Source:
The Guardian (London, UK)On the eve of a major speech defending the British campaign in Afghanistan, Gordon Brown suffered a serious blow when the parliamentary aide to defence secretary Bob Ainsworth quit, telling the prime minister that public support for the war will collapse "unless politicians are seen to treasure those who fight for us".
In a resignation letter, Eric Joyce, a former army major and Ainsworth's parliamentary private secretary, also condemned what he described as "petty, back-channel attacks" on the military by Labour politicians. Joyce is known to be furious at what he regards as invidious attacks on the former head of the British army Sir Richard Dannatt by Labour defence ministers. The ministers had claimed Dannatt was acting politically by demanding better equipment for British soldiers.
Indicating his unhappiness at the equipment British serviceman receive, Joyce says "service personnel, not big procurement projects or jobs, must come first in our thoughts and actions".
He also calls for greater clarity in Britain's objectives in Afghanistan: "It should be possible soon to say that our commitment there will reduce markedly during the lifetime of the next government. The public wants to see much more coherence and direction in that respect. I do not think the public will accept for much longer that our losses can be justified by simply referring to the risk of greater terrorism on our streets."
Read more:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/sep/03/defence-aide-quits-afghanistan
This story is leading the TV news in the UK today (Thursday evening). Many opposition politicians and commentators are saying that President Karzai does not deserve the support of the British military. He does not defend human rights and does not respect democratic principles (my words).
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