Elaine Graham-Leigh, Tuesday, 28th July 2009, Counterfire
It would be difficult to find a politician who would openly disagree with the idea of green jobs, but the workers’ occupation of the Vestas wind turbine factory in the Isle of Wight is a demonstration of the gap between theoretical support and practice.
The workers are in occupation to defend 600 of the greenest jobs, making wind turbine parts, against the Vestas management, who want to close the plant.
Some of the mainstream press coverage of the demonstrations and meetings in solidarity with the Vestas workers gives the impression that the trade unionists and climate campaigners brought together in this fight have never encountered each other before. This of course isn’t entirely true, as anyone who went to the two Campaign against Climate Change trade union conferences, or the meetings at various climate camps involving the NUM, RMT etc would know. However, the dispute clearly marks a significant step forward for the climate movement, as a fight for real, existing green jobs brings the issue to the forefront in the run up to the global demonstrations during the climate talks in Copenhagen in December.
The Vestas workers are not only fighting to save their jobs but also to have a say in what happens to their industry. The bosses might assume that workers are only interested in their pay packets, but that clearly isn’t so. Just as the Visteon workers saw that their factory could move from van parts to greener production like electric cars or indeed, wind turbines, so the Vestas workers are exposing the parlous state of the renewables sector.
The coincidence of the Vestas occupation and the launch of the government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan should be hugely embarrassing for them. Ed Miliband, the Environment minister, has after all just proclaimed plans to get up to 30% of Britain’s electricity from renewables, particularly from wind power, by 2020 and predicted up to 1.2 new green jobs, 500,000 of them in renewable energy sector. The Renewable Energy Strategy is full of self-congratulatory talk of the ‘rapidly growing’ renewables sector, which in the light that the Vestas occupation has shone on the industry, seems hollow, to say the least.
Miliband has tried to defend himself by casting the Vestas closure as evidence of problems with which his Transition Plan was created to deal. The problem, apparently, is the planning system, with delays in approving wind farms, and the frequency of rejection for onshore installations, making the UK wind turbine market uneconomic. This echoes Vestas’ stance – their CEO commented that the UK is ‘one of the most difficult places in the world to get planning permission’. The Isle of Wight factory was actually making turbine blades for the US market, as the UK market was not profitable enough to enter.
Changes to the planning laws are supposed to make it easier to get projects like wind farms (and nuclear or coal-fired power stations) approved, and for some greens, this is a significant step forward. Mark Lynas, for example, recently argued that now that the government has provided what he views as a decent climate strategy, NIMBY objections to wind farms are all that are standing in the way of renewables. However, this argument misses the key lesson of the Vestas fight: that the market can’t provide the solutions to climate change.
The Low Carbon Transition Plan itself admits that the market has failed to provide renewable energy generation on the scale required. There is no inherent reason why we couldn’t get all our electricity from a mix of renewable sources. The government is aiming for a conservative 30% by 2020. The current figure is 5.5%, one of the lowest figures in Europe. The Transition Plan states proudly that this is a threefold increase, ignoring the fact that three times a tiny percentage is still a tiny percentage. The problem with the Transition Plan is that, having identified the problem with using the market to develop renewable energy generation, it then proceeds to rely completely on incentives for market mechanisms to develop renewable energy generation.
Even with a steamlined planning process, wind farms in this plan will still depend on the whim of private energy companies or landowners. They will still be more about generating profit than renewable energy. The Vestas workers are right to call for their factory to be nationalised, so that it can start producing turbines for UK wind energy generation. It is in fact the whole energy sector that needs to be nationalised, if we are to get a shift to renewable energy on the scale needed to bring down carbon emissions.
Defenders of the Transition Plan would no doubt point to the 2008 Climate Bill, in which the government, alone of all the governments in Europe, enshrined its emissions reductions targets in law. This is supposed to be a guarantee that, if energy companies’ need for profits are found to be standing in the way of renewables, the renewables will have to come first. Since so far, Ed Miliband’s action over Vestas has been limited to hand wringing and offering Vestas a handsome payment for R&D, this is less than convincing. After all, for an indication of this government’s respect for the law, we have only to remember Iraq.
