Sick.

[dexter]

On the Uk MSM home page at the moment are 2 items,
1, Winning-line up a look at the flash cars driven by footballers (picture of some bloke and a Bentley)
2,Afghan deaths milestone, Two more fatalities push the number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan to 201. (picture of some blokes risking their necks who`s combined pay couldn't afford the wheels and tyres of a Bentley)

Dex

 

[andycktm]

The guys in Afganistan should be on 5K a week period.
Unfortunately most people love football.(i don't watch it)
But to be out there with low resources and poor equipment is shameful. You can't shame an M.P.

 

[Chrisp]

Can we try a job swap?....... it will give the real heroes a get a break and might ground the far too over paid drama queens!

 

[Dibs-h]

Can we try a job swap?....... it will give the real heroes a get a break and might ground the far too over paid drama queens!

Bit of a shame that Tw@ts that could do dung for your life are paid so much when those that do\can get paid so little. Sad state of affairs really.

 

[devonwoody]

Slightly political, but I don't think any leader of the three parties in parliament could lead us to victory in this crazy Afgan war.

I suspect the troops are governed or would be governed by a bunch of softies.

A tough and uncompromising warrior leader is needed.

 

[StevieB]

A tough and uncompromising warrior leader is needed

What, you mean like George Bush, or Saddam Hussain, or perhaps Stalin? All uncompromising and all (by their own definitions at least) tough warriors.

Perhaps its time to value intelligence in our leaders rather than the ability to look good on camera or deliver a nice soundbite. A novel concept I know, but it might just work.....

Steve.

 

[devonwoody]

I don't think if the present members of Parliament had the Belgrano in front of them, they would sink it.
They would want to negotiate, let the enemy slip away, and let the conflict drag on with more casualties to our own side.
They want to be do gooders. Not warriors.

 

[Mailman14]

Never thought I'd say this...

"Bring back Maggie".


:roll: Only so she could get our guys in, out and home safe.

Totally against any current warfare.

'Bvt

 

[Jenx]

Would I be alone in still having faith in the saying... The pen is mightier than the sword. ?

I wouldn't pretend to know that I fully understood what the whole thing is really all about... and to be honest, I'm not sure that I'd care to -- but I'm pretty sure that I've got enough wisdom now to know that obliterating innocent people, or young services personnel, or even those committed to a cause they believe in, regardless of what 'side' they happen to be on, isn't the way.

I know that there would be those who may counter that with ''if we didn't do that historically, then you be speaking German now, fella''... and thats fair enough... but the human cost just seems too great with the current situation.
I recall losing 3 of my school pals who went off to some far off place called the 'malvinas' in the early eighties... just kids, that had no idea of what they were going to... just kids.
Throughout history, its been too easy to make people who aren't really old enough to know what they're letting themselves in for, not much more than bullet fodder.
I dunno, it just depresses the hell out of me... whats that saying... 'man's inhumanity to man'. We're never going to learn, are we.

 

[woodbloke]

My view is that the conflict in Afghanistan unfortunatly won't be won and will cost many more lives before the whole sorry mess is finished with. Whilst the 'good guys' (basically the USA & the Brits) have overwhelming firepower and can clear an area by day, the 'bad guys' (the Talibani) creep back in under cover of darkness. They also view fighting (especially close quarter combat) as a way of life which is the reason that the remote drones are detested. The lessons from recent history also show that when the Soviets tried to tame the country, they met with abject failure as well and my view is that it will happen again.
I work with the military every day and it's an accepted fact that if you wear the 'green' you accept the risk, which means that the idividual may be looking down the business end of an AK47 at some point in their career. It also has to be remembered that many (not all) of the guys who sign up (especially in the regiments like the marines and paras) actually want to go to theatre...it's what they take the Queens shilling for.
The deaths are an utter tragedy but we haven't seen nearly the end of them - Rob

 

[Grinding One]

Legalize drugs,when money drops from drugs to pennys,When it is legal to buy drugs they can not get enough money to buy more bombs,war grinds to a halt....This war is drug funded.Or plan two,crash the dollar,most drug sellers have millions of dollars,if its crashed their money is gone.

 

[devonwoody]

Legalize drugs,when money drops from drugs to pennys,When it is legal to buy drugs they can not get enough money to buy more bombs,war grinds to a halt....This war is drug funded.Or plan two,crash the dollar,most drug sellers have millions of dollars,if its crashed their money is gone.

