Usually, The Independent has insightful stories about many issues, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and also publishes columns by Robert Fisk. But yesterday they blew it with a distasteful campaign to “support the troops”. (The Independent: “IoS campaign: Honour our troops”, "A debt of honour: They fight and die for Queen and country. We must support them”)
We should support the troops, the newspaper crows, they lack protective armor and are poorly cared for when they return. The bottom line is: they don't need protection if they stay home and are not sent to wage war abroad. And when they are not fighting, they will need much less care. “Dying for Queen and country” is absurd. It is totally idiotic to die for the Queen, as for dying for the country, they are not fighting to defend their country against aggression, the soldiers themselves are committing aggression against other peoples. The Military Covenant may very well be honored in defense of the country, but not if the military is committing the crime of aggression. In doing so they become war criminals, and the Independent on Sunday is asking us the support them. The U.K. has now lost 168 troops in Iraq and 74 in Afghanistan, plus 1,741 casualties lifted out of both countries. These men and women wouldn't be dead or wounded if they hadn't crossed their country's border to go to a place where they had nothing to defend.
Shame on The Independent!
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