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Nationalise Vestas to save jobs
Tom Walker, Isle of Wight, Thursday, 30th July, 2009, Socialist Worker
Labour's green hypocrisy exposed. Victory to the Vestas workers.
The government must nationalise the Vestas wind turbine company to save jobs and begin to stop climate change. Gordon Brown and energy secretary Ed Miliband have refused to save the jobs.
The 25 workers who have occupied the company’s factory in Newport, the Isle of Wight, were facing the threat of a court injunction when Socialist Worker went to press.
They have been in occupation for over eight days. The protesters are fighting to save 600 jobs which are at risk – despite the fact the company will pocket £6 million in taxpayers’ money for research and made £575 million in profits last year.
Ian Terry, who is in the occupation said, “The government must take this factory under its wing. They should get rid of the management and guarantee our jobs. It’s disgusting that the government can rush through nationalising busted banks, but won’t even think about nationalising renewable energy firms which are good for everyone.”
The occupation is an inspiration to workers facing attacks in of the recession.
Ian added, “I’m backing the demonstration at the Labour Party conference in September. It’s time to stand up and not let the government make decisions without listening to the people.”
Labour's green hypocrisy exposed. Victory to the Vestas workers.
The government must nationalise the Vestas wind turbine company to save jobs and begin to stop climate change. Gordon Brown and energy secretary Ed Miliband have refused to save the jobs.
The 25 workers who have occupied the company’s factory in Newport, the Isle of Wight, were facing the threat of a court injunction when Socialist Worker went to press.
They have been in occupation for over eight days. The protesters are fighting to save 600 jobs which are at risk – despite the fact the company will pocket £6 million in taxpayers’ money for research and made £575 million in profits last year.
Ian Terry, who is in the occupation said, “The government must take this factory under its wing. They should get rid of the management and guarantee our jobs. It’s disgusting that the government can rush through nationalising busted banks, but won’t even think about nationalising renewable energy firms which are good for everyone.”
The occupation is an inspiration to workers facing attacks in of the recession.
Ian added, “I’m backing the demonstration at the Labour Party conference in September. It’s time to stand up and not let the government make decisions without listening to the people.”
Heartbreaking letter from Lance Corporal Joe Glenton to PM Brown
The Prime Minister
10, Downing Street
London
SW1A 2
30th July 2009
Dear Mr. Brown,
I am writing to you as a serving soldier in the British army to express my views and concerns on the current conflict in Afghanistan.
It is my primary concern that the courage and tenacity of my fellow soldiers has become a tool of American foreign policy. I believe this unethical shortchanging of such proud men and women has caused immeasurable suffering not only to families of British service personnel who have been killed and injured, but also to the noble people of Afghanistan.
I have seen qualities in the Afghan people, which have also been, for so long, apparent and admired in the British soldier. Qualities of robustness, humour, utter determination and unwillingness to take a step backwards. However it is these qualities, on both sides, which I fear will continue to cause a state of attrition. These will only lead to more heartbreak within both our societies.
I am not a General nor am I a politician and I cannot claim any mastery of strategy. However, I am a soldier who has served in Afghanistan, which has given me some small insight.
I believe that when British military personnel submit themselves to the service of the nation and put their bodies in harm’s way, the government that sends them into battle is obliged to ensure that the cause is just and right i.e. for the protection of life and liberty.
The war in Afghanistan is not reducing the terrorist risk. Far from improving Afghan lives it is bringing death and devastation to their country. Britain has no business there.
I do not believe that our cause in Afghanistan is just or right. I implore you, sir, to bring our soldiers home.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Glenton
L/Cpl
10, Downing Street
London
SW1A 2
30th July 2009
Dear Mr. Brown,
I am writing to you as a serving soldier in the British army to express my views and concerns on the current conflict in Afghanistan.
It is my primary concern that the courage and tenacity of my fellow soldiers has become a tool of American foreign policy. I believe this unethical shortchanging of such proud men and women has caused immeasurable suffering not only to families of British service personnel who have been killed and injured, but also to the noble people of Afghanistan.
