3rd September 2007

In response to Elinor Croxall's letter on withdrawing our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan I left this comment on The Citizen website - Cllr Philip Booth

We are long overdue a full withdraw of British troops from Iraq, and a complete ceding of British troop command to the United Nations in Afghanistan.

The reasons for the Afghanistan invasion were to tackle al-Qa'ida and the flow of opium to the UK (i). Defence Secretary John Reid also maintained that the occupation was "absolutely interlinked to countering narcotics" (ii).  However,  the latest UN figures show that this years opium harvest from  Afghanistan will reach a 'frighteningly new level' at 8,200 tonnes,  34% higher than last year's record crop, and will make up 95% of heroin sold on British streets (iii).

This 'War on Terror' has been an unmitigated disaster from the start. Far from spreading democracy and prosperity, it has brought death, misery, and instability to Afghanistan and Iraq, whilst at the same time putting British people at greater risk and reducing our civil liberties. It has failed to destroy the Taliban and al- Qa'eda, it has failed to stop international terrorism, and it has failed even to slow the supply of heroin heading for the UK. The invasions have failed in practically everything the US and UK set out to achieve.

We knew how bloody and chaotic the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would become. It time the Western Governments work towards targeting the root causes of conflict and violence that has blighted the region for so long, namely the treatment of Muslims at home and abroad, hypocritical support for autocractic regimes such as that in Saudi Arabia, and a dependency on military solutions to protect 'vital' interests in the region.

Notes for editors

(i) In October 2001, Tony Blair maintained that this "is another part of  their (Taliban) regime that we should seek to destroy" - see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1590827.stm

(ii) http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1677385,00.html

(iii) http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2901006.ece