badgerx16

Well, the women were useless.

I find the problem with some of the later written books, that are actually set prior to the original set or fill in gaps in the timeline, is the introduction of events in Sharpe's life that never get mentioned in the books written earlier but set later in his campaigns, and Cornwell hadn't thought of at the time. If you want more background on the Regiment, try Mark Urban's book "Rifles".

This was where Rory Stewart was being disingenuous; there have been no casualties for 18 months because the Taliban haven't been firing at them. Some of the rest, such as the claims about Bagram airfield, are a serious indictment of the US.

Both Southern Brave teams through to the Hundred finals. ( But it's still not cricket ).

Vesty played in a far more leaky defence, yet Leicester saw enough in him to sign him. Hopefully our scouting has improved since the Hoedt/Lemina/Carillo days.

What about "What about" ?

Services

And in a far more dangerous position than the US. Refugees aren't going to head for North America, they'll try go West towards Europe, and any terrorism that foments is also more likely to aim at the Middle East and Europe.

Some reports say that whilst the US was paying for an 'army' of 300 thousand, nearly half of that number are in fact Police officers, and the real number of soldiers is as little as 50 thousand, the rest being 'ghosts' for whom the senior officers were claiming salaries..

Bit of a difference between a school teacher, who is not going to be contacted by his/ her employers, and a Minister of State refusing phone calls during an international emergency.

Spot the Foreign Secretary

The Afghan National Army was badly organised and badly led when left to it's own devices. Troops were moved out of their home districts, away from their families, to areas where different tribes had different customs and dialect, and their pay was directed through their senior officers, who were also inflating the troop numbers to claim additional money. With US or British CandC they were effective, but psycologically they were brittle when faced with an experienced and determined enemy who didn't fear death.

Taking this off thread but the Commonwealth forces outnumbered the Japanese at Singapore, and the demand that the British surrender was actually a bluff - the Japanese were almost out of food and ammunition. General Percival ignored his orders and capitulated immediately he was asked. However, by 1944, in Burma, the "forgotten" 14th Army dealt out the only major mainland defeat the Japanese army suffered in South East Asia. The Japanese were not supermen and hated fighting in the jungle as much as we did.

This page on the Republican Party website which includes this text " PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS CONTINUED TO TAKE THE LEAD IN PEACE TALKS AS HE SIGNED A HISTORIC PEACE AGREEMENT WITH THE TALIBAN IN AFGHANISTAN, WHICH WOULD END AMERICA'S LONGEST WAR On February 2, 2020, the Trump Administration signed a preliminary peace agreement with the Taliban that sets the stage to end America's longest war. Under the agreement, the U.S. will withdraw nearly 5,000 troops from the country in 135 days in exchange for a Taliban agreement to not allow Afghanistan to be used for transnational terrorism. Time Magazine reported that other components of the agreement included an agreement that U.S. counterterrorism forces stay in the country, permissions for the CIA to operate in Taliban-held areas, and details of how the Taliban's promises to reduce violence will be monitored and verified. The deal has been called the " best chance to end this conflict ," a " decisive move " towards peace, and " the best path " for the United States. The war in Afghanistan is the longest in U.S. history, a conflict that has killed more than 3,500 U.S. and NATO troops and cost U.S. taxpayers nearly 900 billion dollars. As part of the peace agreement, the Taliban and the Afghan government recently began historic peace, talks which would end decades of war that Afghanistan has consumed. The negotiations will cover the terms of a " permanent ceasefire, the rights of women and minorities, and the disarmament of the country's many militia groups ." Has been replaced with this page

Because there has been a de facto ceasefire between the Taliban and the US since Trump signed the withrawal agreement in February 2020, ( and the Taliban had pretty much held fire for a few months before that whilst the talks were taking place )..

Why don't InCels go to prossies ? Solves the problem and keeps the local economy going. 🙂

"I'll be watching you".....

In various elections, local and national, I have voted Labour, Liberal, SDP, Lib Dem, Plaid Cymru, The Northern Party, even the Greens, but I am proud to say I have never voted Tory. ( See what happens when Soggy brings politics into a thread where it is not warranted ).

I am one of what I suspect is a very exclusive club on here - I have previously voted Plaid Cymru in an election.

LOL !!! Me right wing ??????? To borrow a phrase from another poster, give your head a wobble.

Are you for real ? And as for your assertion that the Taliban will harbour ISIS, they won't. They have spent the last few years shooting the crap out of each other.

Guided Missile does a good line in piano wire. But seriously, do you actually believe that people who disagree with you on this are "anti-British cowards" ? Such a histrionic wet blanket.

Imagine the scenes of panic at Heathrow if they ever decide to pull out.

The US troops in Germany are not viewed, at least by a significant portion of the population, as an occupation force imposing an alien set of social and political views. Ditto South Korea, ditto the Phillipines. No US soldier in those countries has ever been shot at or blown up by an IED. Stupid comparison.

Don't worry, as you can tell by my post count I am a veteran of this forum - I have developed the necessary thick skin.