I have seen qualities in the Afghan people, which have also been, for so long, apparent and admired in the British soldier. Qualities of robustness, humour, utter determination and unwillingness to take a step backwards. However it is these qualities, on both sides, which I fear will continue to cause a state of attrition. These will only lead to more heartbreak within both our societies.
I am not a General nor am I a politician and I cannot claim any mastery of strategy. However, I am a soldier who has served in Afghanistan, which has given me some small insight.
I believe that when British military personnel submit themselves to the service of the nation and put their bodies in harm’s way, the government that sends them into battle is obliged to ensure that the cause is just and right i.e. for the protection of life and liberty.
The war in Afghanistan is not reducing the terrorist risk. Far from improving Afghan lives it is bringing death and devastation to their country. Britain has no business there.
I do not believe that our cause in Afghanistan is just or right. I implore you, sir, to bring our soldiers home.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Glenton
L/Cpl
Friday, 24 July 2009
Malalai Joya calls for international solidarity against the horror in Afghanistan
Last night the Stop the War Coalition held one its most electrifying rallies in its eight year history. The inspirational anti-war Afghan MP Malalai Joya was joined on the platform by Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, a serving British soldier who was speaking in public for the first time against the horror caused by the war in Afghanistan.
Malalai Joya really is one of the bravest women in Afghanistan. She told the 300-strong audience at Conway Hall in central London that she’s survived five assassination attempts and is still not safe with personal security guards or by wearing a burkha to cover her identity. Yet she continues to campaign against foreign occupation and fundamentalist warlords, and for women’s rights and education. She believes all NATO troops must leave Afghanistan immediately.
In her first speech to the National Assembly in 2003, she told the new Afghan government that the warlords and criminals present should be prosecuted in the national and international courts. But she had barely started her speech when her microphone was cut off, angry men were raising their fists towards her and she had to be escorted out by a human chain of supporters and UN officials around her. In 2005 she told the assembled parliament that it was “worse than a zoo.” Two years ago she was expelled from parliament altogether.
She told the audience last night of the suffering of Afghans, and in particular women, at the hands of both occupation forces and the warlords who benefit from the occupation. If the war was ever about eradicating opium, 93% of global opium production now comes from Afghanistan, and £500m goes into the pockets of the Taliban every year because of the drug trade. Afghans have lost almost everything, she said, except that they have gained political knowledge. And they are against the occupation.
She holds little hope for the upcoming elections in August. She said the ballot box is controlled by a mafia of warlords and criminals, and that even if the democrats in Afghanistan could put forward a candidate, they would inevitably become puppets of the US and NATO, or they wouldn’t survive in office. NATO could not possibly provide a solution because the troops are despised for the carnage they have brought to the country. As Malalai repeated a number of times in the meeting, no nation can liberate another nation, and only the oppressed can rise up against their oppressors. The only solution, she said, was for the anti-war movement internationally to speak out and demonstrate against the war in their own countries, “because our enemies are afraid of international solidarity.” It will be a prolonged and risky struggle, she continued, but the Afghans must liberate themselves.
The other highlight of the meeting was the testimony of a serving British soldier. While Malalai fights against the war in Afghanistan, more and more British troops – who equally risk their lives fighting in Afghanistan – are realising the futility of this project. Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, who fought in Kandahar in 2006, told the audience that he came back ashamed and disillusioned. He said the army and the politicians never explained why they were there or what was going on, only that British troops were helping the Afghan people. When he found that the Afghans were fighting against them, this came as a real shock. He spoke of the discontentment in the ranks, which he described as dangerous, and the need for Britain to withdraw its troops.
Two years ago when Glenton heard he was being posted back to Afghanistan, he decided the only sensible thing to do was to leave the army, even illegally, as he did not believe that Britain was doing anything constructive in Afghanistan. He now faces up to two years in a civilian prison. Stop the War Coalition declared it would support Glenton and any other soldier who faced the courts on account of being against the war.
