Thousands of mourners bowed their heads in tribute on Friday to the passing coffins of British soldiers killed in a new offensive in Afghanistan, where the climbing toll has created doubts in the UK about the human cost of the war.
News of 15 battlefield deaths in 10 days has many Britons rethinking the country’s commitment to a conflict that seems no closer to a successful conclusion than when troops first arrived seven years ago.
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said a total of eight deaths were announced on Friday, making it one of the darkest days of the war. She spoke on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.
“The casualties should fix people’s minds on the fact that we’ve let the soldiers down,” said Adam Holloway, an opposition Conservative Party lawmaker who sits on parliament’s defense committee. “The death toll means we should do it properly or we shouldn’t do it at all.”
Holloway, a frequent visitor to Afghanistan, said the UK has never had the troop strength needed to hold ground there and has failed to provide the promised security or reconstruction, leading many Afghans to believe the Taliban militants will outlast Western forces.
“We’re in a mess,” he said.
He cautioned that there was still no widespread public revolt against the government’s war policy. He said his constituents did not seem extremely worried about the troubled Afghan campaign, despite the increasing casualties.
But some communities are grieving. Schoolchildren, businessmen and army veterans stood side by side in Wootton Bassett, a small market town about 135km west of London, as the bodies of five soldiers killed between July 4 and July 7 were driven through the crowds after being flown to a nearby air base.
Wootton Bassett Mayor Steve Bucknell said it was becoming increasingly hard to accept the rising number of British casualties.
“We keep on asking ourselves how many more? Each time we pray it’s the last one, knowing it probably isn’t going to be,” Bucknell said.
It has become a tradition for residents to line the streets when hearses carrying soldiers’ coffins pass through the town on the sad trip from a military airport to a cemetery.
The casualty count mounted on Friday night when officials said five soldiers were killed in two separate explosions while on patrol.
Earlier in the evening, the Ministry of Defence announced that a soldier from the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment had been killed in an explosion. Two other deaths were announced earlier in the day.
The deaths have come in volatile southern Helmand Province in the past nine days amid a new offensive to uproot Taliban fighters.
Seven years after British forces first deployed to Afghanistan — and after the loss of 185 troops — ex-military chiefs are criticizing tactics and equipment, while members of the public wonder about the benefit of taking part in the conflict.
British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown say that the UK’s role in Afghanistan is crucial to root out extremist terrorists who could potentially attack the UK and to prevent a tide of Afghan heroin from reaching British streets.
Brown said on Friday that the war was vital to the UK’s security.
“There is a chain of terror that runs from the mountains and towns of Afghanistan to the streets of Britain,” he told reporters at the G8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy.
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
SELF-DETERMINATION: German lawmakers add earth to an art installation in front of the Reichstag to show that the face of a nation lies with its people, Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan’s future should be decided by Taiwanese, German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Till Steffen said yesterday, while giving former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) a tour of the German parliament building. Tsai arrived in Berlin on Sunday and the following day delivered a keynote speech at the Berlin Freedom Conference titled “Threats facing democracies: Taiwan’s experience defending freedom.” Tsai yesterday attended a tea gathering at the Bundestag, joined by former friendship group chairman of 15 years Klaus-Peter Willsch, German defense affairs specialist Roderich Kiesewetter and Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Parliamentary State Secretary Michael Brand. Noting that the
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
RSS