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UK troops 'given too many tasks'

by Babel-Fish | August 2, 2009 at 12:33 am

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The military mission in Afghanistan has failed to deliver what it promised - as troops are being given too many tasks, a report from MPs says.

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee says "mission creep" had brought too many responsibilities, including fighting the drugs trade.

Poor government planning and a lack of realistic strategy and clear direction undermined the mission, the MPs said.

They said that British troops should focus solely on ensuring security.

The report said Britain's deployment to Helmand province was "undermined by unrealistic planning at senior levels, poor co-ordination between Whitehall departments and crucially a failure to provide the military with clear direction".

I thought it was the military that formed a clear direction to take whilst on the ground are we seein politicians being little Hitler's and thinking they know better than the generals? Yep I have seen this before whilst on active service. Politics at home take over the common sense required on the actual battle field.

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Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 04:21 on August 2nd, 2009

In a democratic society the military takes its orders and direction from the politicians. Many of them have their head in the sand. They commit their troops into situations without considering the consequences. Generals, at least the good ones, try to do the best with the resources and direction given. If they're lucky they might even get the politicians to listen.