Blimey a yank that is not a conservative. :lol:

 

[RogerS]

Legalize drugs,when money drops from drugs to pennys,When it is legal to buy drugs they can not get enough money to buy more bombs,war grinds to a halt....This war is drug funded.Or plan two,crash the dollar,most drug sellers have millions of dollars,if its crashed their money is gone.

Spot on, G1. Free issue drugs would be even better and quicker at destabilising their financial power base.

I strongly believe that all ministers, permanent secretaries et al and all Grade 5's and above in the MoD/Defence Ministry should have a mandatory 4 week tour of frontline duty..kitted out (or not preferably, no preferential treatment for them)..then maybe they might actually manage the shambles that is the MoD and maybe appoint people with some commonsense. If we lose a few then tough.

Then we wouldn't have the debacle of the Chinooks where they didn't bother to ask if they had the licence to use the onboard software or something equally ludicrous.

 

[devonwoody]

Roger, I honestl; think to use helicopters with 30 troops on board would be a recipe for disaster, one heli per week would mount to 120 death toll per month.

The time to use a heli is after complete saturation bombing of the area and then put 10 helis in.

 

[RogerS]

Roger, I honestl; think to use helicopters with 30 troops on board would be a recipe for disaster, one heli per week would mount to 120 death toll per month.

The time to use a heli is after complete saturation bombing of the area and then put 10 helis in.

That didn't work in any of the Arab/Israeli wars. It didn't work in Vietnam. So why should it be any different now?

 

[devonwoody]

Roger, I will ask my cousin who is a Lt.Colonel of a Helicopter unit.

 

[Jenx]

Good points.

Did you know an ampoule of medical grade heroin costs under a quid ?

enough to keep your average smak'ead "baked to the t*ts" for 3 - 5 days.
... but we won't consider legalising it.. to be dispensed in a 'controlled' manner... despite the massive cost to the country, yes, humongously massive, in trying to fight the crime that goes with illegal drug trade, plus the 'guarantee' of the quality of the grade of the stuff.. because what happens now, is that its 'cut' so many times with all kinds of rubbish, that when a 'more pure' batch hits the streets, the users all OD on the stuff.. leading to more massive costs in having to deal with them...

89p it is.

89p. to rid the country of a massive percentage of its crime and the costs associated with it.

But we have the Xenophobia... unyet when you talk to a nurse or a Paramedic etc.. they'll almost universally tell you... it is NOT the poison that Alchohol is... nothing like it.

I never thought of things in these terms until a Paramedic told me the facts.

makes you think, eh .

 

[RogerS]

Roger, I will ask my cousin who is a Lt.Colonel of a Helicopter unit.

I seem to remember reading that in one of the Arab/Israeli wars they estimated that it took 10 tons of bombs to kill one combatant. They never mentioned any collateral damage

 

[Anonymous]

Harsh it might be but if there were no conflicts in the world, there would be no need for a defence force. Unemployment would rise to 50% .
One point I would like to make while I am here though. I served in the army for twelve years. I knew it was a dangerous job, so is driving a lorry down the M1, but it was a job I wanted to do and enjoyed it.
As for the comments over casualties on the media, what was said about the 16,000 casualties in one day , D-Day ?
Oh,bring our lads home, we shouldn`t be there.

I have said my piece.
GOD BLESS OUR HEROS`

kOOLWABBIT

 

[big soft moose]

I have a freind who is a major in the rifles and his opinion is that

" bring our lads home , they shouldnt be there" translates as " 201 brave men will have died for nothing"

My freind says that most of the troops (in the front line units anyway - remfs may be a different matter) dont want to leave with the job half done if it means that their mates will have died for no reason - they want the lily livered politicians to give them what they need to finish the fight then come home when the job is complete.

On the other point , yes if you take the queens shilling you can expect to get shot at, but you also have the right to expect that the goverment will give you equipment to do the job, not 30 year old helicopters that spend more time in maintenance than they do in the air, guns that never jam unless you try to fire them, and batteries for your night sight that are suficuent for less than 1/3 of your tour of duty.

and re legalising heroin , i agree that its an excellent move for domestic policy but it wont cut the legs from under the muj - they'll just get propped up by the oil rich nations in the gulf like the iraqi oposition are.