Afghanistan - continual drip of soldiers being killed

[rov1200]

Is the policy in Afghanistan really working? Every day or two a soldier is killed by the Taliban.

Could we take a lesson from the Israeli military? That is where a known suspect is living to blast a guided weapon at that address.

If the general Afghan population is on side with us then they could supply the details. If not what are we doing there.

A precedent already exists where the US drones regularly bomb the hideouts on the Pakistan border. Most people would agreee with this.

But the main reason is to stop the killing of British soldiers unnecessarily and we should think of our own first.

[sp1214]

Some people say the reason why we can't is down to the cost. Humans are easily expendable and cost less.

[rov1200]

That may be a factor but I believe the real reason is the fear of upsetting the minority in the population who may look to the Karzai corrupted government for leadership and promises.

The others are either Taliban sympathisers or the Taliban themselves.

And we still wonder why the Russians could not oust the Taliban losing countless soldiers and equipment during their 10 years in Afghanistan.

Are we fighting a losing battle?

[Oneeyedvic]

Every day or two a soldier is killed by the Taliban.

Well actually there have been 138 deaths since October 2001 (approximately 1900 days) so it is actually more like one soldier a fortnight.

Not really comparable to the Soviets:

After the war ended, the Soviet Union published figures of dead Soviet soldiers: the total was 13,836 men, on average, and 1,537 men a year. According to updated figures, the Soviet army lost 14,427, the KGB lost 576, with 28 people dead and missing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afg hanistan#Soviet_personnel_strengths_and_casual ties

Also bear in mind that the Mujahideen previously had massive help from the Americans.

[rov1200]

Alright the UK deaths do not match Russia but is it because we do not have so many soldiers there in the first place, some say thank goodness. It has also not gone unnoticed that our figures are going up exponentially so what may the future hold.

The question still holds, what do we do about it? Unless that is you think we are overcoming the problem with the present tactics and the sacrifice of even just one soldier can be ignored.

[rov1200]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5121552.stm

I've looked it up and there have been 10 deaths in the last month alone. Shows how your statistic of 1 death/fortnight can be easily be mis-represented.

[Lonnie]

I've said in other posts, the reason we can't win in Afghanistan, is because, to win a war against Terrorists, you have to have the support and backing of the local population, and that, i'm afraid, is something we will never have, so the sooner we pull out, the better, plus no more British lives will be lost.

[rov1200]

I agree 100% with your comments Lonnie. Most of the local population will be signed up to the Taliban and those that are not will probably be shot by their own side. It doesn't take much working out. The local ringleaders will hardly let other individuals go their own way.