At both the Green Fair and Multicultural Festival I was handed a leaflet from the Portsmouth Stop the War Coalition inviting me to a rally to bring the troops home now. If this had been about Iraq I would be there because I was strongly against the war in Iraq. However, our presence in Afghanistan is a little greyer. Leaving aside the original intention which was to stop the terrorist training camps, there is also the issue of drugs. Afghanistan supplies 90% of the world’s opium, one of the raw ingredients in heroin, and drug abuse is one of reasons for family breakdown, poor parenting, anti-social behaviour and crime in this country. We have only got to look at the Doncaster boys whose mother was unable to look after the family because of drug abuse. It is just as dangerous if not more so than terrorism as it affects so many more people.

So I think our troops are doing a tremendous job in Afghanistan and their contribution there is worthwhile for our society. However, they are not properly equipped, they are not given the correct political direction in what they are supposed to be doing there or enough tools to build up the infrastructure which is so badly needed. I do believe that if the United States had not diverted the troops, money and energy into Iraq, we would have been able to sort out the mess in Afghanistan much sooner without enabling the terrorists to regroup. Failed states in our globalised world are a big threat and while I am not advocating a neo-Con approach that only liberal democracy is the right way, governments of failed states do need help and encouragement to find the best way of making their people safe from tyranny and poverty.

I am putting this up for discussion on my facebook page and would be interested in receiving your comments.

If you are interested in attending the Naming the Dead event by the Portsmouth Stop the War Coalition, it is at the Guildhall Square on Saturday 12 September 12pm