Another Royal Marine has been killed – once again in Sangin, and once again by an IED. A short report is here. You are now getting some half-witted and superficial pieces about Sangin and its dangers, with the number of troops killed in that locale now at 97.
Needless to say, I've been writing about this issue for some time, viz this piece in August 2009, when I cited ministers claiming that the "relative stability" of the Sangin area was evidence that British troops were "winning the battle against the Taliban."
Presumably, this latest death is still evidence that British troops are winning the battle against the Taliban – or maybe not. To my mind, the tactics are wrong, the thinking is wrong and the equipment is wrong. Never in history has it been possible to win this sort of fight without engineering solutions - which out people are reluctant to use.
Our application of science is limited – a lot more is happening than is being openly declared, but there is still not enough being done, and there are time when you seriously wonder what the Army does for brains, while some of the kit we have is pathetic.
We are not going to win this war ... and the experience of Sangin tells us why. The Army is neither intellectually, morally nor physically equipped to deal with the issues.
Comment: Afghanistan thread
