Madam, – Following the excellent article on the Royal Irish Regiment and the Irish Guards (Weekend Review, July 31st) ahead of their deployment to Afghanistan, it is disappointing to note the comments of Rob Fairmichael regarding the aims of the current campaign being undertaken in that country.
Britain is part of a NATO-led force whose core mission is to ensure that the Taliban and its al- Qaeda allies do not return to power and by turn, return Afghanistan to anarchy. Far from being a “lazy” war, the British army has been engaged in the hardest campaigning since Korea. The use of drones has been sanctioned by NATO command and has, despite what your correspondent claims, cut down the amount of civilian casualties whilst concentrating on Taliban targets.
The Royal Irish and Irish Guards will be facing threats from IEDs on a daily basis and any recent research will clearly illustrate the bravery of the bomb disposal teams in dealing with this threat.
Casualties are rising but this cannot detract from the bravery of those relatively young men and women who are fighting to give democratic freedoms to those ordinary Afghans who are already benefiting from the NATO campaign with the restoration of utilities, education, etc, as the Taliban are driven out.
It is to the credit of the Royal Irish Regiment and the Irish Guards that Irishmen North and South can all work together in the finest traditions of those who served before and we should, as a nation, wish them well in their duties in Afghanistan. – Yours, etc,