Andrew Murray, Chair of Stop the War, opened the meeting by reminding us that the Stop the War Coalition was founded in response to the threatened invasion of Afghanistan. Now that the British government has shifted its focus to Afghanistan – discussing the possibility of sending more troops, as the death toll rises past that in Iraq – so the anti-war movement will step up its campaign to mobilise public opinion to demand that all the troops are brought home as soon as possible.
Public opinion in Britain has indeed shifted against the war in Afghanistan. Whatever support the war had initially – for reducing opium production, for the reconstruction taking place, for keeping the Taliban in check, for defending women’s rights and bringing democracy – people are now cutting through the media spin. They know this is an unwinnable war, that there is no reconstruction taking place and that the longer we stay the more death and destruction we cause. As Malalai put it, the war being waged by the British government in Afghanistan not only causes untold suffering for the Afghans, but it takes away from our humanity too.
Stop the War Coalition is calling on all its local groups to organise protests on the streets to mark the 200th British soldier that is killed in Afghanistan. The current death toll stands at 188 and is rising at an average of about one per day. It will also call a major national demonstration in October to mark the anniversary of the invasion in 2001.
Malalai Joya really is one of the bravest women in Afghanistan. She told the 300-strong audience at Conway Hall in central London that she’s survived five assassination attempts and is still not safe with personal security guards or by wearing a burkha to cover her identity. Yet she continues to campaign against foreign occupation and fundamentalist warlords, and for women’s rights and education. She believes all NATO troops must leave Afghanistan immediately.
In her first speech to the National Assembly in 2003, she told the new Afghan government that the warlords and criminals present should be prosecuted in the national and international courts. But she had barely started her speech when her microphone was cut off, angry men were raising their fists towards her and she had to be escorted out by a human chain of supporters and UN officials around her. In 2005 she told the assembled parliament that it was “worse than a zoo.” Two years ago she was expelled from parliament altogether.
She told the audience last night of the suffering of Afghans, and in particular women, at the hands of both occupation forces and the warlords who benefit from the occupation. If the war was ever about eradicating opium, 93% of global opium production now comes from Afghanistan, and £500m goes into the pockets of the Taliban every year because of the drug trade. Afghans have lost almost everything, she said, except that they have gained political knowledge. And they are against the occupation.
She holds little hope for the upcoming elections in August. She said the ballot box is controlled by a mafia of warlords and criminals, and that even if the democrats in Afghanistan could put forward a candidate, they would inevitably become puppets of the US and NATO, or they wouldn’t survive in office. NATO could not possibly provide a solution because the troops are despised for the carnage they have brought to the country. As Malalai repeated a number of times in the meeting, no nation can liberate another nation, and only the oppressed can rise up against their oppressors. The only solution, she said, was for the anti-war movement internationally to speak out and demonstrate against the war in their own countries, “because our enemies are afraid of international solidarity.” It will be a prolonged and risky struggle, she continued, but the Afghans must liberate themselves.
The other highlight of the meeting was the testimony of a serving British soldier. While Malalai fights against the war in Afghanistan, more and more British troops – who equally risk their lives fighting in Afghanistan – are realising the futility of this project. Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, who fought in Kandahar in 2006, told the audience that he came back ashamed and disillusioned. He said the army and the politicians never explained why they were there or what was going on, only that British troops were helping the Afghan people. When he found that the Afghans were fighting against them, this came as a real shock. He spoke of the discontentment in the ranks, which he described as dangerous, and the need for Britain to withdraw its troops.
Two years ago when Glenton heard he was being posted back to Afghanistan, he decided the only sensible thing to do was to leave the army, even illegally, as he did not believe that Britain was doing anything constructive in Afghanistan. He now faces up to two years in a civilian prison. Stop the War Coalition declared it would support Glenton and any other soldier who faced the courts on account of being against the war.
Andrew Murray, Chair of Stop the War, opened the meeting by reminding us that the Stop the War Coalition was founded in response to the threatened invasion of Afghanistan. Now that the British government has shifted its focus to Afghanistan – discussing the possibility of sending more troops, as the death toll rises past that in Iraq – so the anti-war movement will step up its campaign to mobilise public opinion to demand that all the troops are brought home as soon as possible.
