Do you believe we should send more British troops?
Welcome to leafy Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire. We're at the home of a serving British soldier.
Ross Meehan is a 27-year-old sapper in the Royal Engineers. He is due to go back to Afghanistan in September for a six-month tour of duty.
This morning we will be live from the family home with Ross's mum Jane, stepdad Steve, brother Alex and nanna Gladys.
We're here to talk about the family's hopes and fears when it comes to this war in Afghanistan.
Do you believe we should send more British troops?
Alex and Gladys
Jane and Steve
Victoria talks to Mike Penning MP
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I refer to my posting on your previous page which you have abandoned so I am repeating it here.
As you know I am not in the armed forces but I hope this does not preclude me from commenting.
As a neighbour of someone who lost her only son a few weeks ago, and a close friend of someone with a son doing a second tour, I have been able to hear from families suffering the pain of worry and loss first hand.
All the old stuff comes out about doing the job because they believe in it, etc etc, from all these government worthies who have been in the job, oh, a month. They may have a view, mine is that the force in Afghanistan is woefully under-funded and under-provided with ALL necessary equipment, and that the exhaustion and atmosphere these often very young men are working under is a war crime by our own government on its own men.
If any of you reading this saw any of Ross Kemp's reports on Sky from the Sangin area you can get a taste of how frightening and brutal and sudden all of these attacks on our soldiers can be.
The Taliban will never be defeated. They have seen off countless attempts to rid the country of them and this is a lost cause and one we should be ashamed of being involved with.
But at least, if Brown insists on doing it, he could at least give the guys the best and the most efficient equipment so it can be done properly.
Another war to be ashamed of, I have walked on the marches and I still do not believe our country should have been sucked in to this conflict.
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Throwing foreigners out of their country is the national sport of Afghanistan, why give them a game? Blair took us into this war to suck up to the yanks, and hasn't it paid off for him now, financially? I didn't used to think much of Harold Wilson until Blair came along, but now I have to say that at least Wilson kept us out of senseless wars, such as Vietnam. Get our troops out of Afghanistan right away.
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It's THE PIPELINE 'STUPID'! Discuss THIS with the parents! Has the bbc been prevented by 'Mandy' Gordon & co to discuss this?
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There is no point in sending more troops in unless we allow them to finish the job properly with the right equipment. I think that the first job would be to burn the poppy fields thus preventing the enemy to use the drug money to buy equipment' okay the farmers would squeal, let them. If we fed them for a year whilst food crops grow we would have done our duty.Our main concern is not the governments ego trip or hearts and minds, it is to bring our soldiers home safely.
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It is nothing short of immoral this Govt sending the troops in and NOT supplying them properly.
Well said Carrie btw and glad that Victoria read it out on air.
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You want a measure of New Labours contempt for our forces? Help For Heros seems to sum it up well!
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I'm sorry, but didn't the Russians try and fail to conquer Afghanistan with over 100,000 troops? What good will sending another 2000 do? I don't want another penny piece of my taxes going to the military effort in Afghanistan. We need to have a serious national conversation about what our military is for. If we decide it's for humanitarian intervention, then fine, cancel trident and the two new aircraft carriers, retrain the soldiers as humanitarian workers and direct the money to overseas development. We can't do everything. Soldiers are for fighting, fighting kills people and killing people makes them more, not less angry, and more motivated to attack us.
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It's the politics behind this campaign that needs discussing amongst politicians, journalists and callers on your programme. Broadcasting from a hospitable family home of a serving soldier exploits their anxieties and emotions and won't yield anything productive.
It's quite clear that this family, even at their own admittance have little understanding of the reasons for our military presence out there.
I bet you (5 Live) wouldn't broadcast from the family home of a soldier whose family are part of the Anti War Movement who'd lodge far more serious political arguments against the campaign.
The outdated equipment factor along with all the other problems our forces encounter are symptomatic issues that stem out of the failed foreign policy.
Without defending New Labour, opposition MP's who are trying to rake in political points over the issue with less than a year before the next election are simply exploiting the plight of our troops rather than speaking out in their interests.
What with all the recent talk about MP's widening their experience with second jobs maybe if they are fit and able and back the alleged reasons behind this campaign they join up and serve out there themselves for a while!
