Letter to Spectator by an ex RM in Afghanistan

[timex]

Posted in general discussions but thought it was worth posting here..

Come a long way in Afghan haven't we?

I am on leave from Afghanistan. I am a former Royal Marine during which time I was sent on three "tours" of Afghanistan. The leave which I am now taking is from contracting in Afghanistan. I am doing it for money, no more. I was tired of taking the risks for no money but I digress. I can tell you first hand that the "progress" made in Afghanistan does not exist. ISAF are releasing statements which indicate that the Afghan Forces are coming on leaps and bounds. However, I grip my rifle with an expectation to have to use it when I am around any Afghan Forces. They are loyal to no one. Without citing here I urge you to read about the recent attacks conducted by those "dressed in Afghan Police uniform".

During a tour I was able to sit in on meetings with the elders of certain villages. What we heard was repeated time and time again - we do not want the Police in our villages. As the coalition forces, we cleared large areas and then unable to hold the ground we put in Afghan Police. The Police which were put in place and supported by ISAF would rape, pillage and rob the locals.

Are these the people we are training? Why are we training, yet again, people who will become or possibly already are the enemy?

Karzai is restricting ISAF more and more. This restriction is gaining the unpopular politician very little support but it also results in more risk and therefore more deaths on the side of ISAF.This war was on the basis of two goals - remove Al Qaeda from power and find Osama bin Laden. These goals, while not entirely transparent, are complete. Why are our troops continuing to die?

A report was released a few days ago whereby an attack on a forward operating base was quashed and the dead insurgents were searched. The documentation indicated that the attackers were Pakistani and French.

There is no doubt that Afghanistan is a far more violent place than before the invasion. We are no longer fighting Afghan Taliban and this is continually reported. It is the Pakistani Taliban, Iranians and Europeans who are drawn to the Jihad.

Talks with the Quetta Shura will do nothing. The Pakistani Taliban and the splinters further North in Pakistan and on the boarders of Afghanistan have stated that they take no orders or instructions from Quetta. A tribesman in Eastern Afghanistan recently asked my team what part of Russia we were from. He was shocked to find out that there we no Russian forces in Afghanistan. It is clear that information of the invading force has not changed much.

A democracy in Afghanistan is not the answer. The sweeping label of democracy suits many countries and is the best system we have to ensure a fair government. Afghanistan is not one of these countries yet.

We are arming the Afghan Security Forces who will become the enemy. We are fuelling a desire to join the Jihad. We are failing to educate the next generation of Afghans. We build schools but fail to employ an education system. The politicians are killing our troops to ensure the Afghan Forces are better prepared for the pull out. The politicians are making a clear statement - Your children, your husbands, wives and parents are being sacrificed to ensure the Afghan people have a short lived "democracy".

Was your sons death a price worth paying? Were my friends lives a price worth paying? For me, no.