Here We Go With The Patriotism Again…

So, while we are not supposed to send the troops gifts to raise their morale, we are also not supposed to criticise the war now?

Public opposition to the war in Afghanistan is demoralising troops on the front line, senior military commanders have warned.

Support the troops or you are unpatriotic! And support them only in the manner with which we agree, or else!

A number of senior officers told The Independent that the British people are not getting a true picture of what is going on, and that any loss of public support as a result of this will have highly damaging consequences for the campaign.

Hmm, and who do they blame for that ‘untrue picture’?

Lieutenant-General Sir Graeme Lamb, a former SAS commander who has been brought in to play a key role in Nato's new Afghan strategy, said: "We must be wary of talking ourselves into a defeat back home. We hear people saying the fight isn't worth it. Does that mean all the sacrifices which have been made, the deaths and the injuries have been for nothing?"

Not for nothing. It got Tony Blair a nice sinecure in Europe…

"To a certain extent, people here understand what is being said is influenced by an election coming up in the not-too-distant future back in the UK. And there have been steady casualties, which is terrible for the families involved.

"But I don't think those who are so critical have examined what is actually going on here. They have either never come here, or have been on brief flying visits without spending much time in the front line, and that does not give a full picture."

Aha, the chickenhawk argument. Not too terribly convincing, general…

And I may be wrong, but isn’t ‘brief flying visits without spending much time in the front line’ what the current government ministers have been doing as well? For their election campaigns?

Yet you seem to be implying that they do have a full picture…