Weston: Afghan war not like Falklands
Updated on 08 February 2010
Falklands war veteran Simon Weston tells Channel 4 News why the conflict in Afghanistan is taking place on a very different battleground where "winning" may be impossible.
Simon Weston became the face of the Falklands conflict; the brave soldier who suffered 46 per cent burns while serving on the Sir Galahad when it was bombed by Argentinian forces in 1982.
The conflict, during Margaret Thatcher's time as prime minister, lasted 74 days. A total of 255 UK personnel died.
UK troops returned home triumphant, having secure the island's sovereignty as a British-dependent territory.
Since then, Simon Weston, who also served in Northern Ireland, has become an unofficial mouthpiece for frontline soldiers and a campaigner for better rights and equipment for troops.
Following the deaths of two more soldiers in Helmand Province, the toll from the conflict in Afghanistan now equals the number of troops killed in the Falklands.
But in an exclusive interview Simon Weston has told Channel 4 News why similarities between the two wars end there.
He said: "The numbers don't lie but the comparison is only about numbers; it's not about the style of fighting, the type of war that is being engaged in.
"I think we have to keep things in perspective. The guys in Afghanistan now face an unseen enemy. They're up against these bombs everywhere.
"What we're looking at as is a war of attrition, because it's who wears down first, who gives first. You very rarely beat someone on their own patch, in their own country.
"The problems lie much, much deeper and they are very complex dealing with the whole Afghan situation.
"With the Falkands it was so much more clear-cut. We knew what we were fighting against, we knew the enemy.
"They didn't want to die, they cared whether they lived or died - and they wore uniform. We fought in a very conventional conflict. And we were able to overcome them.
Unseen enemy
"With the Taliban, they're like a renegade, running army, they can run and hide. They can hide behind farmers, children, they don't play by the same rules.
"It's a totally different conflict. Comparisons shouldn't be drawn apart from the fact that people have died in numbers."
Mr Weston explained that the cat-and-mouse game with the Taliban adds to the feeling of insecurity, for troops and their families back home.
"It's very difficult for the guys and their families. The families are bringing pressure to bear on the guys in ways that you couldn't believe because of the nature of the conflict and the fears they all have - which is wholly understandable.
"I do feel for everybody. It's different, there is a hit-and-run tactic. They're very lightly armoured, very lightly equipped - so they just harass. They're not very successful when they take on anybody with armament.
"When they take on anybody with rifles and guns, they're not very good at it. But they're very good at what they do, which is plant bombs. It's a tough conflict."
Equipment row
He is angry the row over equipment for the armed forces rumbles on, blaming politicians and a lack of forward planning.
He explained: "There have been advances - not good enough in many cases. Some cases, yes.
"You're dealing with a problem of underinvestment over many years. It has left a lot of people in very precarious situations, as to whether their equipment works and does the job it was purchased for.
"The biggest problem is procurement. Procurement is long-winded, protracted, it takes forever to get anything.
"We're getting vehicles that have been ordered and purchased, but if we pull out of Afghanistan within five years they'll be obsolete. They'll be no use to man nor beast, the likelihood is they'll never be depployed again.
"Why weren't they bought earlier? The rifles weren't fit for purpose initially. They had to be campaigned against. I never wanted to be a campaigner in my life, it was never something that corsed my mind - but I've been caught up in it because I've been so badly appalled by how service personnel have been short-changed."
Politics of war
Mr Weston does not believe Afghanistan is a war which can be "won" in traditional terms.
He told Channel 4 News: "Conflicts run until they finish, or until politicians end it. Politicians start the conflict - they give the word go, people go.
"Soldiers finish conflicts if they can. Unfortunately, it'll be politicians that end this not service personnel.
"What's not fair is when politicians lie, mislead, connive, alter, change things - just to suit their purposes... and then go off and earn millions of pounds and never answer the question or accept culpability or liability.
In a clear reference to the ongoing Iraq inquiry, Mr Weston revealed the level of frustration felt in some parts of the armed forces.
"Soldiers do their job. Sadly we have some of our leaders, in the past, that weren't prepared to do their job properly. They were more looking to the future for themselves and their families - not doing their job which was to represent the whole of the country and the armed forces.
"All we can hope is that the level of support will be better, the level of investment will be better - but I won't hold my breath."
