Afghan

Alex Thomson writes on Afghanistan’s secret prostitution problem taking place in people’s own family homes.

Some TV news channels will no doubt present the current Operation Tor Shezada (Black Prince), in southern Afghanistan in the same, ludicrous fashion as they reported Operation Moshtarak earlier in the year in Helmand. Or Operation Panther’s Claw before that.

Tragic though the 300th British dead soldier/marine is, it is the Afghan people for whom we are fighting we are told, and the Afghan people who remain resolutely ignored, writes Alex Thomson

Expect Britain to fairly soon slowly sidestep away from Helmand into Kandahar, but it will be no comparative picnic writes Asia correspondent Nick Paton Walsh.

Go out just beyond the walls of the Grenadier Guards’ fort here at Shawqat and it is possible to get a glimpse of what Nato’s exit ticket from Afghanistan could look like. Could, possibly, maybe and perhaps – with quite a few ifs too.

Alex Thomson is stopped by an IED in the road ahead in Afghanistan.

OK, let’s be clear, all we wanted to do was to go and collect our ISAF (NATO) accreditation.

So, come the small hours this side of the Atlantic, President Obama will address the American nation and confirm his intention to more fully pursue The Bush Doctrine which began in Iraq, through Afghanistan. Bush surged into Baghdad; Obama will surge into Kabul. Meanwhile here Gordon Brown has pre-surged, carefully timing his 500 reinforcements yesterday,…