Well, 5 more soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and still the Labour Government continues with this unwinable war.

With the privatisation of arms procurement, there is a calculation that the Government must make - how many dead will the English public put up with and how long will they believe what the politicians tell them is the reason for being in Afghanistan. For the businessmen who have taken over the arms supply business, the people who pay the political parties to get these profitable enterprises, there is a further calculation to make - how much armour can they NOT supply against the number of soldiers killed because the armour is inadequate. This cost/benefit analysis is common where a business has to see what it can get away with, without losing too many customers.

But to return to the opening paragraph. A simple course in Renaisance literature would inform those interested, that no occupying force can remain forever in a country where they are not welcome. Machiavelli.