From the Sunday Telegraph comes a very sober assessment of the failures of the United Kingdom in Afghanistan.
Almost wholly unreported until yesterday’s Daily Telegraph, there has been a dramatic change in Taliban tactics in Helmand, where some 8,500 British troops are stationed, with their headquarters in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. On four occasions since April 21, including three in the past week, US air power has had to be called in to take out heavy machine guns, ZPU-1s and ZPU-2s, that the Taliban were installing around the town. Their purpose, as the British in Lashkar Gah are painfully aware, was all too obvious – to bring down the Chinook helicopters on which the British rely for transport and re-supply.
Given the British History in Afghanistan, they had their arses kicked twice in the 19th Century maybe this is not a surprise at all.
I am missing something here, Would have been Ok it the air support had been British? Not trying to be cute but my war was long ago, things change, I know, but I just don’t get this.
I think it’s the fact that the air support is needed at all that’s the issue here.
But my impression is that the British are trying to fight this on a shoestring budget, and that’s just not going to work in the long run. Also, my opinion from the British performance in Iraq is that whatever the individual capabilities of the British soldier, their high command and government would as the saying goes “prefer not to.”
If I was the Taliban, I’d be trying my damndest to figure out how to surround and kill off a British unit–I’m not talking Maiwand here, killing off a company sized force would probably do the trick, to generate more pressure for the UK to withdraw. I mean, 17,000 Americans are on the way, right?