Here there be rants. There will be Freeman stuff, Lawful Rebellion stuff and Random stuff. I am rebelling because I want my country back. My lawful obligations are as follows: “together with the community of the whole realm, distrain and distress us in all possible ways, namely, by seizing our castles, lands, possessions, and in any other way they can, until redress has been obtained as they see fit…” Article 61 Magna Carta 1215
February 07, 2010
Come Home Safe, Lads.
Shamelessly stolen from another ex-soldier.
I think it behoves us all to spare a thought for our sons and daughters in Afghanistan today.
Forget politics, forget pacifism, forget the cost, forget the why's and the wherefore's, forget the rights and wrongs.
Just pray that when this major offensive is over, we get them all back safe and sound.
Whatever your politics, remember that once our forces are committed, we need to stand four-square behind them. Rail at the inept government all you want, but these guys are just doing what they were trained to do.
Come home safe.
CR.
It's the poor equipment which galls.
ReplyDeleteYes it is James.
ReplyDeleteI recall the boys "yomping" 40 miles across the wet and soggy Falklands in boots that subsequently allowed them the dubious pleasure of footrot.
The boots were DMS (Direct Moulded Sole) and they were notorious for not keeping your feet dry. As a result we were finally issued with high-leg boots.
My concern about this next phase is lack of air-cover. If we don't command the skies we are in deep doo-doo. Air support is vital and all the friggin choppers are in a hangar somewhere gathering dust.
CR
Here's hoping they all come home safe
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem is the idiotic politicians and MSM who delight in letting the world and their brother know where the troops are going, when they are going and what their objective is, telling the opposition we don't have enough helicopters, the right equipment etc etc.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely barking IMO but and it's a massive but who is the total arse who authorises this release of information in the first place?
I imagine that tit Ainsworth had something to do with it.
ReplyDeleteThe chain of command in the forces is sacrosanct. Only a politician would announce tactics to a salivating press corps.
CR.
Bring em home now! And with full honours. Let no more of our soldiers die. Leave the foreign peeps in peace. Leave them alone and they will leave us alone.
ReplyDeleteI agree, whatever the politics, we must get behind our brave soldiers. As usual, our heroes are being ordered to their deaths by cowards who skulk in safe havens, and if there is one thing a coward hates most - it's a hero.
ReplyDeleteHeroes need helicopters and cowards tighten the purse strings. The butcher's bill continues to rise at an alarming rate.
When asked, most soldiers say they are protecting each other. Lets bring them home to their families and loved ones now. Lets spend our tax money on repairing those lives shattered by these wars, and on building a better Brtiain - for all of us.
Amen to that
ReplyDeleteGreat comments from all of you. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteDrabzz, I just visited your gaff and I am mighty pleased to see you posting here.
As you are all too aware, we need all the Lawful Rebels we can get.
CR.
"forget the why's and wherefore's"
ReplyDeleteEven the second world war didn't last this long. What are they fighting for and who forced them to sign up?
Why are they even in that country at all? You telling me not to ask why?
Anon,
ReplyDeleteI seriously doubt that we will ever know why. The Afghans don't have any oil. They don't have vast amounts of mineral wealth, golds/diamonds/uranium etc.
Yet we choose to deliver our version of "democracy" to a people that cannot conceive of such a notion.
Was the entire event-irrespective of human or financial cost-completely fabricated?
Or is the real reason simply to destabilise the region?
Or, and this makes a lot of sense to me, are we there to protect the opium fields? We get morphine from these plants and we (the Western world) use inordinate amounts of it in our hospitals.
I was asking you to recognise that Trooper Brown and Sergeant Black are merely doing what they are paid, and trained, to do. Their job is not to reason why. None of them leapt on a plane and said "Take me to Kabul".
They were sent there by inept clowns in Westminster. It is from the politicians that we need to demand answers, and action.
I am asking you to separate the two issues, that is all.
CR.
I think in all seriousness that there is a case to answer for the MSM and BBC to be charged with aiding and abetting terrorism, for reporting the PENDING Operation Moshtarak.
ReplyDeleteref:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8503841.stm
"The MoD said the soldiers were not involved in Operation Moshtarak, a major Nato-led offensive against the Taliban which is due to get under way shortly.
It is expected to be one of the largest counter-insurgency operations since the Afghan conflict began in 2001 and aims to clear fighters from the southern Helmand town of Marjah.
Military leaders say they will have the choice between laying down their weapons or facing "overwhelming force" from thousands of UK, US and Afghan troops. "
Ranty,
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm happy to contribute where I can mate.
Most soldiers are just like I was - a poor kid from a broken home trying to make something of their lives, given their limited advantages.
It is better to direct the questions we have about legality and morality to those soldiers with brevetted collars and scrambled egg on their hats. Not to mention the chickenshit politicians who send them there in the first place - safely skulking in the corridors of Whitehall themselves.
As for oil, geologists are aware of a sizeable amount of oil in North Afghanistan. Oh, and we mustn't forget the need for the gas pipeline from the Caucasus to China, must we?
Drabzz,
ReplyDeleteI agree, of course. Generals, much like politicians, love to read about themselves in the history books, don't they?
I am in the oil business (well, the telecoms side, anyway) and I was unaware of any reserves in Afghanistan. Mind you, it's not my region (I am the Africa Man for my company) so I may not have been paying attention.
Lesson learnt though. I will check next time (before!) I use a throwaway line.
CR.
Here here, support our lads/lasses all the way!!!
ReplyDeleteJust not the t***s sending them there.
In fact I want them home to help protect against the t***s sending them there.
Afghan oil is a new one on me too, was aware of the pipeline.
The cynic in me wonders whether it's a part of a larger campaign against Islam, them not liking usury and all.
Good luck n god speed to them all, come home safe.
Guys, it's me with my facts muddled. It's really the Caspian oil & gas which the energy barons want to pipe through Afghanistan. This article says it far more eloquently than I could: http://www.hillsidemediatraining.co.uk/cms/2009/08/war-in-afghanistan-%E2%80%93-really-about-oil-heroin-pipelines-for-the-west/
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, they may have the largest reserves on the planet.
ReplyDeleteNo-one has been exploring for it. The risk of high-velocity lead-poisoning is too great at the moment.
They must have something worth having. The Russians, the Taliban, and the combined might of NATO have been trying to wrest control for decades.
That is a good article Drabzz, thanks for posting it.
CR.