The terrible price that is paid by the forgotten casualties of war

Austin Barry

"In reality, it is more fruitful to wound than to kill. While the dead man lies still, counting only one man less, the wounded man is a progressive drain upon his side."
B. H. Liddell Hart

cuffleyburgers

An important and moving article.

I hope that the Tories will take up this issue and try to achieve some justice.

it sickens me to think of the way these men are treated compared with the riches lavished on the undeserving at home.

CG

See Kipling's poem The Last of the Light Brigade'. Nothing has changed.

Jez

Absolutely spot on.

Brilliant article.

Let's hope someone will listen.

"The VA, as it is called, draws its mission statement from Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address: ‘to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan’.......

Its founders understood that in a democratic society if you are not serious about looking after your wounded troops then you are not serious about war....

*If you are not serious about war, then you have no business sending troops into battle.*"

Blair was serious about Blair when he sent the troops in.

James Delingpole

Brilliant, important article Jonathan

Hysteria

This is a great article - I hope it produces the same emotional response in others as it did in me.

Let's hope we see a swift response from the politicians (of every hue)

john problem

The contrast between the comportment of our leaders at Westminster in ensuring their own creature comforts and their indifference to our wounded servicemen comes at the top of all the useless, thoughtless, stupid and banal matters that they 'address' and all the futile, ill-conceived.... ay ay ay - how long, oh lord, how long?

Andy

If you're going to go to war, you can't be half hearted. You have to stump up the wherewithal to do the job. Something that Labour has never been prepared to do.

Leah W

For those wishing to help homeless soldiers in a practical way there is a new charity called 'Soldiers Off The Street'. That ANY soldier, once he leaves service, ends up on the streets is an outrage!

http://www.soldiersoffthestreet.com/

Krishna Jain

Brilliant. Congratulations Jonathan

jbgood

In July 2007, an RAF typist who injured her thumb at work was paid almost half a million pounds by the Ministry of Defence. The civilian's award was almost 30 times the amount a serviceman would receive for the same injury. It is eight times more than a soldier would receive for losing a leg and almost double the amount he could expect if he lost both legs. The £484,000 payout for repetitive strain injury is indicative of a two tier system operating in this country based on gender and the type (no pun intended) of work involved. ie if you are a state pen pusher you must be protected from the real world, and if you are a female even more so. Meanwhile the men on the front line and their families are disposable and of little interest. I'm sure the state would rather they died or disappeared in the same way the military hospitals have. Shame on this government, although shame and responsibility are two of many qualities they have never shown.

David Kerr

As the father of a Marine I pray to God that my son and my family never has to endure the suffering highlighted in this article.

We must look after these brave, selfless troops.

Magnificently said Jonathan. Good on you.

Pavo Absolutus

To claim it is the Treasury driving the traitors running the MoD is disingenuous, even though their DNA is all over it.

To have such a consistently diabolical "Department" actually 'In Charge' of the lives and welfare of our Servicemen and women is mind-blowingly cruelly insane.

The MoD has perpetuated its hidden agenda for destroying our Armed Forces, their morale and reputations, for decades - it is almost a 'Family Business' so identical are the destructive policies from one generation of bureaucrat to the next !

Just for how much longer is the British public going to tolerate this iniquity ?

Britain had a reputation of "Fair Play" once upon a time, but successive governments have visibly failed to rid this stubbornly nasty "Department" of its prime movers, to the point that the present 'Pennywise PoundFoolish' socialists actually appear to APPROVE the treachery !

Your average Village Council could do a far far better and cost-effectively supportive job to take care of all aspects of our Armed services than the MoD 'Civil Servants'.

Is it yet time to resurrect our age-old tradition of the Hanging, Drawing and Quartering of TRAITORS ?

Or, will we allow them to just quietly pocket their gilt-edged pensions whilst training their next generation of State Scavengers ?

"Silent leges inter arma !"

( the laws are silent amid arms )

When the law is reduced to silence, the RIGHT to self-defence in any way possible, remains established in our Common Law. ( even if the BBC doesn't care to admit or broadcast it ! )

ToM

How about the claims for medical treatment and financial compensation of all the innocent Afghan civilians maimed and disfigured by UK hostile action in a country that has never in history itself attacked the UK, but only been attacked by it?

