British Military Current Events

[daftandbarmy]

The UK presence in Afghanistan will need to remain for decades to help rebuild the country, British ambassador
Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles has said. "The task of standing up a government of Afghanistan that is sustainable is going
to take a very long time," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He added that the Afghan people wanted the UK
presence to help resist the Taleban and develop the country. "The message we are getting, the message I had only l
ast week down in Helmand from the people of the villages there, was, 'Please protect us from the Taleban,'" said Sir Sherard.

 
"Their worry isn't about us staying, it's about us going; about us not finishing the job of standing up the police, standing
up the security forces, standing up the judicial system, putting schools and hospitals in place." He added: "They remember
the Taleban - they have had a test-drive of Taleban rule and if there is one thing they are clear about it's that they do not
want to return to the dark days of medieval Taleban rule."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6220856.stm

 

[daftandbarmy]

British army veterans attacked during trip to pay homage to 1857 Indian mutiny

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=483873&in_page_id=1811

 

[daftandbarmy]

Hostages rescued by SBS

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007440518,00.html

 

[GAP]

Excellent article on the recovery by the SBS!! 

It would seem the Italians have some pretty good SF troops also....

 

[geo]

Great work by the SBS (again - congratulations on a job well done.

WRT the veterans being give a hard time in India - I guess you could say that, you had to expect it.
Bit like having a bunch of Germans wanting to comemorate their visit to Moscow in the 40's & leave a plaque to remember them by...

 

[daftandbarmy]

Iran really will be next
If Bush doesn’t force Iran to back down, then his successors will
James Forsyth

http://www.spectator.co.uk/archive/142491/if-bush-doesnt-force-iran-to-back-down-then-his-successors-will.thtml

To many, 20 January 2009, George W. Bush’s last day in office, can’t come soon enough. The President’s pugnacious speech to the American Legion summed up why: not content with vigorously defending two wars, he seemed to start banging the drum for another with his statement that Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons threatened to put the Middle East ‘under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust’ and pledge that America ‘will confront this danger before it is too late’.

It is tempting to dismiss Bush’s remarks as mere sabre-rattling from an increasingly irrelevant and isolated President. After all, Bush has his hands full persuading Congress to continue funding the Iraq war; especially with the divisions between the British and American strategies made brutally apparent by British forces pulling back to Basra airport at the same time that Bush was flying into Iraq to rally support for the American troop surge. But those who think that the next president will jettison Bush’s policy on Iran are in for a shock.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Returning soldiers to get a free turnip!

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/war/returning-soldiers-to-get-a-free-turnip-20070925425/

 

[geo]

Nice turnip you've turned up DnB

(BTW, digging up gems like this, you obviously have waaaaay too much time on your hands )

Thanks!

 

[daftandbarmy]

Luckily, I am at the centre of a web of time wasters who like to share!

 

[geo]

LOL!

 

[daftandbarmy]

Re-thinking Afghan reconstruction 
By Chris Morris
BBC News, Kabul 


While some of the tens of thousands of foreign troops based in Afghanistan are fighting against the Taleban, others are involved in rebuilding and developing the country's infrastructure. But a debate is starting to emerge about whether the current strategy of reconstruction is becoming a hindrance.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7016825.stm

 

[geo]

Heh... the Canadian zone is a nice "canadian red"..... bummer... Oh that it could be green.

Regarldess of what everyone says, reconstruction MUST happen.
Hope must be provided - regardless of how robust our troops must be.

Afghans must be provided with hope & oportunities. Without em, we'll be at it in a 100 years.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Friday 28th Sep: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=484619&in_page_id=1770



Monday 1st Oct: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=484889&in_page_id=1770

 

[geo]

Now, isn't that a complete black eye to the soldiers who are expected to fight the fight while the bureaucrats sharpen their pencils.

FOR SHAME!!

 

[daftandbarmy]

From a Brit...

Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a
        Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a
        Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows
        on a Japanese TV.
     
        And the most British thing of all?
     
        Suspicion of anything foreign.
     
        3 Brits die each year testing if a 9v battery works on their tongue.
     
        142 Brits were injured in 1999 by not removing all pins from new shirts.
     
        58 Brits are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of
        screwdrivers.
     
        31 Brits have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree while the
        fairy lights were plugged in.
     
        19 Brits have died in the last 3 years believing that Christmas
        decorations were chocolate.
     
        British Hospitals reported 4 broken arms last year after cracker
        pulling accidents.
     
        101 people since 1999 have had broken parts of plastic toys pulled out
        of the soles of their feet.
     
        18 Brits had serious burns in 2000 trying on a new jumper with a lit
        cigarette in their mouth.
     
        A massive 543 Brits were admitted to A&E in the last two
        years after opening bottles of beer with their teeth.
     
        5 Brits were injured last year in accidents involving out of Control
        Scalextric cars.
     
        and finally.........
     
        In 2000 eight Brits cracked their skull whilst throwing up into the
        toilet.

 

[geo]

4 broken arms in "cracker pulling" accidents - WOW, they musta been some powerful crackers provided by the Guns

8 cracked skulls? - yeah - will believe that.

543 Brits with dental problems after attempting to open bottles with their teeth?
yeah - these are the same guys that would try to pull a grenade pin out with their teeth.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Does Britain need an arms industry?

http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/business/104601/does-britain-still-need-an-arms-industry.thtml

 

[geo]

well, this is a question that we've been asking ourselves over the last few years.
Pert much out of the arms manufacturing business at this point.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Now this is just plain odd....

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=paHarry_Thu_18_dead_harry&show_article=1

 

[Kirkhill]

...The trouble is, a lot of our stuff is not actually that good. Professional soldiers will tell you in private that the best kit is made by the Israelis, the South Africans and the Russians. Our boys in Basra and Helmand might be better off with foreign-made stuff that actually works....

From the Spectator article on British armaments -

Please see latest thread on the efforts of CTS to deliver a rucksack...."Professional soldiers" will tell you many things.

A peculiarity of the current weapons deployed seems to be that all weapons producing nations have good pieces of kit and bits of crap - much like cars I have owned.  The good news is that we can buy good stuff if the bad stuff doesn't work  - assuming reasonably intelligent bureaucrats.