Afstan: Some Brits just never get over their imperialist attitudes

A letter just sent to TheSunday Times:

Simon Jenkins, in his column, "Under the Afghan sun, a dark new reality is taking shape" (June 18), writes that British troops are working with "some reluctant Canadians". That is an insult to the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan. I doubt very much that Mr Jenkins has bothered to talk to them. They now number some 2,300 personnel; they are carrying out their mission with the utmost professionalism, with dedication, and with enthusiasm. There may be considerable reluctance about the mission amongst the populace in Canada but there is not amongst the troops in the field.

I might moreover point out that Canadian Brigadier-General David Fraser is now the Commander of Regional Command South in Afghanistan. Brigadier-General Fraser is in fact in operational command [Combined Task Force Aegis] of the UK forces engaged in Operation Mountain Thrust, a fact not mentioned by Mr Jenkins.

Indeed Mr Jenkins' ignorance of what is actually going on is further demonstrated in this phrase of his purporting to describe what will happen after the operation is finished: "When the troops return to the security of Kabul..." That is nonsense as the troops with be returning to their bases in Regional Command South, not to Kabul where they are not stationed.

Update: "Paras strike deep into the Taliban heartland".