ARMADILLO

In my post in August on the futility of the war in Afghanistan, one of the commentators said "watch Armadillo, that says it all". Last week I did.

Armadillo is a documentary film about Danish soldiers stationed in forward base Camp Armadillo in the notoriously insecure Helmand province in Afghanistan, and follows a group of young soldiers, as they go through their 6-month tour of duty. There is incredulity and worry from their families, boredom in camp (often relieved by watching porn films on their computers), patrols, weapons cleaning, firefights and casualties. There is the tough professional NCO, and the new recruit looking for excitement. There is camaraderie and adrenalin. Plus incomprehension from the locals, who suffer most from the destruction of people and property.

All in all, it reminded me very much of similar films from Vietnam. Change the country from Vietnam to Afghanistan, the language of the "protecting" force from English to Danish, and the sophistication of the weapons from pretty sophisticated to high-tech wizardry, and we could have been back in the middle of the Tet Offensive. And in the same way that the Vietnam War ultimately ended in huge waste and ignominious withdrawal, so too - in my view - will Afghanistan. The most telling remark came from a local farmer, who was being encouraged by the Danish captain and his Afghan interpreter to give information about the Taliban's whereabouts. "Why would I do that?" he said. "If I tell you, then the Taliban will come and cut my throat". A fair point.

Western politicians are always telling us that they are making Afghanistan safer by the day. They are not; and they will not (if proof were needed, Camp Armadillo has now been disbanded). Who will be the first to break ranks and admit it?

Walter Blotscher