Ground Report And Commentary On Afghanistan

On duty in Sangin: Colour Serjeant Paul 'Skip' Lucke leads a reassurance patrol by Recce Platoon, 3 Rifles

Afghanistan: A War We're Winning -- The Independent

British forces face a bloody summer in Helmand. The cost is horrific, but we shouldn't dismiss the progress we've made so far, argues Lt Col Nick Kitson of 3 Rifles, the battalion that has suffered the greatest loss of life.

I'm writing this from the comfort of home, the tour in Afghanistan now over. How do I feel? A sense of release, of course, but a little nostalgia too. The final two months of the Battalion's tour was a very hard period – but we know for sure that it has been harder for the insurgents. We continued to bring more security to the population, both through establishing more small patrol bases in their midst and through targeted operations into insurgent safe havens. We know our comrades from 40 Commando Royal Marines, who relieved us at the end of our tour in March, will have wasted no time in carrying this forward.

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My Comment: Lt Col Nick Kitson's own words reveal why we will lose this war ....

The final two months of the Battalion's tour was a very hard period – but we know for sure that it has been harder for the insurgents.

Hmmmm ... it may have been hard on the insurgents, but it wasn't hard enough to make them give up. Nowhere near.

With support for the war back home going lower with each passing month, the political will to continue this conflict is going to evaporate to the point where we will return home .... and Afghanistan be damned.