Afternoon:
14°c
More bodies flown home as Obama says fight must go on
Paul Waugh and Paul Thompson18.08.09
Barack Obama and David Miliband tried to shore up support for the war in Afghanistan today as the bodies of three British soldiers were flown home.
The American president said the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban was a “war of necessity” and “fundamental to the defence of our people”.
He spoke to more than 5,000 veterans as American and British forces braced themselves for further losses before Thursday's Afghan elections.
Foreign Secretary Mr Miliband said it was “understandable” that the public were asking why British troops were there, how long the fighting will continue and “whether the sacrifice and suffering is justified”.
But he insisted that the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as a centre of international terrorism, “remains the primary threat to Britain's national security”.
The US has lost more than 700 soldiers since the war began in 2001 while the British number rose to 204 this weekend.
The Ministry of Defence was expected today to release the names of the three servicemen killed by roadside bombs on Sunday. The bodies of three soldiers who died in a separate attack last week were flown home this morning.
Lance Bombardier Matthew Hatton, 23, from North Yorkshire and of 40 Regiment Royal Artillery, was hit by a makeshift bomb in Helmand on Thursday. Rifleman Daniel Wild, 19, from County Durham, and Captain Mark Hale, 42, from Bournemouth, went to help but all three were fatally injured in a second blast.
Rifleman Wild and Capt Hale, of the 2nd Battalion The Rifles, were carrying their wounded comrade when they were hit by the second explosion.
The soldiers' bodies will be flown to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire for a private ceremony at the base's chapel of rest. Hundreds of people are expected to line the streets of Wootton Bassett for the funeral cortege.
Mr Obama acknowledged the grim death toll, saying the war has “not been without price”, but insisted the US and its allies had no choice but to continue the fight against the Taliban.
“This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity,” he told the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
“As I said when I announced this strategy, there will be more difficult days ahead. The insurgency in Afghanistan didn't just happen overnight and we won't defeat it overnight. This will not be quick, this will not be easy.”
Mr Obama has pledged to send more than 20,000 extra troops to Afghanistan to bring the number of American forces close to 70,000.
Today Nato said its force in Afghanistan was suspending “offensive operations” during the election. “Only those operations that are deemed necessary to protect the population will be conducted on that day,” the International Security Assistance Force said.
Afghan president Hamid Karzai faces dozens of challengers in Thursday's poll, with his main rival said to be Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister. Opinion polls say the president leads Mr Abdullah by about 20 per cent, but none has Mr Karzai with more than about 45 per cent support.
Reader views (3)
Ab, London: I presume you're not counting the nuclear bombs which the Pakistani nuclear weapons programme, which started in 1972 and which was aided by China, has subsequently developed to be carried by plane . . . ? It's true they've probably only got a 100 or so warheads, so maybe I'm just a bit of a worrier . . .
- Roz, France
It will be easier to fight Islamic fanatics in Britain than in Afghanistan so bring the army home. Pakistan/Afghanistan don't have long-range weapons that can reach us. We must control our borders and act decisively against any enemies within even if that means changes to Human Rights legislation so deportations are easier.
- Ab, London
Barack Obama is a puppet of the Council on Foreign Relations. He makes no decisions; these are made for him, by an organisation that believes war is "necessary".
- Neil, London, London UK
