Anyone think the war will end soon?

Real emotional shots

A change from the news media
 
Photos like these really bring home how bad this war really is.
The photo of the marine resting his head on the head of the father of the dead marine shows powerful emotions and is a very stirring image.
Thanks for this thread JLOCK.
 
Very powerful stuff - 37 and 42 especially for me.

Am just reading the Junior Officer's Reading Club at the moment too, tough stuff the boys and girls are doing out there and terribly hard for the families back home too.
 
WOW, some very powerful and emotional images amongst these. You dont see many like these on here very oftan.

Thank you for sharing.

Ian
 
Words can't say how I feel great photos. Photo no 37 says it all.
 
omega63 said:
Words can't say how I feel great photos. Photo no 37 says it all.
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I was Wooton Bassett the other evening (as I am for most of the repatriations) and the emotion was overwhelming. I did see this lady, I saw the hurt, the pain and the sadness in her eyes. Such a sad sight.

Out of respect I don't take a camera but but I am so pleased someone got this image.

Ian
 
22
Afghan miners work in a coal mine 100 km east of the western city of Herat on June 26, 2010 in Afghanistan. A US survey has uncovered at least one trillion dollars worth of mineral deposits in Afghanistan, however with barely any mining industry or infrastructure in place in the war torn country, there are doubts as to how Afghanistan will be able to manage this windfall. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images) #

mmmmmmm i doubt any afghan's will manage any of the windfall after the americans put there flag on it and claim it's there's when they show them how to mine it
 
Answering the title of the thread, rather than commenting on the photographs, which I haven't studied:

The war between the sexes will never be resolved, there is far too much fraternisation with the enemy.:D
 
war is forever..unfortunately..peace always comes with a price...then evaporates
those are powerful shots...how much less are pastoral scenes with people at peace and enjoying life
a lesson in the evolution of the predator
 
Where there are men there is money. Where there is money there is greed. Where there is greed there is war. This world we share will never be free of war in one place or another - this is the world we created.
 
AndyB said:
Where there are men there is money. Where there is money there is greed. Where there is greed there is war. This world we share will never be free of war in one place or another - this is the world POLITICIANS created.
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Edited for correctness!
 
Sorry Splog - we are all politicians whether we like it or not - we don't all get paid for it though.
 
The last photo is the hearse containing my cousin Denise's son, Dougie Halliday.

This week, talking to her, has really brought it home.All the pain our family is feeling now has been multiplied 309 times so far, across the UK, and in many more families in Allied countries and Afghanistan itself.

The woman in the image is one of Dougies cousins on the other side of the family.As you can see she is upset at losing her cousin as we all are, but his mother's life has been smashed and will never be the same.
 
AndyB said:
Sorry Splog - we are all politicians whether we like it or not - we don't all get paid for it though.
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Sorry Andy! not true ... Please allow me another edit ...

AndyB said:
Sorry Splog - we are all politicians whether we like it or not - However, those in the political arena do seem to have a remarkable ability to make massive profits for their own personal gain
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Wonderful collection of shots, But so wish I hadn't looked at them as my son flew out there for his second tour yesterday so the constant worrying begins again.
 
andybod said:
22
Afghan miners work in a coal mine 100 km east of the western city of Herat on June 26, 2010 in Afghanistan. A US survey has uncovered at least one trillion dollars worth of mineral deposits in Afghanistan, however with barely any mining industry or infrastructure in place in the war torn country, there are doubts as to how Afghanistan will be able to manage this windfall. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images) #

mmmmmmm i doubt any afghan's will manage any of the windfall after the americans put there flag on it and claim it's there's when they show them how to mine it
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Quite right too - what's the point of fighting for a country if you don't see any benefit afterwards?

Speaking as one who's been to both Afghanistan and Iraq and had friends and colleagues killed in both places, I for one am sick of fighting for places that don't appreciate the sacrifice we make for their freedoms as well as seeing all the material benefits of reconstruction go to greedy politicians and industrialists in countries not involved in the peace-keeping efforts.

It used to be that you got to keep what you fought for - not any longer...

Those mineral deposits have been there since the dawn of time - they 'belong' to whoever has the money and expertise to get them out of the ground.

From what I've seen, the average Afghan is more than content to sit in his own s*** picking his nose. If he wasn't, then he'd have done something about it about the same time as we in Europe did 500 years ago...
 
