But he did for the both of them with his plan of attack

The tension between defence ministers and senior officers has been a running story throughout the summer, perhaps at the expense of the opinions of troops on the ground. The Times’ war correspondent, Anthony Loyd, wrote a piece today describing soldiers’ views in the wake of the Prime Minister’s visit:

‘One can only hope that if Mr Brown had braved the journey northwards from Bastion to Sangin (he didn’t), where British infantrymen are getting killed or wounded at a rate directly comparable to that of their predecessors in Western Europe in 1944, his media men would have first whitewashed the graffiti in the latrine third from the left on the northern wall.

‘“I dropped a Gordon” a rifleman has scrawled beside the seat. It summarises accurately the feelings of the average British soldier in Helmand towards the Prime Minister.

‘More articulate, though lacking the same punch, was the officer in Helmand who said: “His (Brown’s) dislike of us is palpable. Why on earth are we, an organisation in which values like loyalty, integrity and trust still exist, destined to be directed by such a miserable, lying shower? We don’t deserve them.”’

Loyd’s comparison between Helmand’s casualty rate and that of the Normandy campaign is shocking: further procrastination over redressing equipment shortages is simply unacceptable. The upshot of Loyd’s observations is not that morale is collapsing. Friends of mine returning from Afghanistan talk of the “unshakable camaraderie” between soldiers. But, the contempt that serving soldiers of every rank feel for their political masters is not far off the vehemence expressed during the First World War, and chimes with the suggestion that the absence of political direction is costing lives. If there is to be Conservative government, which chooses to remain committed in Afghanistan, I hope it appoints a minister for Afghanistan. Someone who understands the country, the nature of the struggle and how to resolve it; someone who has served in the armed forces; and, above all, someone who has the force of personality to fight the armed forces’ quarter in the Treasury.