Baroness Warsi has been in Uzbekistan this week meeting with the Chief of General Staff Makhmudof to ratify 3 bilateral transit agreements for the drawdown of troops and equipment from Afghanistan.
It's a dirty job and someone has to do it I suppose.
We need a 'safe' country to allow transit of our equipment from Afghanistan back to the UK and Uzbekistan fits the bill. I wonder what concessions we will give in return. A blind eye to the situation in Uzbekistan will be the top of the Uzbek's list I expect.
I know we have no choice but to be friendly with these countries but Uzbekistan is beyond the pale.
Forced child labour is used in the cotton plantations and political prisoners are boiled alive after years of illegal captivity and torture..
It would have been more convenient to have used Pakistan to get our equipment home safely but the relentless drone attacks inside Pakistan that have killed thousands have ruled that possibility out. The Pakistanis aren't very fond of us now.
As Minister for Faith and Communities I expect Ms Warsi has a long hot shower after returning from her duties in Uzbekistan.
Our retreat from Afghanistan will be dangerous and messy. The handover back to the taliban will see an upsurge in violence as the various factions fight for power. Like in Iraq we will have to hunker down in secure compounds until we can get all of our troops home safely.
Of course, we could always avoid this sort of ignominious withdrawal by not going to these places in the first instance.
ReplyDeleteBut that's probably too complicated for the UK government.
It's simple, Cameron. Watch Alex Salmond's lips when he receives an order from America.
NO.
hi tris...... too late. Wee Wullie Hague is champing at the bit to get involved in Syria. Another country that will be bombed into oblivion in the name of freedom and democracy.
ReplyDelete