Arkady said:
Quite right too - what's the point of fighting for a country if you don't see any benefit afterwards?

Speaking as one who's been to both Afghanistan and Iraq and had friends and colleagues killed in both places, I for one am sick of fighting for places that don't appreciate the sacrifice we make for their freedoms as well as seeing all the material benefits of reconstruction go to greedy politicians and industrialists in countries not involved in the peace-keeping efforts.

It used to be that you got to keep what you fought for - not any longer...

Those mineral deposits have been there since the dawn of time - they 'belong' to whoever has the money and expertise to get them out of the ground.

From what I've seen, the average Afghan is more than content to sit in his own s*** picking his nose. If he wasn't, then he'd have done something about it about the same time as we in Europe did 500 years ago...
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I have nothing but the greatest respect and gratitude for anybody killed and injured over there

but the attitude that you get to keep what you fight for is the one sure way to ensure those countries never leave the third world and that we have to keep on fighting for it.
 
boyfalldown said:
I have nothing but the greatest respect and gratitude for anybody killed and injured over there

but the attitude that you get to keep what you fight for is the one sure way to ensure those countries never leave the third world and that we have to keep on fighting for it.
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aha! Not if we do the job properly and lay waste to them in true Ghengis-Khan stylee...:D

...and I know this isn't going to win me any friends here, but if I'm brutally honest, I genuinely don't care if the third world slides backwards forever, as long as we stay living in the first world.

If raising their standard of living one iota means my children and grandchildren have to live in the dark or pay more than they can afford for the things that you and I currently take for granted (and these finite resources of ours simply won't go round everyone in equal measure, that's a fact), then sod 'em...
Life dealt them a shyte hand and that's just too bad, I'm afraid.
I'll look out for me and mine and those close to me. The rest can look out for themselves.
 
Arkady said:
Quite right too - what's the point of fighting for a country if you don't see any benefit afterwards?

Speaking as one who's been to both Afghanistan and Iraq and had friends and colleagues killed in both places, I for one am sick of fighting for places that don't appreciate the sacrifice we make for their freedoms as well as seeing all the material benefits of reconstruction go to greedy politicians and industrialists in countries not involved in the peace-keeping efforts.

It used to be that you got to keep what you fought for - not any longer...

Those mineral deposits have been there since the dawn of time - they 'belong' to whoever has the money and expertise to get them out of the ground.

From what I've seen, the average Afghan is more than content to sit in his own s*** picking his nose. If he wasn't, then he'd have done something about it about the same time as we in Europe did 500 years ago...
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If you believe the government who sent our troops too Afghanistan and is still keeping them there then we are not fighting for their country we are fighting to defend our own from the terrorist attacks.

If we are fighting for the right to exploit the mineral resources of the country then we are not a liberating force bringing freedom but a conquering force comming to take over.

I no longer have any concept of why our troops are fighting and dieing in Afghanistan but I hope that your opinions are not representetive of those held by our troops on the ground.
 
a1ex2001 said:
If you believe the government who sent our troops too Afghanistan and is still keeping them there then we are not fighting for their country we are fighting to defend our own from the terrorist attacks.

If we are fighting for the right to exploit the mineral resources of the country then we are not a liberating force bringing freedom but a conquering force comming to take over.

I no longer have any concept of why our troops are fighting and dieing in Afghanistan but I hope that your opinions are not representetive of those held by our troops on the ground.
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Actually it is - very few of my colleagues were under any illusions about the war in Iraq being anything other than about oil and money.
If anything, my views lean on the 'bleeding-heart liberal' side of things compared to many who've actually been there... their opinions tend to be of the "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out' variety...

Afghanistan is another matter - initially it went well, but due to the US effoert being side-tracked by Iraq, not enough progress was made in the early days when it could have made a difference.
Too much time has now elapsed for any concrete gains to me made without significant investments of manpower and resources...now begs the question: who pays for it all?

If mineral resources have been found in Afghanistan then fine - they will pay us for the privelige of freeing them from the shackles of stone-age demagogues and tyrants and dragging them screaming and kicking into the 19th century (it's too much of a strech to bring them all right up to date).

Just as Iraqi oil is now paying the West for the past 8 years of 'involvement', then Afghan mineral wealth can pay for what we're doing there now - or would you rather foot the bill?
 
