Harvest for drugs for NHS, this would be a step in the right direction. I suppose another one of the fat cat mates of Gordon is a Director of a Drug Co.

As soon as this load of lying b......s are out on their ear, and we have anotherr Government, all the better

Mo

I don't understand the politics to the nth degree - and it doesn't look like a lot of other people on this thread do either. I'm quite cynical about our reasons for being in there in the first place but what our troops need is the support of the British public for their missions not belittling of what they're doing.

The innocent people living under brutal regimes in any country need the support of outside nations, regardless of whether they're in the Middle East or in Europe.

Eyebrows Ed
I agree with you. I am one of the thousands of mothers who worry etc when our family are serving in such places but if it wasn't for people like them over many generations who knows what could have happened. We should be supporting out troops with every bone in our body and every beat of our heart.
Bridget

i agree with you

none of them are worth out lads blood,
i wouldnt spit on one of um if they were on fire, you can not trust them in my opinion,
why send more of our brave lads out to come back in a box if at all,

it makes me so so sad at hearing all the time of another loss,

today inwork,(and i dont think this breaking confidentiallity)
but a young lady bout 21 came in to ask for advice on pain relief for her fella
he jus t returned from hospital after being injured in afghanistan,
his injuries are
broken shoulder
broken collar bone,
broken bone in back
removal of damaged spleen,

now hes home hes in cronic pain, as morphine he presumabley had after op, has started to leave body,
she was advised to take him to a doctor or hospital,
though hes due a check up after surgery,

i could cry when i hear how they are coming home,
and those who can only be brought home with families no longer being able to hold them,

all gordon £$%* brown is saying is we have increased our air hours
well excuse me but these are ground troops so you need to send um ground fighting equiptment man, they need to get out
and get out now

Well the Russians Tried and Failed, the Americans were supplying the Mujahadin with arms to fight them, Now theyre fighting them .Its time we learnt from previouse experience,and kept our noses out.**M**.

Whilst I agree that our troops (and those of the US, France, Germany and the other participating nations whose lives are being sacrificed on a daily basis), should be pulled out ASAP, can we afford to do so without a proper exit strategy?

If everyone were to go now, then it would create a vacuum which the Taliban and every other fundemental nutter would fill. Afghanistan would once again become the training ground and haven for every terrorist bearing a grudge againt the established nations of this planet.

The trouble is, they are not content to just butcher one another. They have the desire to overthrow our society, which they hate with a passion. Don't use the argument that if we left them alone then they would do likewise - it has gone too far - it went too far many years ago. Besides, we've already tried that and it didn't work.

Let us not forget also that there are innocents in Afghanistan as well - not every member of the population owns an AK47 and wants to kill all the Westerners on the planet. And as Elizabeth mentioned a few posts back, the genocide in Rwanda - which the UN did little to prevent left an abhorrent legacy in that country - the same would happen in Afghanistan.

I too think we should get our boys and girls out of there. We have lost too many already!

Lainey xx

Not just young men Pam. Don't forget we had our first female death in Afghanistan four weeks ago when Staff Sgt Denise Rose, aged 34 was shot.

I think we should bring them home most deffinately, you're in a no win situation out there.

I agree with Elizabeth, the Russkies couln't beat them and yes the USA did boycott the Olmpic games of 1980 because of Russian going into Afghanistan.

It's a desolate s***t hole and certainly not worth any more of our young men losing their lives out there.

We're seeing coffins being brought off planes most evenings now on the news and it's truly heartbreaking, I can't imagine how the poor families are feeling.

BRING THEM HOME!

Pam.

Thank you so much for your replies.
I am in complete agreement with Badger, let us build up a strong defence force to protect ourselves and BRITISH interests only.

Politicians are the most hypocritical people in the world. They say that we "won" in Iraq. Since we left the killing of iraqis by Iraqis has already started. Wait until next year when the Americans leave, there will be a bloodbath and another "Sadam" will come to power. I know it, you know it, but the politicians keep denying it. And our brave troops will have died and been maimed in vain.

I don't believe that any middle east country is worth the blood of our brave boys and girls. As Tinkerbell says, the whole place is a S***Hole !!!!!!

Every time I see pictures of the dead it breaks my heart. Our beautiful people dying for that s*** hole. Get them out

Get the hell out of there and let them kill each other

Round up all the troublemakers and misfits ,and send them back to asia ,and bring our troops home to protect OUR airports and borders and stop any more criminals and insurgents coming here,and do what the likes of Australia do, look after OUR country,and most of all ,mind our own bussiness Fred.

I feel so much for the families who have lost their loved ones, I too am not sure why we are there, but have to say most of the younger lads for sure, know what they are signing up for as these battles have been going on for so long now. It doesn't make their loss any the less painful for their families tho. If only they had better equipment and supplies, to suit the demands of the areas they are in.

Lizx

Dear Mr Bernie my Boy

I wondered when someone was going to mention about Russia occupying Afghanistan. They could not do anything.

The USA boycotted the 1980 Olympics.

No, our country should not be involved in this war and our troops should come home NOW.

If the United Nations wants to send a peace keeping force to a country, that is different.

As I remember the UN and most of the world did nothing to prevent the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.

Over 1 million people were slaughtered.
It was horrific. The legacy of women and children now with AIDS, people with artifical limbs and the terrible poverty is incomprehensible.

It seems the USA, UK and UN only go into countries if there are vested interests.

I send my thoughts to you and your family.

Very best wishes
xx