Britain to extend Afghan tour of duty

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has announced that British troops are to continue the war in Afghanistan with an 8 month so-called tour of duty instead of 6 months, as was previously the norm.

Hammond said in a statement to the House of Commons that some troops sent to Afghanistan next year will stay for as long as 9 months. This is while the British Army is allegedly preparing to withdraw the mass of its deployment by the end of 2014.

The Tory Defence Secretary told the Commons that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was trying to find the best way to deploy a decreasing amount of troops.

The opposition Labour party, which presents itself as centre-left wing, did not oppose Hammond™s statement and instead said they wanted the extended deployment in Afghanistan to be successful.

Warnings about these new measures introduced by Hammond came from Liam Fitzgerald Finch, who served in the British Army for 12 years, saying there would be “tangible mental health issues” for the soldiers concerned.

Moreover, a reported total of 444 British personnel have died in Afghanistan since the invasion in 2001.

British MP George Galloway along with many other anti-war campaigners has urged the government on many occasions to withdraw from the South Asian country to avoid further death and misery.

BGH/MOL/HE