It’s not just the CIA dropping off the cash. Now we find that MI6 is doing it too.

British intelligence is handing “bundles” of cash over to Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai for special peace projects despite warnings that handouts are promoting corruption at the heart of his regime.

Gosh, do you reckon that the Karzai crew might not be accounting for every penny of our cash? How shocking it would be to find out that our cash is being trousered by a bunch of Pashtun gangsters, which is all the ruling class is over there.

Kabul will fall five minutes after we leave. I fully expect Karzai to pop up in Switzerland just in time.

I posted on the sacrifice of British forces nearly three years ago in the dust and corruption which is Afghanistan, listing the hundreds of names of the best of British who have died in those far-off fields. I was reminded of that post when watching the BBC Panorama programme which detailed the scum masquerading as the Afghan National Army & Police force personnel, who now, if the propaganda is to be believed, are the spearhead of the Afghani Government’s defence strategy against a resurgent Taliban. If you didn’t watch it when broadcast, call it back on iPlayer, and see the inheritors of the British and American sacrifice in the blood which has been spilled so profusely so that ‘we can remain safe on the streets of British cities’.

Watch it all, and then ask yourselves if the sacrifice of all that treasure, both in terms of human lives wiped out or damaged, has been worth it?

Then ask yourselves who is to blame for this loss, and what should happen to them?

The level of public estimation for politicians is on a par with most of the BBC, in a kind of ‘ah well, we’re stuck with them’ disinterested but negative neutrality. We constantly hope that those who bleat, beg and call for our votes actually live up to their promises; but we also constantly see them fail us in almost every respect.

They fail to push for things which are promised, and instead shout for things which hold no need or desire within the public at large, at least amongst the ones who actually think about such matters.

But once in a blue moon, a politician, or in this case a former politician, speaks out on a subject upon which he holds first-hand experience. Paddy Ashdown, a former Marine, S.B.S. Captain and, unfortunately, a former Lib-Dem M.P. has spoken of the need for British forces to be removed from Afghanistan’s failure because “‘It is not worth wasting one more life in Afghanistan. ‘What can be done to stop Afghanistan internally unravelling into chaos has already been done. The only outcome of staying longer is more deaths for no purpose; most of them now caused not by the enemy in front of our troops, but by the enemy among them.’”

As I and many others have already written, we have no purpose in Afghanistan other than to save ‘face and reputation’ for a long series of grubby politicians who have never fired a shot in anger, or have one fired at them. We should fold our tents up, put all the  equipment on an air-bridge over Russia, and get the hell out of that nest of vipers!

I am a member of the Tell the Telegraph community, and I thought I would copy my response to a panel query on when a poppy symbol should appear on the website:-

The topic under debate is one of when the Royal British Legion Poppy symbol should be shown on the Telegraph masthead. Surely the more appropriate debate should be centred around the tragic loss of lives in that dusty hell-hole commonly known as Afghanistan; and perhaps more importantly a discussion of the possible fate of all the politicians who sent, and continue to send, British Services personnel into harms way in order to establish a ‘Democratic State’ in Afghanistan.

The other ‘purpose’ of this multi-billion pound endeavour is alleged to be ‘keeping us safer here at home’ because of the sacrifices of those bright shining spirits in the drug- and blood-soaked sands of Afghanistan. The sheer lunacy of even believing in the very idea of a ‘democratic Government’ in Afghanistan should give all sensible people a pause for thought.

We tried it, to govern Afghanistan that is, over a century ago, and we eventually scurried out over the bodies of the sixteen-odd thousand British members of the column from Jalalabad. We went in again, time after time, to prevent influence from France, from Russia, and it got us absolutely nowhere.

We should have taken to heart the warning of the latest Russian occupation which was to support their Afghan proxy, an occupation which was total, brutal and unswerving, but which eventually came to nothing after the Mujahideen gained superiority through the advent of the Stinger missile supplied by America. Was the NATO-led invasion justified after 9/11? Most certainly yes, but instead of ‘nation-building’ by force, which has ever been a fruitless exercise wherever it been tried, we should have handed over to the Afghanis, told then that the next time the West would be coming, we would be coming to make their ‘country’ a smoking radio-active car-park, and to mind their manners; and then left.

Western politicians have yet to learn that you cannot make a Nation out of ten thousand villages, soaked in the beliefs of muslim autocracy. But we saw Bush, and Blair, and all the other guilty parties, including the fool John Reid, with his forever-remembered ‘British Forces could leave Afghanistan without a shot being fired’, prate, and parade, and posture.

We saw them line up beside the Cenotaph, with their wreaths of poppies, while not understanding that what they had signed the British Army up to achieve was just unachievable. And let us not forget that none of these posturing, primping princes of political thought have ever served one single day in uniform, of any colour or rank, at all.

We do not retain, in Britain, the ability to legally kill someone who has committed treason, but I for one would sign any petition to restore such a power, and then the first ones to be tried would be every politician, of any Party, who has expressed the slightest desire to extend, for one second, our presence in the corrupt stagnant pool of drugs, grand-scale larceny and murder which is the alleged country named Afghanistan.

The country….Afghanistan. The Province…..Helmand. The time…..The present.

A Platoon of twenty-four Royal Marine Commandos, along with a Manoeuvre Support Section using heavy weaponry (mortars, sniper rifle & machine gun) are being briefed ready for an active patrol.

The Platoon Sergeant completes his briefing, confirms that all Marines have been issued and hold their ammunition, food packs and survival gear, and asks if there are any questions.

