Deputy Sheriff Brown Unveils AfPak strategy

Short the UK

What a waste of taxpayers money. The political elite have made a colossal error by getting involved in Pashtunistan. At the moment we have an intellectual collapse within the Western elite that has now taken us to the space where the fall of the American empire can be seen. The hubris of Fukuyama is now plain to see as we drown in a sea of debt. Involved in stupid wars that are pointless and wasteful.

Truly the elite are clowns, no doubt it felt like this in run up to the collapse of the USSR.

Tally-ho.

Verity

No comment on AfPak itself, but on Daniel's aside on the strategy report: "(Notice how the US took six pages to say what the UK needs 32 pages for)."

I read yesterday that Gordon Brown has announced that some tedious verbiage on swine fever will be ready next week. (Probably after the epidemic, if such it is, is over.) By contrast, the day after the first announcement of possible swine fever in the country, the Mexican health department sent round a calm, well-written, clear, one-page notice by email. Action within 24 hours. Gordon's announcement, when it lumbers out, will make its appearance around 10 days after the first case and will probably appear in book form.

Tom Pride

Scottish or Wild West, that’s one r too many.

cuffleyburgers

Around 1.2 bn in other words, and yet oddly 1.4bn yesterday to treat the Ghurkas decently was considered by McLunatic at least, as beyond the pale.

There is no limit to my loathing and contempt for the man.

Rhoda Klapp

I'm still wondering what there is to win in Afghanistan compared with the cost. Does the UK public really have the involvement necessary to get behind our forces? No. Is the government prepared to make the investment required to win? No. Are the forces really willing to change to face up to the fact that anti-insurgency is their raison d'etre and has been since 1945, with a few small exceptions? No.

So, if we were to win, what is the prize? If we quit right now, what is the real downside?
And if Pakistan becomes wholly or partly a taliban stronghold, what is the point of opposing them in a neighbouring 'state' and allowing them safe haven in the tribal areas?

Denis Cooper

Two thoughts here.

1. If just we'd concentrated on Afghanistan, rather than getting sidetracked into Iraq, with the mooted prospect of afterwards going into Iran, then perhaps we would now be withdrawing our troops from a peaceful and (after a fashion) democratic Afghanistan.

2. But there must be some doubt even about that, thanks to the US insistence that the new constitution for Afghanistan must completely prohibit the production of narcotics:

http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html

"Article Seven

Ch. 1, Art. 7

The state shall abide by the UN charter, international treaties, international conventions that Afghanistan has signed, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The state prevents all types of terrorist activities, production and consumption of intoxicants (muskirat), production and smuggling of narcotics."

I keep reading that there's a worldwide shortage of opiates for medical use; yet we have British soldiers being killed and wounded while attempting to suppress opium production in Afghanistan, and losing the sympathy of Afghans who rely on the cultivation of opium poppies for their livelihood.

And this is because the US government wants to cut off supplies to narcotics to young Americans; even though as the supply is restricted the prices rise, and so the trade becomes more profitable and there is more incentive to pursue it by ever more cunning and ruthless means, which include killing our troops.

It seems to me that our troops are dying in a probably unwinnable war, simply because American politicians are incapable of learning the lessons of Prohibition.

jon

How many languages does the UK flu leaflet have to be translated into, though?

logdon

Waste of taxpayer's money. Why should we fork out to prop up a decaying state which is on the brink of collapse? Afghanistan, supposedly moving westward in thought has just declared laws which enable rape within marriage. Two fingers to us is Kharzai's response to any protest emanating fom Europe and the US. That is the supreme symbol as to how it is. We pour in millions, they tell us to eff off. Leave them to it and severely restrict immigration. They obviously do not want us there. We reciprocate in kind especially when students, many bogus, are flooding in at a rate of 200,000 pa. If 80% of terror plots in the UK have a Pakistani origin we have a perfect right to defend ourselves from the flow of this fifth column. It is not racist despite effort to portray otherwise, it is simply self defence.

logdon

Cuffleyburgers is right. Those Ghurkas have a loyalty to Britain quite unknown amongst the ranks of Labour. Their sneering rejection of people who are totally devoted to our state reflects their own attitude of disdain towards Britain, our traditions, culture and British people. Brown and what remains of his fawning metropolitan crew are a complete disgrace. Phil Woolas should hide his head in shame. Everything is gesture. It's all calculated as presentation. That it's now going spectacularly tits up is seen, not as failing as governors but of spin. Any claim to the moral high ground is now trashed. They are truly finished.

john miller

Presumably, a lot of money for the end of some student visas then?