The news last Saturday was sombre. In the morning, we heard that the Metropolitan Police had arrested twelve people in South London on suspicion of organising training camps for Islamic extremists, the latest in a series of anti-terrorist raids in the capital. As I write, a major police operation is continuing at an Islamic school in Sussex and in seventeen residential properties in the London area. Weekly, it seems, the scale of the terrorist threat to this country becomes ever more apparent.
As the day continued, news came through that an RAF Nimrod had crashed in Afghanistan, with the loss of fourteen lives, most of them crewmen from the Kinloss airbase. The Government has dismissed Taliban claims that the aircraft was shot down, blaming “technical problems” even before the RAF inquiry had got underway. The Nimrod is of an old design, based on the 1950s de Havilland Comet, but it has an excellent safety record. It is unwise to dismiss the possibility of a successful enemy attack until more of the facts are known.
The Afghan military operation was always expected to be dangerous, and so it has proved to be. Afghanistan is a hostile theatre and the Afghan guerrillas are tough and doughty fighters. We can, I fear, expect more casualties and the Government must ensure that our troops are properly equipped for what may turn out to be a lengthy engagement. It should also heed the warning given by the head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, that our forces are operating at the limit of their capacity and only just able to cope with the increasing demands made upon them.
We live in difficult and dangerous times, and it would be all too easy to despair of the human condition; certainly, that is how I felt after hearing Saturday’s news. Then, that evening, I attended a concert at St Paul’s Church, Colwyn Bay, given by the Four Counties Youth Choir and Orchestra. It was one of the most uplifting experiences I have had all year.
The young musicians, from the counties of Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham, none of whom were over 21, gave a polished, professional performance that would not have been out of place in the Royal Albert Hall. They had trained together for just one week, but the result of their efforts was outstanding.
At the end of a dark day, they provided a beacon of light.
As the day continued, news came through that an RAF Nimrod had crashed in Afghanistan, with the loss of fourteen lives, most of them crewmen from the Kinloss airbase. The Government has dismissed Taliban claims that the aircraft was shot down, blaming “technical problems” even before the RAF inquiry had got underway. The Nimrod is of an old design, based on the 1950s de Havilland Comet, but it has an excellent safety record. It is unwise to dismiss the possibility of a successful enemy attack until more of the facts are known.
The Afghan military operation was always expected to be dangerous, and so it has proved to be. Afghanistan is a hostile theatre and the Afghan guerrillas are tough and doughty fighters. We can, I fear, expect more casualties and the Government must ensure that our troops are properly equipped for what may turn out to be a lengthy engagement. It should also heed the warning given by the head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, that our forces are operating at the limit of their capacity and only just able to cope with the increasing demands made upon them.
We live in difficult and dangerous times, and it would be all too easy to despair of the human condition; certainly, that is how I felt after hearing Saturday’s news. Then, that evening, I attended a concert at St Paul’s Church, Colwyn Bay, given by the Four Counties Youth Choir and Orchestra. It was one of the most uplifting experiences I have had all year.
The young musicians, from the counties of Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham, none of whom were over 21, gave a polished, professional performance that would not have been out of place in the Royal Albert Hall. They had trained together for just one week, but the result of their efforts was outstanding.
At the end of a dark day, they provided a beacon of light.
