Defence Secretary Liam Fox says large numbers of UK forces "may or may not stay in Afghanistan" after the end of "official" combat operations.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9208000/9208388.stm
Liam Foxes message is what is called "mixed signals" showing infirmity of purpose, self-doubt while hinting at ultimate defeat and national humiliation, which he wishes to deny until it is in fact practically impossible to do so.
If I were the Taliban I would be insisting on unconditional withdrawal while staring fixedly at the British invader.
It is only a matter of time before the British look down, burst into tears, and run away with their tails between their legs.
They can't take any more of dying for Israel, Bush, Blair, Brown and Cameron in a cause that is clearly against their national interest, can they surely?
They are not that strong anyway but are they really that stupid to keep taking the casualties for such a dubious cause as Neo-Connery?
Neo-Conservatism is nothing more than the US going around behaving like a bull in a china shop, with the British poodling along while the rest of the world vows terrible vengeance.
If only the British would realise that such blind adherence to an ignoble tradition of canine servility is not in their best interests, particularly when the Americans will soon run out of credit and goodwill.
In the meantime the war radicalises its significant Muslim population who are doubtless plotting more 7/7s, driving the police into a frenzy of over-surveillance, racial antagonism and the passing of liberty-killing laws that will affect non-Muslims too.
The trouble too is that the non-Muslims who hate the war hate Muslims more than they hate the war.
They are also very sentimental and treat Remembrance Sunday like a sacred national ritual when it is in fact nothing more than a dreary annual act of remembering death and defeat, while refusing to deal with present realities. It would appear that the British are keener to remember their dead soldiers than strive to prevent further pointless sacrifices of life and limb in their currently live soldiers.
Such is the sentimentality, mawkishness and irrationality of the typical Briton that there is no reasoning with him.
We should not underestimate the stupidity of the people or indeed of our government. Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.