Ray

ToM - The previous Taleban regime in Afghanistan gave sanctuary to Al Qaeda terrorists who slaughtered sixty-seven of our citizens in the 9/11 assault of the World Trade Center - to say nothing of the thousands of US citizens who also lost their lives on that terrible day.

The Afghan government of the time was therefore complicit in an attack upon the United Kingdom and its principal ally - which is why it was assaulted by their armed forces.

It is indeed unfortunate that innocent Afghan men, women and children have lost their lives since. But that is often what happens when you offer your country up as a base for wicked men to plot attacks on the innocent men, women and children of other nations.

Jak

These men go into war as a career - they get paid to do so.

It's pointeless moaning about lack of compensation afterwards - you know what is on offer, if you don't like it don't go to war.

We should feel little if any sympathy in my opinion.

Karn

Ray

The Taleban did ask for proof al-Qaida did the 9/11 attacks. None was forthcoming so how do you expect them to hand over civilians???

Then to be attacked by beligerant states is inexcusable...

Chip Herman

Gotta wonder why the Obama:Brown Axis of Terror is willing to spend what defense observers suggest will be $1 TRILLION in Afghanistan, to defend the theft by US:UK corporations of what estimators feel will be $500 to $700 BILLION in Afghan natural resources, their world-class copper deposits, world-class bauxite deposits, world-class iron & coke deposits, gold & precious gems mines, diamonds & uranium mines, and their BILLIONS of barrels of crude oil and TRILLIONS of cubic feet of natural gas, right now be privately short-listed and negotiated off in private by US firm Gustavson Associates, for an estimated $1B in royalties, which will just match the $1B burn-rate of the Karzai Mafia and ANA:ANP militia to keep the jackboot on the Afghan people, who will be left with a smoking moonscape narcostate.

Why invest $1 TRILLION to steal only$500 BILLION? Well, because IT'S NOT THEIR MONEY, IT'S OURS!

And if you think the Afghan people don't know this, aren't fully aware of the theft, then brother, go back to oogling The Sun.

http://cursor.org/stories/afghaniscam.html

Jez

Jak, August 21st, 2009 8:42pm;

Hiya pal.

It's no good getting all worked up, tippy tappying your responses on a silly website.

You feel very strongly- why not relay your views loudly at the next home coming march in - er, say Leeds, Luton or Sheffield to mention a few.....

that would be very brilliant i think Jak.

Chip Herman

"...But that is often what happens when you offer your country up as a base for wicked men to plot attacks on the innocent men, women and children of other nations...."

Ray, I thought you were talking about Cheney and Blair!!!

You are such a TOOL!!!

http://cursor.org/stories/afghaniscam.html

Mike

After reading this excellent article one has no doubt where Gordon Browns priorities lie as they certainly don't lie with those being killed or injured for their country. How can anyone demand their military follow a fools errand in trying to change a country like Afghanistan without giving TOTAL support to the armed forces in equipment for the front line, proper hospitalization on injury as well as respectable housing their families. Apart from all the other failures Labour has bestowed on the country, they will be remembered for a very long time for the two despicable cowards that created this mess. Firstly, Blair involved Britain in two conflicts purely for his own selfish purposes to try and become a world statesman trading lives for his own ego on the world stage. Quite apart from Iraq & Afghanistan, you only have to look at Blairs complicity with Libya's Colonel Gaddafi over the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi to see just that Blairs morals are in the gutter. Secondly and equally as bad is Browns lack of financial support of the military and his cowardly approach by avoiding to pay homage to those killed under his bidding. His cowardly acts don't stop here as once again he's up to his neck with the Lybian business as much as his former boss. Both men plus many of their entourage lack any morals what so ever, they have no backbone or courage to do the right thing and quite frankly, they deserve to be spat upon & despised by the electorate for their actions & inactions. May they both rot in hell and the sooner the better.

Rosalind Pearce

From a caring point of view, I feel that Military hospitals are a necessity for proper healing of those military injured.

To be surrounded by those who can empathise, and unaffected by possible prejudice as could arise in a civilian hospital, can only be for the good of those individuals. They, along with their families, deserve all that can be offered in support and consideration for their well being during hospitalization, and any necessary after-care. And they should have at their disposal, in my opinion, clear and very available assistance to cope getting back into civvy-street. A very competitive world and which can be extremely daunting for any individual, and especially now during the recession.

