Former SAS Commander: Afghan Operation is ‘Worthless’
March 7th, 2009This guy didn’t get the memo on the opium stockpile, which is definitely not worthless.
Via: BBC:
The UK’s operation in Afghanistan is “worthless” and akin to the start of the Vietnam war, former SAS commander Maj Sebastian Morley has said.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he said the government had “blood on its hands” over the “unnecessary” deaths of four soldiers.
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said many on the ground felt the campaign has been under-resourced”.
But the MoD insisted the security challenge was “manageable”.
The former SAS commander resigned after Cpl Sarah Bryant and three of her colleagues died when their Snatch hit a mine in June 2008.
Cpl Bryant was the first female soldier to die in Afghanistan when a Snatch carrying her and her male colleagues struck an anti-tank mine in Helmand province.
Maj Morley, 40, said he was compelled to stand down after Quentin Davies, the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, told an “unacceptable lie” in the wake of the deaths.
Mr Davies had said commanders had a choice of vehicles, although he has subsequently said he had not meant to cause any offence.
Speaking for the first time since his resignation, Maj Morley launched a scathing attack on the state of the military campaign as a whole.
“This is the equivalent to the start of the Vietnam conflict, there is much more to come.
“We hold tiny areas of ground in Helmand and we are kidding ourselves if we think our influence goes beyond 500 metres of our security bases.
“We go out on operations, have a punch-up with the Taleban and then go back to camp for tea. We are not holding the ground.”
