Thanks to Brown and the other Western leaders, those whose floors are not collapsing under their feet due to the crisis, have missiles and bombs falling on them from the sky, due to war.

Just 3 days into the latest Afghan offensive, so called "Operation Moshtarak" (which means "together" in Dari), Western forces "boasted" of having killed 35 "enemy fighters". Then it turned out that 12 of these people were members of one family in whose courtyard a missile had landed by mistake.

Reports came out at the same time of another 5 ordinary family members who were killed "by mistake" further south, in Kandahar.

We are told that this latest operation in Helmand province is supposed to win hearts and minds and finally, to take the province out of the hands of the so-called "Taliban". Never mind that the "Taliban" are mostly just locals opposed both to the Western invaders and Karzai's Western-backed government.

There have been several "major offensives" in Helmand province and they have all failed, because the insurgents were quick to "melt away" into the neighbouring areas. There is no reason to think that it will not be the same today.

As to the claim that this latest operation is aimed at building schools and hospitals - one can only wonder what the British troops must have been doing in Helmand since they took control from the US military in 2006, since this was the stated reason for the takeover. Four years on there is little or nothing to show for it. Why should it be any different this time - or even 4 years from now?