We should be ashamed of ourselves that any military person who has served in their capacity to help defend ‘world freedom’, should end up on the streets. Whether their reason to join the armed forces was to have an extended family, or for the reason of combat, or whether the theatre of war/combat (and which is also so often extended to humanitarian duty for our troops) may have arisen from a political or humanitarian agenda, we should support our troops whole-heartedly.

These people deserve our support for all their sacrifices. We need to be more outward thinking, and responsible, and less ready to ‘pass the buck’, which seems the way of society too frequently these days. Are we going to let this apparently rather self-indulgent and apathetic attitude extend into the next generations lives?

Ed

Jak
August 21st, 2009 8:42pm

An interesting comment.

The physical scars of war will, eventually heal. What of the mental scars?

Dixon

The media keep repeating the assertion that the dreadful casualty rate being absorbed in Afghanistan is in the pursuit of "classic counter-insurgency warfare".

This is twaddle. Classic counter-insurgency was defined by Lord Kitchener in South Africa. It addresses the basic fact that the enemy combatatant is fed, clothed, accomodated and sustained by the non-combatant community. To defeat the enemy combatant requires severing this link. Hence Kitchener put the entire non-combatant Boer population of the affected areas in concentration camps. It worked, forcing their beligerent brethren to the conference table.

It worked again countless times particularly in Aden, Kenya and Malaya. More particularly, what worked was utter ruthlessness and disregard for any constraint on the activities of Imperial forces.

This is the problem that makes Afghanistan different. Every action is under the microscope of the media. The most formidable enemy faced by our forces are the armies of lawyers bearing down upon their every move, armed with the one-sided constraint of "international law".

This is why we are sustaining such heavy and utterly pointless casualties. Because the Western media and the chattering classes have effectively neutered our forces. Apply a genuine Imperial counter-insurgency doctrine and the Western Media will immediately be whining about the ill-treatment of Afghans. For this is it, the Western Media doesnt give a fig for Western interests or...truth be known...the suffering of our forces. They only care about Afghans.

Which leads to the realisation that we are on the ground in Afghanistan not in spite of the whingeing self-hating moralists of the Western media and chattering classes but BECAUSE of them. For if it were not for their perpetual censure of our any self-interested act we would be able to utterly suppress any Taleban or Al Qaida activity in that sink-hole entirely by the extensive, ruthless and devastating application of air-power.

I don't mean the bomb or two here and there ground-support kind of air-power. I mean the bomb it out of existence, kill everything and anything that moves outside of permitted regions of habitation kind of air-power. What the heck, bomb everything alive on sight, that could even remotely be an enemy of our interests.

If we really are in Afghanistan to prevent Al Qaida recreating their bases, then that is how to do it. Our only foot-print need be hgeavily fortified operational bases from which air-patrols and attacks are launched. If we slaughter tens of thousands of "civilians" in the process: tough. The message to the Afghans will be, put your house in order or your people die, dozens every day.

Obviously, no "democratic" government in the West, beholden as they are to the media and vocal minorities, will be able to initiate such a campaign. But just go over the points again and ask yourself, why are we sending infantry out unprotected on foot-patrols at the mercy of hidden IEDs. Its because the Western media dictates a way of "war" fighting that effectively places the interests of our enemies friends ( the local community that supports them ) above those of our own people.

Rosalind Pearce

I just realized that I had read the bit '(We won't publish this)', which is below the email address data. So please do not worry about an explanation.
Thankyou for the opportunity to comment on such an important issue, and one of my big concerns as an artist, Vulnerability being my main issue, aswell as childhood memories (legacy for my family mainly) - you will find my data in Free Range (free-range.org.uk) under Ros Pearce (as a graduate of '07 in Fine Art (main discipline drawing), I have very kindly been allowed use of the site, being of low funds. I also have images in the Saatchi site of Stuart, under Rosalind A. I need to update a good deal!
One of my intended projects concerns those in knife and gun crime, hoping that it might bring together and help those young individuals who so often appear to come from the same space in life, and who sadly seem to live on a spiral. I would hope that such a project would help to direct them out of it.
It is very likely to be a collaboration with a recent graduate ('09), who requested that it be, and who shares such concerns, and told me he approached No 10 on the issue. It is a very worrying over-occurance re the young, and is not only in this country's back yard
Good Wishes, Ros P.

