It is a mistake to talk of the Taliban as if they are no part of Afghan society, as if they are somehow "other". It is also a mistake to think of them as an organised mass movement. Originally supported by the Pakistani Directorate of Inter-services Intelligence (ISI), what started as a small group of religious "students" unexpectedly won mass support. They grew because they met...
Adam Holloway MP is possibly a disappointed man. Having produced an excellent CPS pamphlet on our adventure in Afghanistan, the response of the media has been to "cherry pick" one small section from it, where he discusses the shortage of helicopters . As for the broader themes entertained in his pamphlet, sub-titled "Towards realism in Afghanistan", there has been only one taker,...
The most senior British officer to be killed in Afghanistan Rupert Thorneloe, who commanded the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards, had warned about the risks posed to his troops by a shortage of helicopters. It has emerged that Lt Col Thorneloe, killed by a roadside bomb in July, had written to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) warning that a lack of helicopters meant that too many trips were being made by road,...
The Daily Mail is running a piece today which reveals that Lt-Col Thorneloe wrote a secret memo, a month before he was killed by an IED while riding in a Viking, complaining of the shortage of helicopters. On June 5, reports the Mail , he had chillingly predicted the circumstances of his own death in his weekly report to the Ministry of Defence. Headed "'Battle Group Weekly Update", it reads:...
The Daily Mail is running a piece today which reveals that Lt-Col Thorneloe wrote a secret memo, a month before he was killed by an IED while riding in a Viking, complaining of the shortage of helicopters. On June 5, reports the Mail , he had chillingly predicted the circumstances of his own death in his weekly report to the Ministry of Defence. Headed "'Battle Group Weekly Update", it reads:...
If Drippy Dave needs some lessons in grown-up swearing , the ideal person to give him some advice may be close to hand: In June, News Shopper asked all of the 14 MPs on its patch a series of questions about what they were doing over their 83-day summer recess . All but one of them answered the simple questions, questions designed to draw out their opinions on the length of the break, especially after...
Much like in Iraq, in Afghanistan the British are the only ally with a sizable contingent of fighting troops. This is not to disparage allies in both Iraq and Afghanistan who sent small forces that fought. I appreciate any allies who fight instead of being war tourists, but small contingents just don't own much battle space. So this new of the Brits possibly going wobbly is disturbing: Thousands of...
Sooner than we feared , another British soldier has been killed in Afghanistan. There are also very strong rumours of many more in what is said to be a "major incident" , with five more said to be killed and three seriously injured. Unconfirmed reports say soldiers sought cover from direct fire in a compound which was booby-trapped with an IED. This is believed to have happened yesterday...
London: Several British Members of Parliament have said that the prevailing crisis in Afghanistan can be stabilized if India and Pakistan work together to resolve their dispute over Kashmir. Speakers such as Sir Gerald Kaufman, Mohammad Sarwar, Denis MacShane, Adam Holloway and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Quentin ...
It's only fitting that when civil servants got wind of 122 potential within a secret intelligence gathering unit in Whitehall, the relevant documents were duly leaked to the press. And it got me thinking about last week's meeting of the when the subject of 'James Bond's backroom boys' was raised by one of the committee members, Tory MP . The excitable Holloway, a former army officer and ITV documentary...
A Tory MP and former soldier, Adam Holloway, has broken ranks with the Conservative leadership by calling for the Government to talk to the Taliban following the deaths of four…
Adam Holloway says that Britain’s strategy in Afghanistan is misconceived. Nato’s military presence should be reduced and the battle for hearts and minds fought more imaginatively They do not like the F-word in Whitehall, but failure stares us in the face in southern Afghanistan. For three years we have deluded ourselves that we can defeat the [...]
Adam Holloway argues in the current Spectator that Britain cannot win the war in Afghanistan . Our presence, he believes, is causing net radicalisation: we are, bluntly, creating more militants than we kill. We should give up on our more ambitious hopes for drug eradication and multi-party democracy and women’s rights. Our best bet is to reach some sort of accommodation with the black-turbaned...
David Cameron meets with Jeremy Hunt, Douglas Carswell, Adam Holloway and other MPs for an update on the ways in which the parliamentary party is mentoring candidates in target seats.
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