General Chat

I was in the Pashtun part of Afghanistan several times during the 1980s when the Russians were running the show. The people were very friendly and excellent cooks. The culture was about 1000 years behind the times but hey it's their country. They hated the Russians.

Without any doubt a fairly high proportion of these interpreters will have divided loyalties. That is why the MoD was against giving them visas. Now a lot of resource will have to be devoted to keeping an eye on them for the five year visa term. I doubt if any will ever go home. It is also a very bad precedent to giving out visas for any of an occupying army's baggage train. I don't agree it is the right thing to do, it is daft.

Winding forward a bit I have no idea why NATO got involved in Afghanistan other than a reflex "we must do something" after 9/11. The usual justifications are (a) defence of the homeland begins at some far away border aka "The war on terror" and (b) the war on drugs.

All that the "War on Terror" in Afghanistan has achieved is a terrible loss of life, mostly Afghans, and a terrible loss of blood and treasure for the NATO countries. The death of so many of their young men and "collateral damage" has probably made the terrorism problem a whole lot worse. The war lords have got very rich out of the funding supposed to be used for civilian development. A house in parts of Kabul now costs more than lower Manhattan or Knightsbridge.

As soon as NATO has gone the civil war will resume, indeed it already has.

"The war on drugs" has also been a complete failure. This year the Afghan poppy crop will be at a record level.

A far more sensible and much cheaper strategy would have been to beef up security and searches at our ports and airports. Instead this has been subjected to a series of bone headed cuts and put in the charge of a very stupid man who believes in shiny boots and paperwork.

It has always been the way that brave man die fighting under the command of fools.

sic transit gloria mundi

Did Afghanistan actually pose any threat to us?

In any war I try to think how I would feel about being a citizen of the country we have entered uninvited.

I can understand roadside bombs because I would be doing all I could to blow up Afghan troops if they were rolling up my road uninvited but I have a bit of difficulty with interpreters.

It is,of course,the honourable thing to do and we must welcome them here,they have risked all for us.

It looks like the oppressive regime is still going strong though. Are they,perhaps,the only people to have benefitted from our intervention?

Oddly enough the hundreds who translated for the Russians did not go back to the Soviet Union with the Red Army. Nor were any of them murdered.

So in the next war ( Syria ? ) the army will use Google translate.

How many Afghans have been given a US Green Card ?

figure i have seen is 600 plus family
hope our troops being kicked out of the army get as much help

edit
only a 5 year visa

1200 that I am sure everyone will welcome to our shores :-)

It is actually 1200 interpreters that will get Visas to come to England.
This was discussed on BBC World News on Monday night.

I should think so too, it's obvious they would be targetted and unsafe if they stayed around, unless they have distant homes to return to where they aren't known to have been involved with us.

Good luck to them

Lizx

Better late than never. We might need their services again before too long.

About time too

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2328754/Up-600-Afghan-interpreters-risked-lives-help-British-forces-right-live-UK.html

:-D :-D :-D