Rosalind Pearce

'The physical scars of war will, eventually heal. What of the mental scars?'

I couldn't agree more, Ed. Hopefully all the care would go into consideration of that .... the internal scars of the mind cannot be seen, and it would appear they have been neglected too often in the past (in civvy street, also).

Let us hope that those who have involvement in the care of these individuals are very aware of this, and do their utmost to give them the best care and understanding.

Military Hospitals would, I would think, have more immediate knowledge on these hidden wounds re combat, and so again seem to be the only answer re hospital care for the military war injured.

robert

Excellent article that puts to shame not only the politicians who have avoided addressing this issue but also the rest of the media who purvey pap about repulsive "celebrities" 99% of the time - and us moronic readers who devour it. Thanks for reminding us that there ARE people deserving of press coverage

Mitchel44

Thank you Mr Foreman.

As a Canadian, and ex-service myself, it has been frustrating to watch the changes made regarding benefits for injured and disabled under the "New" Veteran's Charter. It appears to be a reasonable parallel to actions in the UK.

From long term responsibility for all aspects of their quality of life resting on the government that sent them off to war, it has now become a short-term payout and re-integrate strategy, that places an enormous amount of strain and stress on the injured member and family, for the rest of their lives.

I know that they don't literally cut the apron strings and throw them out the door, but that makes a large and bitter pill for the family to swallow.

I think they deserve better.

Jez

Don't tell me...

had problems with server?

The thing is;

what's more serious;

telling it how it is?

or

upsetting the failing machine?

Joke.

Augustus

It is a shameful but nevertheless true statement to make that Britain treats its returning servicemen, who sacrifice so much, shabbily. The Government's attitude to compensation cannot be representative of the views of the people generally, not to mention their families who suffer with them. This issue is truly a national one and should be given special attention.

Rosemary Delnavine

"We should feel little if any sympathy in my opinion."

********
Wow. The inhumanity in that statement leaves one quite breathless. Presumably that's why the rest of you with any sense haven't yet reminded Jak of the fundamental, vital PRINCIPLE that is being abandoned here along with grievously wounded soldiers. I wonder: if conscription were in place, would Jak hold the same views on the treatment of the wounded, which might well include him? And did his upbringing never include an introduction to Mrs Do-As-You-Would-Be Done-By?

Colin D. Hills

>>
Dixon
August 22nd, 2009 3:09pm

The media keep repeating the assertion that the dreadful casualty rate being absorbed in Afghanistan is in the pursuit of "classic counter-insurgency warfare".<<

The actions formulated by "Dixon's comment" is right solution for a positive outcome to the Afghan War but first neutralise the Human Rights watchers and switch-off media access first.

John Hardman

Having direct experience of the treatment of claims made by service personnel against the MOD, I can say that there is a deep rooted culture against the claimant. It is just as hostile and results driven as that of an insurance company defending a claim brought by a member of the public.

If the political will is there, then clams will be admitted, witness claims brought by Iraqi associate of the late Mr Musa. There is no will to support our servicemen. Simple and disgraceful, or simply disgraceful.

Robert Tyldesley

Everything I read about the MOD and the political extablishment handling UK foreign and milatary affairs mirrors the loathing I have developed for the post communist bureacracy in the post USSR society where I now live and work. Like the people I know here, the British servicemen and women deserve better.

Harvey

I wonder if this will get published --because I wonder about the ''according to ICH -- the unheard of over 1,331,000 Iraqi dead .

Also the war crimes carried out by war criminals who are referred to as our heroes.

The Depleted Uranium , the Cluster Bombs in an illegal invasion and occupation all based on lies.

Harvey

How do English killers including that English Prince love to play with a computer games to target silent death to
poor Afghans living in mud huts who never attacked England.

The answer is that the US is involved in a Crusaders War against Islam and the UK also.

Afghanistan ,Iraq ,Pakistan, Palestine , Lebanon and Iran etc etc.

This war goes on and on and yet for the Prince it was an exciting computer game ???