Public opinion in Britain has indeed shifted against the war in Afghanistan. Whatever support the war had initially – for reducing opium production, for the reconstruction taking place, for keeping the Taliban in check, for defending women’s rights and bringing democracy – people are now cutting through the media spin. They know this is an unwinnable war, that there is no reconstruction taking place and that the longer we stay the more death and destruction we cause. As Malalai put it, the war being waged by the British government in Afghanistan not only causes untold suffering for the Afghans, but it takes away from our humanity too.
Stop the War Coalition is calling on all its local groups to organise protests on the streets to mark the 200th British soldier that is killed in Afghanistan. The current death toll stands at 188 and is rising at an average of about one per day. It will also call a major national demonstration in October to mark the anniversary of the invasion in 2001.
British soldier interviewed: ‘I realised the Afghan war was wrong’
By Yuri Prasad, Tuesday, 14th July 2009, Socialist Worker
Lance Corporal Joe Glenton is 27 years old and has been in the army since 2004. For the last two years, after he was told that he would have to return to Afghanistan, Joe has been absent without leave and on the run. He spoke to Yuri Prasad about his experiences.
"In 2006 my regiment was posted to Afghanistan for seven months. And if I had to describe my feelings about the tour in one word, I would say “confused”.
We were never really told what was going on, and the whole campaign seemed to be suffering from “mission creep” – the goals just seemed to be changing all the time.
Around the time that we arrived in Afghanistan the fighting with the Taliban revived and it got pretty rough. I was based at Kandahar airport and although we weren’t on the front line, the base was attacked frequently.
My regiment was there to support Three Para with all their logistical needs. We were told that the British army was there to keep the peace. But we actually ran out of artillery shells because they were calling it forwards to the front lines in such large quantities.
There was so much shelling there were periods when we would work solidly for 20 or 30 hours at a time.
There was an undercurrent of fear as well. I was fighting alongside people that ranged from just 18 years old to guys in the their mid-40s. We were hit by mortars and rockets.
Luckily, I never had to see one of my colleagues injured but the constant shelling does have an effect on people. A lot of guys, especially the younger ones, really struggled to cope.
Politicians
Afghan people were attacking us, even though our politicians said we were going in to help them. It came as a real shock. We kept asking ourselves, why are they doing this? That’s when I became aware that there was something seriously wrong with the war.
Initially we were told that we were in Afghanistan to put an end to the opium crop. Then we were told that it was to rebuild infrastructure. Then it was about bringing democracy – but none of this really seems to have happened.
Maybe there was an initial plan, but it kind of snowballed. By the end of my tour it was attrition and war fighting.
That had a massive impact on the Afghan civilian population who were put in a lot of danger. There’s no way you can fight a war without ordinary people getting caught up in it.
When I got back from my tour of Afghanistan I was quite shaken by the whole experience. But there’s a definite feeling running through the army that they just expect you to get on with it no matter what’s happened to you.
While I was still struggling to come to terms with my experiences in Afghanistan and adjusting to returning home, I was promoted and posted to another regiment. And from that point on things started to go very wrong.
I was singled out by a senior officer who started bullying me – and there is very little support for someone in the army who finds themselves in that position. I tried to go through the army’s formal procedure but it didn’t resolve the problem.
I realised at this point that I could no longer trust my chain of command. I felt like a victim of the “old boys’ club”.
Around the same time I was told that my regiment wanted to deploy me to Afghanistan again – even though this is against the harmony guidelines which stipulate a minimum time between tours of duty.
I’d only been back in Britain for about six or seven months.
At that point I decided that to protect myself my only course of action was to go absent. I was having some kind of a breakdown and I got away as far as I could to Asia, where I knew I could live cheaply for a couple of months.
My initial plan was to stay there for a while then come back to Britain and prepare to be courts martialed and kicked out of the army – but I just couldn’t deal with it.
So I pushed on to Australia, stayed there for two years on a working visa and met my now wife. Together we decided that I should come back and deal with things.
Fast track
I’ve handed myself into the army, and I’m now on a fast track courts martial. As far as the army is concerned I’m guilty and it doesn’t matter what I’ve been through.
