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[geoff]

We are paying the highest price possible for our war in Afghanistan.

No, not just the 3 billion pounds which we can ill-afford, but the blood of our excellent young soldiers, marines and airmen who go where they are sent and do what they are asked to the very best of their ability. Yes, of course they know the risks when they join up - it's that sort of job, exciting but quite possibly lethal. But if, as a nation, we are prepared to continue to pay this price, we should understand very clearly what we are buying. I for one, do not.

The government says we are fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan 'to make our streets safer' - can anyone explain just how that works please ?

Deranged religeous bigots who want to make bombs and kill innocent passers-by do not need a distant country riddled with Taliban insurgents. They don't need a lab and a team of experts to mix a few fairly common chemicals together. They just need the Internet, someone fairly good with wire and batteries and a shed. They don't need several weeks of field combat training with RPGs and heavy machine guns to walk into a crowded area and press a button - yes in these sad days of suicide bombers they don't even need a timer.

So in what way are we making our streets safer by sticking our noses in other country's business and making enemies of them? I don't get it. How does it make us safer ?

Or, does it all really come down to that old three letter word O-I-L ? There isn't much in the way of natural reserves that we know of under that region, but it would make a convenient route for gas/oil pipelines to the west from central asian republics like Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

Energy is expensive these days isn't it ?

G.


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it's never too late

[Driver]

You may be close to the truth here! The only reason the USA got involved in Kuwait was that Saddam wanted to start selling oil in Euros not Dollars, the Saudi's didn't care who sorted it out as long as the royal family stayed in power in Saudi Arabia and they could say wasn't us it was the (insert suitable none Muslim name).

There never was any real threat to KSA by Saddam only the oil production, and remember we (the UK) turn down the mineral rights to KSA in 1938 we told King Saud that it wasn't worth £500,000 and a waste of time!