Mick Smith - Times Online - WBLG

Two Rorke's Drifts Waiting to Happen

The 12th soldier to be killed in action since British troops deployed to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan earlier this year has died overnight. A member of the Royal Signals, he was killed at Musa Qala, the fifth soldier to be killed there since the beginning of August. The other soldier killed in action this month died at Sangin. The deaths of British soldiers at Sangin and Musa Qala is a national scandal, widely ignored by the media. But there is a particular scandal relating to Musa Qala.

Are we staying in Basra to help the Iraqis or the Republicans?

Senior military commanders are concerned British troops will stay in Iraq longer than necessary to protect the political position of President Bush. Senior defence sources rightly believe there has to be a continued British presence in southern Iraq even once security is completely handed over to Iraqi control. But they have expressed concern that the continued presence of British troops in Iraq will depend on the political fortunes of the Republican party in America rather than assessments based purely on the situation in Iraq.

Cricket is not War - Let's Just Keep Them Apart

Not for the first time, I hope I am not alone. Surely to whatever God you believe in, I can’t be alone, in my concern at how quickly the row over the allegations of ball-tampering in the fourth test match between England and Pakistan has somehow been linked to the war on terror. Whether you are English, Pakistani, Muslim or Christian, we can surely all agree that cricket is just a game. I am of course aware that in the Indian sub-continent, the game has sometimes fallen victim to the rows over India’s control of Kashmir. But it isn’t the cricket that’s responsible for that, it’s the dispute over Kashmir. To suggest as Simon Barnes seems to do in today’s Times that Darrell Hair should have taken account of the willingness of a few Muslims to use terror to achieve their aims in his adjudication of a cricket match is as nonsensical as much of the analysis of the affair thus far.

Another Rorke's Drift Waiting to Happen

Ten days ago, Lt-Gen David Richards, the new commander of Nato forces in southern Afghanistan, said he wanted to withdraw troops from their small outposts in the outlying towns of the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan and concentrate on creating safe zones around the provincial capitals that would allow reconstruction and help to persuade the Afghans that they could benefit from the presence of his troops. Yet last week, army spokesmen continued to say that any movement was some way off. With the death of another member of 3 Para today, seven of the eleven British soldiers killed in action in Helmand province have died at Sangin. How many more will die before they are pulled back?

So What Did it all Achieve - Apart from Making Israel Weaker and Hezbollah Stronger?

Three weeks ago, I posted the following, to much irritation from right-wing Americans. I wonder what answer they have now to justify the failed Israeli campaign against Hezbollah, and the more than 1,200 lives lost, the vast majority of them innocent Lebanese civilians.

Stop the Attacks on Lebanon and Israel Now

After four weeks of Israeli air attacks on Lebanon which are killing far more civilians than they are members of Hezbollah, with around a 1,000 dead on both sides, and with a ceasefire some way off, I have decided to return to this subject briefly to post a statement on the issue from the Israeli Arab human rights organisation Mossawa, which is based in Haifa and offers a strikingly different perspective on the killings. I would like to remind readers that my stated position is that Israel has the right to respond to the Hezbollah attacks, that while I accept others differ, I regard Hezbollah as terrorists and back Israel's desire to see them eliminated as a military force. But I believe that the Israeli air strikes, which are clearly indiscriminate, are not only incapable of achieving this aim but are counter-productive and will only do further damage not just to Lebanon but to the whole of the Middle-East. What follows is a statement from Mossawa:      

Macho Jacko - Has he lived up to his image?

Gen Sir Mike Jackson is about to retire as Chief of the General Staff, the head of the British army, which seems a good moment to assess the state of the army after just over three years on the watch of the man who was seen as the soldiers’ soldier, the great hope for the future of the army. He has overseen a controversial restructuring of the army, the participation of British troops in an even more controversial war in Iraq, and as head of the army must have ultimate responsible for the latest controversy, the disgraceful lack of resources available to our troops in Afghanistan. So how many marks out of ten does Jacko get?