Monday 14 February 2011
- Article history
Victor Gollancz, whose letter opposing the Korean war sparked War on Want into existence, was married to my mother's cousin and I am proud to be a long-term member of the organisation. I support its plea for the withdrawal of British forces from Afghanistan (Letters, 12 February) and a negotiated settlement. But its letter understates the catastrophic cost of the Afghan war. The Afghan people are certainly paying a terrible price, with 7,000 killed since 2006 and countless injured. However, the cost to Britain in human and financial terms must be stressed. There have been 354 military deaths since 2001 and 4,604 combat field hospital admissions since 2003, and the toll is almost daily.
As to the financial cost, Gordon Brown told the Iraq inquiry last March that our participation in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had cost the UK taxpayer over £18bn and this excludes civil aid. The US Centre for Defence Information has estimated the US cost to the end of 2011 at $1.29trn. By 2008 direct US military operations had cost more than double those of the Korean war and exceeded those of the Vietnam war. When here in Britain we are counting the cost of savage welfare cuts, let us stand not upon the order of our going, but go at once.
Benedict Birnberg
London
• I suspect that your correspondents' marker for victory is complete surrender of all fundamentalist, anti-democratic forces in Afghanistan, along with the subjugation of the Afghan people. I agree that neither of these is likely to be achieved. You may be surprised to know that what British forces are doing in Helmand correlates well with your aims of "self-determination, security and human rights for the Afghan people". Our forces are presently involved in training, mentoring and practical support for the Afghan army and police, and are increasingly adopting a backseat "turn up and watch" role as the Afghan forces improve. There are now fully trained Afghan bomb disposal specialists.
British forces are directly involved in neutralising insurgent strongholds, bringing security and governance to local people. They routinely construct protected "school" areas – makeshift, but very much appreciated by children with no previous access to education. Your aims differ from those of the British forces only in that you advocate the "immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan". I have a son serving in Afghanistan and am very proud of what he and his colleagues are doing. They are willing to lay down their lives for democracy in Afghanistan – with the dividend of a reduction in the viability of the country for terrorist training. It would be immoral to walk away now.
Roger McInnes
Oldham, Lancashire
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