Bergen
ADC

Wasn't the original purpose for deployment to eradicate,re-educate & provide a substainable alternative crop/economy to the opium harvesting? No fighting involved! I'm sure that's what the incumbent defence secretary stated at the time.[/quote]skimmer said:byBergen said:Yes, the Daily Record.One father (as above raised the same question as You). What is the answer? is 17 from 500 indicative of the services,this regiment or the younger generation in general? I remember at a New Year party being called a "Steamer" 15 years ago cos I was drinking a can of beer after the bells, went to the toilet,all my beers were gone but the drugs were not; I left.skimmer said:The real question to be asked is how an infantry battalion could have officers and NCO's so detached from what was going on in their own unit that this amount of criminal activity could be occurring under their noses.
RM
The other unasked question that must be a concern for MoD (although they would probably never admit it) is the wisdom of sending this unit to Afghanistan where 53 percent of the GDP is generated by heroin sales. It is cheaply and freely available and I have no doubt that the bad guys would be falling over themselves to insinuate this shit into our armed forces as the Seppos found to their cost in Vietnam and the Soviets in Afghanistan.
RM
Yes....but look on the bright side of things; the British have given the Afghans a Common Agricultural Policy and have increased the value of their main cash crop by 20% year on year since the invasion. Not bad going :thumright:

Meanwhile we have invaded the most secular country in the Middle East and the only regional counter-balance to Iran AND we are now supporting a military dictatorship in Pakistan that has arrested it's own judiciary and the pro-western opposition members whilst leaving the Islamists free to operate.
We have done all of this and at the same time let the most anti-western fundamentalist state operate with impunity. The country that supplied the leadership and financing for 9/11 and 15 of the 19 hi-jackers is sitting back and laughing at the fools in the West and earning record levels on the back of $90 bbl oil and supplying most of the foreign fighters in Iraq who are Saudi Wahabist fundamentalists.
Not bad going for Anthony Bliar who is now raking in millions on the lecture circuit as our men and women continue to die in the dust.
RM