Only one hand shoots up, and the Platoon Sergeant sees his daily nemesis, the barrack-room lawyer himself, Commando Smith; eager to speak. “Smith; what is it this time?”

“Platoon Sergeant, might we be told who the extra guy is, the man at the back of the tent, wearing standard camouflage gear, but instead of carrying a weapon, he is carrying a portable computer, and a radio pack on his back?”

“Certainly, Commando Smith, the new man is a new addition to the modern battlefield; he is the latest version of the roving Queen’s Counsel. If you make contact, under any circumstances, with the Taliban; whether they have tried to kill you with a roadside bomb, or an ambush with AK 47s, or even a suicide bomber who is intent on killing as many of you as possible, he will be able to give, in real-time, authoritative legal answers as to whether you are justified in believing you can raise your rifles and other weaponry and firing upon the Opposing forces. He, and he alone, will determine whether the Rules of Engagement have been fulfilled, even if your mates are dying all around you, and will be able to state that you can return fire without fear of being court-martialled at any time in the future! He will further be able to state, in the event of being ambushed by a member of the Afghan Army or Police, whether the attack has taken place as a direct result of Taliban involvement, or if the attack is carried out by a disgruntled or drug-soaked stone-age clown disguised as an Afghan soldier! ”

“Thank you, Platoon Sergeant, just wanted to know!”

Explained the intelligence official: “They’re killing us because we’re ‘infidels’ occupying Islamic lands. It’s what the Koran and every imam over there is telling them, and no amount of cultural sensitivity is going to stop that or change the fact that we’re ‘infidels.’ ”

 

So once more the question must be asked; “What the F*@!! are we doing wasting blood and money in that dusty cess-pit for in the first place?”

This story, with a member of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces giving birth in Camp Bastion after being ‘unaware’ of her pregnancy raised headlines in all newspapers; but the two items I would concentrate upon are one statement from a ‘friend’ and one comment upon the whole situation.

The statement is “ I don’t know who the father is.”

When I was a father for the first time, many thoughts ran through my mind, but none of them raised any doubt as to whether I was the father of that tiny sprog who grew into the individual who is now my eldest son. ‘I am a father’ was my proudest statement, and as I carried that tiny child back across the threshold of the home where he would be lovingly reared, I knew what the term ‘Family’ was all about!

The comment is to quietly ask what the hell are we still in that dusty hell-hole for? The locals don’t want us, the neighbours definitely don’t want us; all our Armed Forces are there for these days is to save face for a bunch of lying, scheming politicians who jumped without thought into a situation which they thought could be controlled! The new-born child and mother have already been evacuated; lets get the rest out ‘toute suite’!

Is anybody really surprised to read this;

Nato says it is restricting operations with Afghan troops following a string of deadly attacks on its personnel by rogue Afghan security forces. Only large operations will now be conducted jointly, with joint patrols evaluated on a case-by-case basis. This is a major step back for Nato’s strategy, says the BBC’s Quentin Sommerville in Kabul. It comes as a suicide bomber targeted a bus carrying foreigners in the capital, killing 12 people on Tuesday morning.

I wouldn’t bother “restricting” such operations. I would cease them and ensure we get out of this utterly pointless NATO operation. A war without war aims is just such a farce. The Taliban win.  Why? Because liberals and their media pals want that victory as the natural consequences of a listless war where we are scared to offend by wiping opponents from the face of this planet. The POINT of going into Afghanistan was to topple the Taliban and deny Al Queda a sanctuary.  Our new policy is to entice the Taliban back into power and hope Al Queda do not regroup there. I doubt they will – the Jihad is global. I never supported the futility of “Nation Building” and have no interest in equal rights in Afghanistan. I wanted to see AQ crushed into the dirt and the Taliban goat herds with IEDS’s sent into the next life. Instead, under Obama, we appease. Time to get out.

This is exactly what makes enemies and induces blowback.

You’ve probably heard that more British and American soldiers have fallen in the last few days when supposed Afghan allies turned on them. NATO would like us to think that crappy little film might be to blame. I’d suggest that killing eight women and wounding seven more when they go out to gather firewood is more than likely to do that.

Would you be “radicalised” if your wife or mother or daughter was obliterated by foreign bombs? I would be, and I’d do anything I could to get revenge.

It’s a simple question: Should Prince Harry continue to serve with his regiment at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan? I read that some military experts reckon that to withdraw him from the scene of the conflict would hand a victory to the Taliban. But is this right? What if he is killed? What sort of propaganda coup would THAT provide our enemies? Does his presence endanger his colleagues? The issue is complex and yet simple. Soldiers are required to do their duty and in that sense Prince Harry is exactly where he ought to be – with his regiment. The problem is that his Regiment should not be there! War aims have long been lost here and it  is US/UK policy to try and get the Taliban INTO the Afghan government. Think Belfast Agreement with an Islamic Crescent and you get the craven morally bankrupt official mindset. So our troops basically are sitting there as target practise for goat herds with psychotic tendencies and a love for the Prophet. That is what is wrong. None of them should be there. Afghanistan is not worth on life, Royal or otherwise. I firmly believe we should get out NOW and should the Taliban or ANY other group there challenge OUR safety we should carpet bomb them into eternity. So bring home Prince Harry and ALL our brave men and women out there. A war without war aims is truly a waste. This is what our weak vacillating politicians have bequeathed us. The shsme lies with them.