COMMENT As United Nations troops move into Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, a strange thing happens.
Hezbollah vanishes. The guerillas slip back into civilian clothes, the weapons are hidden away.
This is the age of what military experts call “asymmetric warfare”.
We see it most vividly in the fight between British troops and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Our side fights by the Geneva Conventions, wearing uniforms, taking prisoners and desperately trying to avoid civilian casualties.
But the other side uses civilians as human shields, wears no uniforms and tortures prisoners to death.
We can barely begin to imagine the 24-hour pressure of fighting such an unbalanced war. Who is the enemy? Where is the enemy?
As British soldiers, some only in their teens, are exposed to such conditions, accidents - or worse - are bound to happen.
Today comes the depressing news that some British soldiers are under investigation for shootings involving the death or injury of Afghan civilians.
But how can the normal rules of law apply in such a hellish conflict?
It is an historical fact that in asymmetric wars, from Vietnam to Iraq, civilian casualties are always high.
Politicians know this. They know that, from the moment they commit troops to such an operation, they are effectively sentencing some civilians to death.
And yet when the inevitable happens and the lawyers pounce, it is the PBI, the poor bloody infantry, who take all the blame.
Bewildered, shell-shocked squaddies who failed to cope with a baptism of fire in some far-off village street are hauled into an air-conditioned courtroom to be judged by the standards of suburban England.
Of course, all soldiers must answer for their actions whether in Aldershot, Basra or Afghanistan.
But what about the politicians who send them there?
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We can all drink to good health
Cider is good for you. Britain’s traditional summer drink has been found to contain antioxidants, known as phenolics, which may protect us from serious disease.
It has to be said that this research has been funded by the National Association of Cider Makers but, even so, it seems to make sense.
Cider is goodness distilled, a miraculous combination of apples, sunshine, rich English orchard soil and sweet refreshing rain.
Cider apples contain more phenolics than dessert apples. So if an apple a day keeps the doctor away, who knows what benefits an occasional glass of cider might bring - to the very core of our being?
This article posted on August 28, 2006 at 9:29 am.
Troops pay the price in war
COMMENT As United Nations troops move into Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, a strange thing happens.
Hezbollah vanishes. The guerillas slip back into civilian clothes, the weapons are hidden away.
This is the age of what military experts call “asymmetric warfare”.
We see it most vividly in the fight between British troops and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Our side fights by the Geneva Conventions, wearing uniforms, taking prisoners and desperately trying to avoid civilian casualties.
But the other side uses civilians as human shields, wears no uniforms and tortures prisoners to death.
We can barely begin to imagine the 24-hour pressure of fighting such an unbalanced war. Who is the enemy? Where is the enemy?
As British soldiers, some only in their teens, are exposed to such conditions, accidents - or worse - are bound to happen.
Today comes the depressing news that some British soldiers are under investigation for shootings involving the death or injury of Afghan civilians.
But how can the normal rules of law apply in such a hellish conflict?
It is an historical fact that in asymmetric wars, from Vietnam to Iraq, civilian casualties are always high.
Politicians know this. They know that, from the moment they commit troops to such an operation, they are effectively sentencing some civilians to death.
And yet when the inevitable happens and the lawyers pounce, it is the PBI, the poor bloody infantry, who take all the blame.
Bewildered, shell-shocked squaddies who failed to cope with a baptism of fire in some far-off village street are hauled into an air-conditioned courtroom to be judged by the standards of suburban England.
Of course, all soldiers must answer for their actions whether in Aldershot, Basra or Afghanistan.
But what about the politicians who send them there?
—————————–
We can all drink to good health
Cider is good for you. Britain’s traditional summer drink has been found to contain antioxidants, known as phenolics, which may protect us from serious disease.
It has to be said that this research has been funded by the National Association of Cider Makers but, even so, it seems to make sense.
Cider is goodness distilled, a miraculous combination of apples, sunshine, rich English orchard soil and sweet refreshing rain.
Cider apples contain more phenolics than dessert apples. So if an apple a day keeps the doctor away, who knows what benefits an occasional glass of cider might bring - to the very core of our being?
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