They’ve just upped the charge against me from absent without leave to desertion. In the worst case scenario I face two years in a civilian jail.
Meanwhile, the politicians who send us to Afghanistan don’t even seem prepared to spend the money that’s needed to keep us safe.
Looking at the way the war has developed, I don’t think Britain is doing any good there and I think our troops should come out.
All we’re doing now is stacking up casualties. The Afghan people will probably go with whoever is winning, and right now we’re not."
Lance Corporal Joe Glenton is 27 years old and has been in the army since 2004. For the last two years, after he was told that he would have to return to Afghanistan, Joe has been absent without leave and on the run. He spoke to Yuri Prasad about his experiences.
"In 2006 my regiment was posted to Afghanistan for seven months. And if I had to describe my feelings about the tour in one word, I would say “confused”.
We were never really told what was going on, and the whole campaign seemed to be suffering from “mission creep” – the goals just seemed to be changing all the time.
Around the time that we arrived in Afghanistan the fighting with the Taliban revived and it got pretty rough. I was based at Kandahar airport and although we weren’t on the front line, the base was attacked frequently.
My regiment was there to support Three Para with all their logistical needs. We were told that the British army was there to keep the peace. But we actually ran out of artillery shells because they were calling it forwards to the front lines in such large quantities.
There was so much shelling there were periods when we would work solidly for 20 or 30 hours at a time.
There was an undercurrent of fear as well. I was fighting alongside people that ranged from just 18 years old to guys in the their mid-40s. We were hit by mortars and rockets.
Luckily, I never had to see one of my colleagues injured but the constant shelling does have an effect on people. A lot of guys, especially the younger ones, really struggled to cope.
Politicians
Afghan people were attacking us, even though our politicians said we were going in to help them. It came as a real shock. We kept asking ourselves, why are they doing this? That’s when I became aware that there was something seriously wrong with the war.
Initially we were told that we were in Afghanistan to put an end to the opium crop. Then we were told that it was to rebuild infrastructure. Then it was about bringing democracy – but none of this really seems to have happened.
Maybe there was an initial plan, but it kind of snowballed. By the end of my tour it was attrition and war fighting.
That had a massive impact on the Afghan civilian population who were put in a lot of danger. There’s no way you can fight a war without ordinary people getting caught up in it.
When I got back from my tour of Afghanistan I was quite shaken by the whole experience. But there’s a definite feeling running through the army that they just expect you to get on with it no matter what’s happened to you.
While I was still struggling to come to terms with my experiences in Afghanistan and adjusting to returning home, I was promoted and posted to another regiment. And from that point on things started to go very wrong.
I was singled out by a senior officer who started bullying me – and there is very little support for someone in the army who finds themselves in that position. I tried to go through the army’s formal procedure but it didn’t resolve the problem.
I realised at this point that I could no longer trust my chain of command. I felt like a victim of the “old boys’ club”.
Around the same time I was told that my regiment wanted to deploy me to Afghanistan again – even though this is against the harmony guidelines which stipulate a minimum time between tours of duty.
I’d only been back in Britain for about six or seven months.
At that point I decided that to protect myself my only course of action was to go absent. I was having some kind of a breakdown and I got away as far as I could to Asia, where I knew I could live cheaply for a couple of months.
My initial plan was to stay there for a while then come back to Britain and prepare to be courts martialed and kicked out of the army – but I just couldn’t deal with it.
So I pushed on to Australia, stayed there for two years on a working visa and met my now wife. Together we decided that I should come back and deal with things.
Fast track
I’ve handed myself into the army, and I’m now on a fast track courts martial. As far as the army is concerned I’m guilty and it doesn’t matter what I’ve been through.
They’ve just upped the charge against me from absent without leave to desertion. In the worst case scenario I face two years in a civilian jail.
Meanwhile, the politicians who send us to Afghanistan don’t even seem prepared to spend the money that’s needed to keep us safe.
Looking at the way the war has developed, I don’t think Britain is doing any good there and I think our troops should come out.
All we’re doing now is stacking up casualties. The Afghan people will probably go with whoever is winning, and right now we’re not."
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Afghanistan deaths: Is it still worth it?
