We leave Afghanisthan for 6th time

[frankthring]

I see that the British flag has just been lowered in Afghanistan at the end of our
fourth Afghan War (the 3 previous being 1838-42, 1878-80 and 1919). Since
the first two long wars fell into two phases each, that's 6 times now that our
soldiers have left Kabul vowing never to return.

If ever the maxim that history repeats itself was true its Britain`s long
involvement in Afghanistan. I see politicians are saying "our boys will never
die there again". Perhaps not in our lifetime, but folks, lets not take bets !!

As to blood and bones on the hills, we lost over 20,000 soldiers and camp
followers in the first war (18,000 of them on the disastrous winter retreat
from Kabul). Fairly recently a historian managed to get to the hill top village where the
worst fighting took place. Piles of whitened British bones still lay in heaps in
a gulley after more than 15 decades !

And have all four wars changed things for the good ? Well, apart from removing or
installing various political leaders, not much is the answer. We won the first
three after being massacred by the Afghan in the first two, draw in round 3 -
and I will now wait to see rule in the country go back to something like the
state it was before we last went in, a stupid waste of British life, manpower
and money.

[max_tranmere]

It is claimed that up to 2013 the war cost the British taxpayer ?37b. Think how many schools, hospitals, Police officers, etc, that would have paid for. Our involvement happened largely just to show how we are still close allies with the Americans and will support them in whatever they do. The Afghanistan war was longer than World War 1 and World War 2 combined. We lost a lot of soldiers there too. The whole thing was costly in terms of lives and money, and achieved very little. What a disaster.

[Arginald Valleywater]

A complete and utter waste of money and lives. Fuck you George W Bush and your tagnut sniffer VP Bliar.

[David Johnson]

I will give it about 2 years before the Afghan government begs support from the west to help prevent the country falling to the Taliban again.

[Arginald Valleywater]

And they can fuck right off.

[spider]

Dream on.

Whoever is in power when the request comes will just do what the US tell us to do.

I have every confidence that US and UK troops will be serving together again soon in Afghanistan.

And although Blair is getting the flack for joining the yanks sending forces to the shithole in 2001 I have every confidence that if the Tories had been in power then the same decision would have been made.

Harold Wilson was the last British PM to say no to the yanks and that was half a century ago, and look what happened to him!

[Essex Lad]

spider wrote:


> Harold Wilson was the last British PM to say no to the yanks
> and that was half a century ago, and look what happened to him!

He led the Labour Party to three election victories, was made a peer and resigned of his own volition. Or did you mean something else?

[spider]

Yes I did mean something else.

I think the circumstances surrounding Wilson?s resignation in 1976 were very strange.

In short I think he was got at.

Lyndon B Johnson was furious with Wilson for not joining the US in their Vietnam adventures.

I think the stress on Wilson must have been immense. Wilson thought there were plots against him and that his office was bugged and he was under constant surveillance by the spooks.

I think chances are that he was.

This stress no doubt contributed to his paranoia and led to him developing early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

I think in the end (like several other democratically elected heads of government) he was made to pay for not supporting the US.

[welkram]

I remember another 'tied-in' Prime Minister saying no to the Yanks, or at least saying 'no more'.

His name was Harold Holt, check out what happened to him!!!!!!!!!

[Essex Lad]

As far as the history books have it (including those written by Joe Haines), Wilson himself recognised his brain was no longer functioning at full speed and decided to resign rather than go gaga in office (cf Reagan).

LBJ may well have been annoyed at Wilson but by 1976 when he resigned, LBJ had been dead for three years.

The Security Services did spy on Wilson (although the main source for this seems to be that nutcase Peter Wright) but they also spy on every Government minister and member of the Royal family. The Pencourt File is an interesting book on that era.

I don't believe that there was anything sinister about Wilson's resignation. Unlike Eden, Thatcher and Blair, he went at a time of his own choosing.