Please watch brown before committee

Location : huntingdon.cambs

hi all.the whole thing is a bit suspect.we at first blamed the Iraq and it turned out we chose the wrong country(should have been iran).then we chose afghanistan as the terrorist stronghold when the threat was home grown and on our own streets.to be honest like in the days of the IRA if someone wants to attack you in your own towns and citys then there is no way of stopping it.we should withdraw from the war in afghanistan,save what is left of our armed forces and defend our own country.our armed forces are fighting with both hands firmly fastened behind their backs.they are the best of what is left of this country and we all support them.shame them that send them to fight havent got the boll___ks to stand by them.

Location : Sheffield Spotter Watch Member : no

Interesting discussion on "This Week" on the beeb tonight (there usually is most weeks). Dianne Abbot basically said precisely what I said on this thread a few days ago. She believes that the cross-party consensus will and should be broken and MP's will have to address the very nature of the mission in Afghanistan rather than arguing over equipment.

As she rightly said, the notion that we're denying Al Quaeda a base in Afghanistan in order to defend ourselves is just stupid. She went on to say that they do not have a base and do not need a base - their bases are usually squalid flats in cities across the UK and beyond. Likewise, she pointed-out that they are essentially a "terrorist franchaise" which is based on the internet, not in some imagined "terror factory" in Afghanistan. We're essentially wrapped-up in a war with the Taliban, and the security of another country which has no influence on our defence whatsoever. It's ludicrous. She went on to say that the real danger is that Brown will keep use tied to Obama's apron strings even if (or when) Afghanistan goes exactly the same way as Vietnam, which it may well do. The fundamental nature of the conflict is almost identical therefore the outcome will probably be very similar.

Let's hope that she's not the only MP to push for a break in this offensive all-party consensus which even the media (especially the BBC) seem happy to adhere to. Arguing about helicopters is indeed a side issue. The fundamental point is whether we should be in Afghanistan at all.