Bill Rammell and Lindsey German, Monday, 13th July, The Mirror
The loss of eight soldiers in just 24 hours last week was the British Army's darkest day in Afghanistan. As yet more families mourn their loved ones calls are intensifying to end the bloody conflict. Here, two leading figures argue for and against the war.
YES - Bill Rammell
The task we face in Afghanistan is immensely difficult.
It is a dangerous mission in a hot demanding environment.
In the Taliban we face a ruthless enemy. They are prepared to plant improvised explosive devices in civilian areas leave them there for days at a time.
They are prepared to attack indiscriminately and kill both civilians and our troops.
When we have seen the number of deaths we have had this week my heart goes out to the families of the troops who have been lost. Nothing can compensate for the loss of their loved ones. We owe them a debt of gratitude.
I also totally understand when people see these deaths and ask, "Is it worth it?".
But we need to be clear - our forces are serving our national interest.
In 2001, the Taliban were allowing terrorist training camps to operate out of Afghanistan.
Those terrorists targeted this country as well as other nations. We must never let that happen again.
Our mission today is still to take on the terrorist threat at its source. It is what our troops are doing.
And I have no doubt whatsoever that without the professionalism and heroism of those troops we would be at greater risk of terrorist attacks today.
We will achieve that mission by, alongside the military strategy, rebuilding Afghanistan.
We will build up the capacity of the Afghan army. And we will help ensure they have the right justice system, the right police.
We have to stop their economy being driven by the drug trade.
But the mission has been clear and true. It is to make the Afghans and ourselves safe from terrorist attack. I accept we have to explain that mission constantly to British people. People need to understand why it is so important to us.
I have been to Afghanistan three times. I have seen the real professionalism, real commitment and bloody bravery of our troops. It is phenomenal.
They know why they are there and they know why it is important.
But some of the debate in this country is always about what is going wrong.
It won't undermine troops' morale. They are dedicated professionals.
But, frankly, I think they could do without the constant sniping and criticism.
People also need to understand this is not just about Britain.
We are there as a joint effort. We are there as part of a 42-nation coalition. We have increased our troop levels from 5,500 to 9,000. And the Americans have increased their commitment by 20,000.
We have to see this through - that is absolutely essential for us as well as the Afghan people.
NO - Lindsey German
The Stop the War Coalition is saddened by the tragic deaths of young soldiers in Afghanistan.
These deaths were unnecessary as is the increasing toll of the people of Afghanistan killed by indiscriminate aerial bombardment.
It is time that the politicians of this country told the truth about this war.
It is not a "good" war to liberate the people of that country.
It is a war now being fought to prop up one of the most corrupt governments in the world. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is no democrat - he is supported by some of the most brutal warlords in that country.
The biggest deceit about the war and the one now repeated by Gordon Brown and, sadly, US President Barack Obama is that the war is necessary to prevent terror attacks in Britain. The opposite is the case.
Our continued occupation of Afghanistan is destabilising that country and also neighbouring Pakistan. It makes more likely continued terrorist activity throughout the world.
There is now pressure for even more troops to be sent to Afghanistan.
Our politicians have not learnt the lessons of Vietnam, where more and more troops were sent and more and more were killed.
That war nearly broke the US army and nearly bankrupted America.
Eventually the US was forced to withdraw. Who now supports the conflict in Vietnam as a "good" war? Senior military figures admit that the war is unwinnable even if we stay in that country for another decade. The cost of this futile fight will double this year at a time when public services are under threat. Schools, hospitals and homes are in desperate need of new resources and we face a situation where billions of pounds are going into a war with no end.
This is a pointless conflict and that is why the deaths of these young soldiers are tragic because they are not fighting to defend their country.
They are fighting and dying to salvage the reputation of politicians who lack the courage to say publicly what they mutter to themselves behind closed doors.
Many of the soldiers killed in the past few days were teenagers with their whole lives ahead of them.
They deserve better than to be sent on an impossible mission with no clear political strategy. The political class in this country has a lot to answer for.
They have taken us into a war with no thought for the consequences for the people of Afghanistan or for the British soldiers. This is why our campaign to bring the troops home will continue.
