Big game for 'our boys' tomorrow - in Afghanistan

Whilst England's football lovers will cheer on 'the boys' tomorrow in their confrontation with Trinidad & Tobago, 3500 miles away in Afghanistan 3,300 British troops will be going to battle - alongside 2,300 US, 2,200 Canadians, and about 3,500 Afghan Army personnel.

In what is being billed as a 'major and decisive' anti-Taliban push, Operation 'Mountain Thrust' will be the biggest offensive since the US 'won' the war against the Taliban in 2001 following their revenge attack against Afghanistan for 'harboring' Osama bin Laden.

As well as the inevitable aim of slaughtering members of any armed groups opposing the Karzai regime [which would be removed by Afghans overnight without coalition help] US Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley said that 'coalition' force will attack Taliban enemy sanctuary or safe haven areas" - which sounds like we might expect significant 'collateral damage'. However it is expected that independent sources of news will be thin on the ground - so reporting will, they hope, be limited to the 'embedded' contingent.

Having said all that, it goes without saying that the majority of us will be consumed by the other 'beautiful game' in Germany - blissfully unaware of the likely cost - in both British and Afghan lives - of Blair's shoulder-to-shoulder support of Bush and his global-war-of-terror.

[AP] - More than 11,000 coalition troops were preparing Wednesday for their biggest offensive since the fall of the Taliban five years ago with an attack on militants responsible for a deadly upsurge in violence across southern Afghanistan. Read more