Wars in numbers
- 17 Dec 08, 06:29 PM
How long before the widespread relief that Britiain's involvement in Iraq is coming to an end is replaced by anxiety about Britain's role in Afghanistan?
My hunch is not very long.
Sure, the war against the Taliban has never been as controversial as the war in Iraq. There was no row about its legality. There were no missing weapons of mass destruction. There is much less of a feeling that it was "Bush's war". There is also more of a sense that what happens in the region - in Pakistan as well as Afghanistan - has a direct impact on British national security.
However, I detect a growing concern amongst the political classes about the cost and chances of success of the war in Afghanistan.
It is unpleasant to reduce the death of men and women who are serving their country to a statistical comparison but the statistics do tell an important story :
There are now twice as many British servicemen and women in Afghanistan as in Iraq.
The death toll in Afghanistan this year was more than 11 times that in Iraq.
If casualties continue at the current rate more British troops will have lost their lives in Afghanistan than in Iraq a year from now.
IRAQ
British troops 4100
Deaths since the invasion 178
Deaths this year 4
AFGHANISTAN
British troops 8000 rising to 8,300 from April 09
Deaths since the invasion 133
Deaths this year 47
