Onward, British soldiers

Des Brown, the Secretary of State for Defence, has admitted that they had 'underestimated' the Taliban when preparing to send British soldiers to Afghanistan.

In other words, they did not properly assess the situation, and because of this error, British soldiers lie dead in their graves.

This is outrageous. There is no excuse under the sun for this grievous miscalculation. Before the deployment had even taken place, warnings were sounded about the dangers of sending troops to Helmand.

The Taliban greeted the news of the arriving troops with relish. Surely, that should have induced wariness in even the most gung-ho Prime Minister. They gleefully reminded us of the 1880 Battle of Maiwand (not far from Helmand), where an entire British regiment was almost wiped out by the Afghans. Who can forget the words of Mullah Razayar Noorzai, when he warned us a few months ago:

"We have already prepared 600 suicide bombers alone for the Helmand, and you'll see that we will turn it into their graveyard."

A few months before that, another Afghan warlord had warned:

"We thought that it (ie the war) would be between us and the US, but it looks like souls of the British buried in the Helmand after they were killed by the Afghan warriors in the 19th century may be feeling bored. ... Now they are calling their grandchildren to be reunited with them in hell."

This was not just idle boasting. It was sufficient enough to cause worry in many quarters. We were sending soldiers to do peacetime duties, while their reluctant 'hosts' were threatening war.

The then Defence Secretary, John Reid, was criminally deluded about the risks of being in Afghanistan. Apparently, the soldiers were going there to help out in reconstruction and the effort to curb drug production. John Reid talked about leaving in three years 'without firing a shot'. Such naivete would only be touching if demonstrated by a twelve year old schoolgirl. Did he really think that the Taliban would sit back and watch the soldiers as they went around town 'reconstructing' the place? Did he really think the Taliban would give up poppy-control without a fight? At the very least, we should be calling for the head of John Reid, but he has since been promoted to the Home Office. Congratulations, sir.

I can understand, to some degree, if the Government chose not to listen to the warnings from the Taliban. However, concerns were also raised about the difficult terrain of the Helmand, which obviously favoured the native Taliban. These were dismissed with typical careless arrogance.

This Government has shown over time that it has little or no regard for the lives of its soldiers. Daily we read about soldiers being sent into battle without protective gear. Sometimes, their equipment is faulty, and downright dangerous. Even when, against all odds, they survive the heat of battle and return home, they may yet find themselves facing charges of war crimes. Now we hear that even an objective assessment of the risks of battle is beyond the capabilities of this Government. This is truly shocking, but sadly, not surprising. Though the Taliban may wield the weapon, many soldiers are dead today because of the Government.