The loss of eight soldiers in just 24 hours last week was the British Army's darkest day in Afghanistan. As yet more families mourn their loved ones calls are intensifying to end the bloody conflict. Here, two leading figures argue for and against the war.
YES - Bill Rammell
The task we face in Afghanistan is immensely difficult.
It is a dangerous mission in a hot demanding environment.
In the Taliban we face a ruthless enemy. They are prepared to plant improvised explosive devices in civilian areas leave them there for days at a time.
They are prepared to attack indiscriminately and kill both civilians and our troops.
When we have seen the number of deaths we have had this week my heart goes out to the families of the troops who have been lost. Nothing can compensate for the loss of their loved ones. We owe them a debt of gratitude.
I also totally understand when people see these deaths and ask, "Is it worth it?".
But we need to be clear - our forces are serving our national interest.
In 2001, the Taliban were allowing terrorist training camps to operate out of Afghanistan.
Those terrorists targeted this country as well as other nations. We must never let that happen again.
Our mission today is still to take on the terrorist threat at its source. It is what our troops are doing.
And I have no doubt whatsoever that without the professionalism and heroism of those troops we would be at greater risk of terrorist attacks today.
We will achieve that mission by, alongside the military strategy, rebuilding Afghanistan.
We will build up the capacity of the Afghan army. And we will help ensure they have the right justice system, the right police.
We have to stop their economy being driven by the drug trade.
But the mission has been clear and true. It is to make the Afghans and ourselves safe from terrorist attack. I accept we have to explain that mission constantly to British people. People need to understand why it is so important to us.
I have been to Afghanistan three times. I have seen the real professionalism, real commitment and bloody bravery of our troops. It is phenomenal.
They know why they are there and they know why it is important.
But some of the debate in this country is always about what is going wrong.
It won't undermine troops' morale. They are dedicated professionals.
But, frankly, I think they could do without the constant sniping and criticism.
People also need to understand this is not just about Britain.
We are there as a joint effort. We are there as part of a 42-nation coalition. We have increased our troop levels from 5,500 to 9,000. And the Americans have increased their commitment by 20,000.
We have to see this through - that is absolutely essential for us as well as the Afghan people.
NO - Lindsey German
The Stop the War Coalition is saddened by the tragic deaths of young soldiers in Afghanistan.
These deaths were unnecessary as is the increasing toll of the people of Afghanistan killed by indiscriminate aerial bombardment.
It is time that the politicians of this country told the truth about this war.
It is not a "good" war to liberate the people of that country.
It is a war now being fought to prop up one of the most corrupt governments in the world. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is no democrat - he is supported by some of the most brutal warlords in that country.
The biggest deceit about the war and the one now repeated by Gordon Brown and, sadly, US President Barack Obama is that the war is necessary to prevent terror attacks in Britain. The opposite is the case.
Our continued occupation of Afghanistan is destabilising that country and also neighbouring Pakistan. It makes more likely continued terrorist activity throughout the world.
There is now pressure for even more troops to be sent to Afghanistan.
Our politicians have not learnt the lessons of Vietnam, where more and more troops were sent and more and more were killed.
That war nearly broke the US army and nearly bankrupted America.
Eventually the US was forced to withdraw. Who now supports the conflict in Vietnam as a "good" war? Senior military figures admit that the war is unwinnable even if we stay in that country for another decade. The cost of this futile fight will double this year at a time when public services are under threat. Schools, hospitals and homes are in desperate need of new resources and we face a situation where billions of pounds are going into a war with no end.
This is a pointless conflict and that is why the deaths of these young soldiers are tragic because they are not fighting to defend their country.
They are fighting and dying to salvage the reputation of politicians who lack the courage to say publicly what they mutter to themselves behind closed doors.
Many of the soldiers killed in the past few days were teenagers with their whole lives ahead of them.
They deserve better than to be sent on an impossible mission with no clear political strategy. The political class in this country has a lot to answer for.
They have taken us into a war with no thought for the consequences for the people of Afghanistan or for the British soldiers. This is why our campaign to bring the troops home will continue.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
