Newsgroup: it.politica.pds
Titolo: Afghanistan: brutte notizie dal fronte

Suicide bomber brings British death toll in Afghanistan to 100
    * Richard Norton-Taylor
    * The Guardian,
    * Monday June 9 2008
    * Article history
Three British soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in southern 
Afghanistan yesterday, taking the number of UK military personnel killed in 
the country since 2001 to 100, the vast majority over the past two years. A 
fourth soldier was injured.
The soldiers, from 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, whose next of kin 
have been informed, were on a routine foot patrol near their base in the 
Upper Sangin Valley in Helmand province when they were struck by an 
explosion. Four were injured and evacuated to Camp Bastion for treatment, 
the Ministry of Defence said. One was pronounced dead on arrival and, 
despite medics' efforts, another two died from their wounds.
In a statement after the deaths, the chief of the defence staff, Air Chief 
Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, said: "One hundred brave and professional 
servicemen have now died in Afghanistan ... I only hope that the terrible 
hardship that they have been asked to bear can be eased by the certainty 
that our forces are engaged in a most noble endeavour. In parts of 
Afghanistan which were once lawless, there is now governance and rule of 
law. Across the country, more than seven million children are now in school 
and increasing numbers of people have access to healthcare."
Des Browne, the defence secretary, said: "I would like to express my deepest 
sympathy for the family, comrades and friends of the three soldiers killed." 
He added: "Every visitor to our forces in Afghanistan comes back with the 
same sense of awe and admiration for the courage, professionalism and 
dedication of the remarkable young men and women serving out there."
The Conservative party leader, David Cameron, said: "My heart goes out to 
their families at this time. We owe so much to young servicemen and women 
who risk their lives to fight on our behalf." The shadow defence secretary, 
Liam Fox, added: "Every lost serviceman is a tragedy to their friends and 
families and our hearts go out to them all. We should be grateful as a 
country for the courage and fortitude of those willing to defend the 
security and values of an often ungrateful nation."
The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, said: "While the pain of the 
families and friends of the 100 brave servicemen and women who have lost 
their lives must be unbearable, I have no doubt that the cause for which 
they died is a just one. The consequences of failure would be unimaginable - 
a boost to terrorists who seek to harm our way of life, an increase in hard 
drugs on our streets and terrible instability in an already unstable region.
By the time the British military death toll in Iraq reached 100 - in January 
2006 - there had only been five UK fatalities in Afghanistan.
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This article appeared in the Guardian on Monday June 09 2008 on p1 of the 
Top stories section. It was last updated at 02:46 on June 09 2008.
      News
      UK Afghan death toll hits 100
    *
    * 
guardian.co.uk
 © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
 


sono brutte notizie mi fido di te
ma se le traduci le leggo anche io 

 ha scritto nel messaggio 
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Bomba (attentatore) suicida porta a 100 il numero aggiornato degli inglesi 
morti in Afghanistan.
PS In effetti se non soccoresse il senso la traduzione non sarebbe facile 

 ha scritto nel messaggio 
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"Bomber" è il bombarolo, lo strano è che nll'art. originale del Guardian che 
ero andato a erificare c'era scritto "Suicide bomb". Scherzi del computer. 
ad ogni modo il senso è quello. 

 ha scritto nel messaggio 
news:484cfcaf$0$18148$4faf...@reader3.news.tin.it...
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Sull'argomento oggi c'è un nuovo art. del Guardian:
Three troops killed by bomb were part of hearts and minds operation
        * Tuesday June 10 2008
    * Article history
Three young paratroopers whose deaths take the number of British military 
personnel killed in Afghanistan to 100 were killed by a suicide bomber while 
on foot patrol in a "hearts and minds" operation in southern Afghanistan, 
defence officials said last night.
The three soldiers - two of them teenagers - were named as Privates Nathan 
Cuthbertson, Daniel Gamble and David Murray, of 2nd Battalion the Parachute 
Regiment.
Their mission reflected attempts by British commanders to establish good 
relations with Afghans, in this case near their base in the Upper Sangin 
valley.
"They died doing their duty and doing their best, taking care with a 
potential threat, but also understanding the importance of connecting to the 
people around them," said Lieutenant Colonel Joe O'Sullivan, their 
commanding officer.
He added: "We will all take some time to think about them, and we salute 
them as brave young men, but our thoughts are also with their families, who 
bear the greatest burden of their loss.
"We will turn to our job again and continue the relentless pressure on the 
Taliban in this valley, which in time will create space for a better life 
for the people here."
Cuthbertson, 19, born in Sunderland, was described by his company commander, 
Major Russell Lewis, as "a talented, motivated individual who always had a 
smile on his face".
Gamble, 22, born in Uckfield, East Sussex, learned Pashtu, and was described 
as "instrumental to the company's ability to communicate with the locals".
Murray, 19, born in Dumfries, was described by his platoon sergeant as 
"someone you could rely on to do whatever task he was given".
As the soldiers were named, government ministers and military commanders 
painted an optimistic picture of the situation in Afghanistan, saying the 
death of the 100th British soldier there would not deflect them from their 
mission.
Sir Jock Stirrup, chief of the defence staff, said: "Make no mistake, the 
Taliban influence is waning, and through British blood, determination and 
grit, a window of opportunity has been opened."
Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, commander of British troops in southern 
Afghanistan, said: "We want to leave Afghanistan for the Afghans, in a 
country that is better governed, more secure, more peaceful, and crucially 
no longer represents a threat to the international community."
Gordon Brown's spokesman said: "The prime minister is convinced that staying 
in Afghanistan is the right thing to do. It is a country that, if we were to 
leave the forces of the Taliban unchecked, would be a source of major 
instability."
Des Browne, the defence secretary, added: "Militarily, [British troops] have 
put the Taliban on to the back foot and they have created security and 
freedom that the people of that area have never known before."
Privately, commanders make it clear that they need more support from civil 
agencies as well as the Afghan government in Kabul. Afghanistan's president, 
Hamid Karzai, will present a five-year development strategy costing more 
than $50bn (£25bn) at a crucial donor conference on Thursday in Paris. 
Diplomats and aid officials say he is unlikely to receive that amount 
because donors are sceptical of his ability to rein in corruption.
About $16bn of aid money has been spent in Afghanistan since 2001; $1.2bn of 
that has been British. British officials point to solid gains, notably in 
education. However, though poppy cultivation is now confined to five 
southern provinces, the UN is expected to report in the next few weeks that 
the overall acreage has remained about the same.
Anthony Philippson, father of a British soldier killed in Afghanistan two 
years ago, predicted the conflict would turn into "as big a disaster as 
Iraq".
An inquest into the death of his son, Captain Jim Philippson, heard his 
comrades had repeatedly complained about a lack of proper equipment before 
his death. His father said: "They have never learnt from Vietnam. Guerrillas 
never wear uniforms - they disappear into the trees then come back and fight 
when they want to."