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I have a son in the forces who has served in Iraq and Afgan and I served in NI myself. I do not support the wars but support our troops 100%. I am sick of ministers and particularly the PM trying to spin these sad loses of our brave troops. It just re-enforces my belief that the troops do not have the numbers of people or kit to do the job! Shame on Brown and Blair who is skulking in the shadows, why have we heard nothing from him? George Norfolk
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My concern is that the operation in Afghanistan is a lightning rod.
By having an endless campaign out there it serves to attract a lot of the 'terrorists' who would otherwise be planning attacks on the UK/USA.
In this way a sort of stalemate develops that allows the 'terrorists' to feel like they are achieving victories, and so continue to dedicate their resources to the battle, while allowing us to contain their activites to an arena that's acceptable to us.
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We are in a hole digging and sadly this will continue whilst we have an incompitent government, sadly I feel that they don't know what to do. I also hate the thought that when this is eventually over we will have Afghanistan people here sueing the government for whatever reason their human rights lawyers can dream up. Its getting so hard to be British and to welcome others to our shore, we know that they will turn and bite the hand that feeds them.
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Those debating whether the Army is sufficiently equipped with helicopters, body armour or whatever else, in the context of Afghanistan are deluding themsleves. Your attempts to divert your frustrations onto something else are because you cannot accept the uncomfortable truth. The 'enemy' has very few resources, yet they've continued to outwit two of the most 'advanced' nations in the world.
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Ref 11. starryannia
"we will have Afghanistan people here sueing the government for whatever reason their human rights lawyers can dream up."
They don't "dream" it up. They base their claims on evidence.
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Post 13 : Richard_SM - these people are aided and abetted by people ie human rights lawyers, who have a vested interest in making as much money as they can out of the British for anything they can throw at us whether it's true or not. We know it, the legal profession know it and the people who sue know it. Any threat of alleged human rights will be jumped on and we have a supine and weak judicial system that goes for the easy option everytime.
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With regard to 'Carries' comment, could I just add a comment to the effect that ALL of the troops serving there are volunteers. When one becomes a soldier it should be apparent that the risks involved therewith could involve injury or death. Having stated this, what does a boy of 16 or 17 know of life, and what is on offer without putting your life on the line. The jingoism and advertising attaching to the recruiting is appalling. These vunerable people who have been playing computer generated games, where the opponents are eliminated with ease should be made aware that real bullets and missiles are not quite so easy to dodge. With regard to the reasons for them being there, what a complete farce
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Ref 14. zeldalicious
"these people are aided and abetted by people ie human rights lawyers,"
You're obviously naive. If the abuses didn't take place, there wouldn't be a case for lawyers.
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Of course they volunteered Constable 28b. However it doesn't mean to say they have to be Taliban fodder and if they were properly
equipped we wouldn't worry so much about their safety. Vehicles and equipment should be a paramount concern to those in charge.
Brown and Blair should be hanging their heads in shame.
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I feel absolutely terrible when I see the coffins coming back.
Do the politicians who have been using tax payers money for funding their second homes and expensive flat screen tv's instead of equipping our servicemen and women correctly, feel the same ?
Btw did I hear an interview on Victoria's show with Sir Michael Lyons about BBC bonuses ? It lasted a woeful 3 minutes.No callers and no discussion.Why can't the general public have their say on obscene BBC exec bonuses,salaries and gold plated pension pots.
Just think our soldiers are giving their lives for this country and for a pittance compared to them lot.Disgusting.
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That's a big clock.
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Firstly, it IS about the pipeline.
Secondly, the war is unwinnable because the Afghans are born fighters.
Thirdly, it's a war. People die in wars. Both sides. Fathers, sons,daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives.
It's 'The Universal Soldier, and he really is to blame.............'
Lastly, someone mentioned Harold Wilson. He was a great PM, but we mustn't forget Ted Heath didn't send troops to Vietnam, either. The difference is that todays politicians have no experience of war.
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It's amazing and a sign of an apathetic political system that people can come out in their thousands to show their respects to the dead yet can't come out in their thousands to protest against the politics of the war that causes those deaths!
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