Arkady said:
Actually it is - very few of my colleagues were under any illusions about the war in Iraq being anything other than about oil and money.
If anything, my views lean on the 'bleeding-heart liberal' side of things compared to many who've actually been there... their opinions tend to be of the "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out' variety...

Afghanistan is another matter - initially it went well, but due to the US effoert being side-tracked by Iraq, not enough progress was made in the early days when it could have made a difference.
Too much time has now elapsed for any concrete gains to me made without significant investments of manpower and resources...now begs the question: who pays for it all?

If mineral resources have been found in Afghanistan then fine - they will pay us for the privelige of freeing them from the shackles of stone-age demagogues and tyrants and dragging them screaming and kicking into the 19th century (it's too much of a strech to bring them all right up to date).

Just as Iraqi oil is now paying the West for the past 8 years of 'involvement', then Afghan mineral wealth can pay for what we're doing there now - or would you rather foot the bill?
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Personally I'd rather we didn't send our troops to invade backwards third world countries at massive expense and needless loss of life.

Sadly the UK as always will do badly out of the repair, rebuild and restructure contracts as the likes of France and Germany come in to hoover up the pieces that they didn't pay for in blood and bullets.

If it was upto me I'd leave Afghanistan to fall back into the stoneage where it was rotting before our invasion, I don't buy into the theory that we are preventing terrorist attacks in the UK. If that was really the aim then we would have invaded Pakistan as well but of course they have a nuclear capability which is currently guarenteed imunity from agression by America and her obedient lap dog.
 
I have side with Arkady on this one.

I see no reason why we (and I say "we" quite loosely, having never been there myself) have to sacrifice our resources (including our troops) for 3rd world people who don't have the ambition to make their lives better.

If I had it my way we'd just wipe the Talliban out completely and come home - we don't need prisoners, they cost money as well....

Steve
 
a1ex2001 said:
Personally I'd rather we didn't send our troops to invade backwards third world countries at massive expense and needless loss of life.

Sadly the UK as always will do badly out of the repair, rebuild and restructure contracts as the likes of France and Germany come in to hoover up the pieces that they didn't pay for in blood and bullets.

If it was upto me I'd leave Afghanistan to fall back into the stoneage where it was rotting before our invasion, I don't buy into the theory that we are preventing terrorist attacks in the UK. If that was really the aim then we would have invaded Pakistan as well but of course they have a nuclear capability which is currently guarenteed imunity from agression by America and her obedient lap dog.
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You'll hear no argument from me on those points either...
 
a1ex2001 said:
Personally I'd rather we didn't send our troops to invade backwards third world countries at massive expense and needless loss of life.

Sadly the UK as always will do badly out of the repair, rebuild and restructure contracts as the likes of France and Germany come in to hoover up the pieces that they didn't pay for in blood and bullets.

If it was upto me I'd leave Afghanistan to fall back into the stoneage where it was rotting before our invasion, I don't buy into the theory that we are preventing terrorist attacks in the UK. If that was really the aim then we would have invaded Pakistan as well but of course they have a nuclear capability which is currently guarenteed imunity from agression by America and her obedient lap dog.
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I don't think there is much doubt that it will fall back and rapidly too as soon as the allies leave.
Our presence in Afghanistan is doing nothing to stop the growth of Al Q. in Yemen, Somalia and other such hellholes.

£20bn spent on Iraq & Afghanistan by the UK so far. Could have got better value protecting our borders and rooting out the enemy within.
 
This has moved so far off topic I've stuffed it in OOF
 
a1ex2001 said:
Are you seriously saying war is not good for the defence industry?
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Firstly, the "buy one missile get one free" comment was just pure emotive tripe with the sole intention of implying the defence/arms (call it what you will) industry shamelessly profiteers from war.

Secondly, let's be clear that the defence industry exists because of war and conflict, not the other way round. Some would like you to believe that if the defence industry shut up shop, global peace would break out.

War, conflict and global insecurity sustains the industry. "Good" is certainly not the right word though. Times in the sector have never been tougher.

Oh, and don't believe for a minute that the UK defence industry automatically profits from the MoD overseas exploits. Our dear government, and the one before it, seem quite happy to dispense of any sovereign capability to equip our own armed forces.
 
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arclight said:
I don't think there is much doubt that it will fall back and rapidly too as soon as the allies leave.
Our presence in Afghanistan is doing nothing to stop the growth of Al Q. in Yemen, Somalia and other such hellholes.
.
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have you ever been to any of these hellholes?
 
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