British troops to leave Afghanistan in 2014 .... well, some of them anyway

Today's 'Independent' reports that British troops are to pull out of Afghanistan by 2014 and the ticker at the bottom of BBC News tells us that there will be substantial reductions in their presence by 2015 and if you are slightly confused Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox has clarified matters by declaring that "only combat troops would be expected to be withdrawn at that time, with a continued presence likely for training." This, of course, means training Karzai's army for what is effectively a civil war, which cannot be won, with anyone in the know agreeing that not only are the taliban stronger than ever, they also won't be any weaker by 2014 or even by 2015 and in the meantime the British death toll has reached 322 with 103 being killed last month alone. What a mess, what a mess, and with each returning body being accompanied by jingoistic nonsense, is there anyone really interested in knowing what they are actually dying for?