100 British dead in Afghan: A moment for sombre reflection

[SO19]

100 British dead in Afghanistan: A moment for sombre reflection
By Con Coughlin
Last Updated: 11:41PM BST 08/06/2008

The confirmation that the British death toll in Afghanistan has officially reached the 100 mark should be a moment for sombre reflection on a mission that has far exceeded expectations in terms of the demands it has made on our Armed Forces.



Members of 3 Para mount an operation by Chinook helicopter in the
Mizan district of Zabul, where they are seeking to flush out the Taliban

It is just two years since the government first committed British troops to southern Afghanistan as part of Nato's mission to assist the Afghan government with the reconstruction of the country after thirty years of almost incessant civil war.

At the time Downing Street's spin-doctors went into over-drive in their attempts to persuade a sceptical British public that, if all went according to plan, not a shot would be fired in anger as the mission was all about reconstruction and the eradication of the country's poppy crop – which accounts for 90 per cent of the heroin sold on Britain's streets – rather than joining battle with the Taliban.

Thankfully senior British officers on the ground such as Brigadier Ed Butler, who commanded 3 Para battlegroup during Britain's initial deployment in the summer of 2006, realised that nothing would be achieved in the country's lawless and inhospitable Helmand province unless British forces physically evicted the Taliban from the towns and villages it had been allowed to re-occupy in the south of the country.

Brig Butler, 48, whose untimely resignation from the British Army was announced at the weekend, went on to cause the government further embarrassment by unhelpfully pointing out that the invasion of Iraq had prevented British forces from securing Afghanistan much sooner because vital resources were diverted to overthrowing Saddam Hussein's regime before the Taliban had been properly dealt with.

Consequently, far from failing to fire a shot in anger, for the past two years British front line troops have been involved in the fiercest combat operations experienced since the Falklands war, and suffered significant casualties in the process.

While British forces have succeeded in destroying the Taliban's fighting capability, they have also paid a heavy price in terms of dead and injured.

The lengthening death toll will no doubt lead to calls for Britain to end its contribution to a war many argue can never be won. But to do so would not only have catastrophic consequences for Afghanistan, it would seriously compromise our national security.

The reason our troops are fighting in Afghanistan is to prevent Islamic extremists rebuilding the terrorist infrastructure that enabled them to carry out the September 11 terror attacks against the United States.

Many of the subsequent terror plots against the West – including attacks against Britain, such as the London bombings of July 2005 – originated from the lawless tribal areas on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This is no time for the government to lose heart. Instead it must ensure that it provides our dedicated and courageous service men and women with the support and equipment they need to ensure the sacrifices of the past two years are not in vain.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... ction.html

[SO19]

British death toll in Afghanistan reaches 100
By Thomas Harding in Zabul Province, Afghanistan
Last Updated: 12:18AM BST 09/06/2008

The British forces death toll in Afghanistan has reached 100 after three paratroopers were killed by a suicide bomber.


British troops come under fire from the Taliban

The grim milestone came as an insurgent detonated a large device strapped to his chest as the three men were on a routine foot patrol near their base in Helmand province.

The suicide attack was the most deadly attack on British forces this year and the biggest single loss of life suffered by troops in the country since last August, when three men from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment were killed when a US fighter dropped a 500lb bomb near their position.

It is unclear whether the unnamed soldiers who died on Sunday were from the 2nd or 3rd battalion The Parachute Regiment, who are both serving in the country.

A fourth soldier was also injured in the attack and his injuries were described as non life-threatening.

British troops have been fighting in Afghanistan for seven years since special forces helped push out the Taliban.

In 2006, as a major new offensive was launched, former Defence Secretary John Reid suggested operations could be completed within three years "without firing one bullet".

But the deployment has seen two intense outbursts of fighting during the summers of 2006 and 2007 and more than 90 of the British victims have died in the past two years - almost double the mortality rate seen in Iraq.

There have also been increasing concerns about unnecessary losses caused by substandard equipment. The single worst tragedy was the death of 14 airmen after an ageing Nimrod plane malfunctioned over Helmand.

With roadside bombs accounting for a third of deaths, senior commanders are still worried that there are not enough helicopters in Helmand to allow troops to avoid being moved by roads that are frequently mined.

Of the 100 British troops killed in Afghanistan, 74 have been killed in action by enemy fire or explosives and 26 have died as a result of non-combat related injuries.

The enemy's tactics have constantly evolved. The success of British troops fighting against the Taliban in conventional warfare has forced the insurgents into terrorists' tactics of using roadside bombs and mines to kill troops as well as suicide bombers.

Not a single British soldier has been fatally shot for almost nine months, since Sergeant Craig Brelsford was hit by gunfire attempting to save a colleague behind enemy lines.

The youngest victim is 18-year-old Private Ben Ford from Derbyshire, the oldest 51-year-old Gary Thompson, who had five daughters.

Seven troops have been targeted by suicide bombers. Four died as a result of "friendly fire"; one took his own life; one accidentally shot himself, another was murdered by a drunk colleague.

Lt-Col Robin Matthews, spokesman for the taskforce in Helmand, said of the latest three killings: "One man was pronounced dead on arrival to hospital and two more died of wounds subsequently despite the best efforts of the emergency services.

"The fourth man is receiving treatment and is expected to recover."

At the height of last summer's operations, it was claimed that frontline troops in Helmand had a one in 36 chance of not surviving a six-month tour of duty, higher than those seen in the Korean and Falklands wars.

Among some battalions, the casualty rate last summer approached 10 per cent, triggering fears it might eclipse the 11 per cent losses sustained by British soldiers at the height of the Second World War.

Paras at an outpost deep in Taliban territory in Zabul province looked on grim-faced as they received the news on Sunday at a briefing by their company sergeant major.

Major Adam Wilson, the acting company commander of A Company, 3 Para, operating close to Helmand in Zabul province said: "The first thing is that every man in our unit is deeply saddened at the moment. Our immediate thoughts are with the families and friends when they find out this news for the first time.

"It is frustrating but we have a job to do and intend to do that to the best of our ability.

"This is a blow but we are paratroopers and we will continue the fight against a terrorist enemy who are trying to undermine the substantial steps forward that we have made in the past two years."

Brig Mark Carleton-Smith, the commander of the 8,000 British and Nato troops in Task Force Helmand, said in an interview with the Telegraph last week that the force had reached the "tipping point" against the Taliban whose leadership had been "decapitated".

In the last two years an estimated 7,000 Taliban have been killed, the majority in southern and eastern Afghanistan.

"The Taliban are much weaker," he said from 16 Air Assault Brigade headquarters in Lashkar Gah. "The tide is clearly ebbing not flowing for them. Their chain of command is disrupted and they are short of weapons and ammunition."

He added that the view in Britain on progress in Afghanistan was "unduly pessimistic".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... s-100.html