We'll be in Afghanistan for 40 years !!

[max_tranmere]

I heard this on the news today. It's a shocking piece of information. We all think so highly of our boys and girls over there, and it is awful to think that this thing will go on until the middle of this century. We hear today that the retirement age could be raised to 70 as the public purse can not afford to pay pensions to all from 65, yet they can find billions (probably a trillion pounds over the 50 year duration of this war!). Does anyone know why we could resolve two world wars, in 4 years and 6 years respectively, yet this thing (which is obviously so much smaller) will have taken half a century to solve (2001-2049)?

[spider]

In the village I live in they are having a ceremony this weekend to dedicate a plaque in memory of a local lad who died fighting in Afghanistan.

Nothing strange about that you think, except this soldier was killed in action in 1880.

That's right 130 years ago, in the second Anglo-Afghan War.



There have been three Anglo-Afghan wars, that's not counting the current action!

We never learn.

[Snow Patrol]

I blame Poopy Morgan...

[Snow Patrol]

I STILL blame Poopy Morgan...

[beutelwolf]

max_tranmere wrote:

> It's a shocking piece of
> information. (snip) Does anyone know why we could resolve two world
> wars, in 4 years and 6 years respectively, yet this thing
> (which is obviously so much smaller) will have taken half a
> century to solve (2001-2049)?

The 40 years info is not a shocking piece of information, it's a shocking piece of wild guessing.

I also don't think anything will be resolved however long it takes. Just at some point the Americans will be fed up with the place and leave regardless, at which point the Brits will go too.

The only ones who managed to conquer and rule the place were the Mongols a few hundred years ago, and they were pretty ruthless when it came to eliminating resistance.

[Dave Wells]

Of course we will, why do you think the Russians gave up after 10 years !

[max_tranmere]

It almost makes you despair that our Government will just keep this going, regardless of the cost in terms of lives and financial expense, probably for ever. During the 2nd World War there were lots of calls from people of 'bring the boys back home' and there are similar calls to get our boys and girls home from Afghansistan now. No one will listen. More will keep dying and the cost will keep going up. Nothing we can do as the public have no input.

[planeterotica]

The British Army will be fucked because how can they sign new recruits when all young people see are images of other young men being sent home in a box, yes they signed up in their droves in WW1 as they were told the war would be over by Christmas, if this conflict is going to continue for another fourty years they will need to bring back concrisption.