SirPeterHardingsLovechild
8th Oct 2006, 16:48
Nato troops party while British die on the front line
By CHRISTOPHER LEAKE
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=409179&in_page_id=1770
Nato troops in Afghanistan are staging nightly drinking and karaoke sessions as British soldiers are dying on the front line.
Exhausted British Paras returning from four months of battles against the Taliban - while enduring meagre rations and shortages of clean water - have been 'disgusted' to find other European troops partying at Kabul International Airport, known as KIA.
The Paras have even dubbed the base "KIA Napa" after Cyprus's notorious party resort, Ayia Napa.
Most Nato troops in Kabul are not sent to the front line because their governments have refused to put their lives at risk. They protect the airport and the capital instead.
British soldiers from 3 Para Battle Group, who have seen 41 comrades die in Afghanistan since the spring, say the airport is a 'haven' for parties for Italian, Hungarian, French, German and Belgian troops.
They are held in giant tents designed to cover military aircraft, or in huge containers that are transformed into makeshift nightclubs.
One Para sergeant who stayed at the airport last week after a tour in Helmand Province said Kabul was "like something out of a Vietnam war film where everyone is oblivious to what is going on elsewhere".
He added: "The clowns at the airport had no idea of what was going on in Helmand. An Italian invited us to a party where he said there would be a lot of chicks and plenty of action, then his French mate tried to pick a fight. I told my boys to keep away from them - losers.
"At a bar in the airport, soldiers sat in their pressed uniforms with beer in one hand and women in the other. We stood there with our mouths open. What a waste of rations."
Another British officer said: "The situation is causing a major split in the Alliance, as the UK, the US and a handful of other nations are seen to be doing all the work."
And a corporal with 3 Para said: "It is an insult to the rest of us who are mixing it with the enemy at close quarters. These people should just go home. They are on the lash every night and delivering very little to the operation."
But Mark Laity, Nato's spokesman in Kabul, said comments made by British troops were "highly exaggerated", "inaccurate" and "misleading".
He added: "Alcohol is not banned and it is common to find women in Nato forces. It should therefore be no surprise that in off-duty hours, men and women mix together while sharing a drink."
British General David Richards, commander of Nato's force in Afghanistan, added: "Away from the front line, living conditions are inevitably better, although still austere.
"The troops are still separated from their families and still work long hours. So when their day's work is done it would be churlish to begrudge them a break from their duties that is as pleasant as possible. "But bad behaviour and excessive drinking will not be tolerated and are subject to disciplinary action."
By CHRISTOPHER LEAKE
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=409179&in_page_id=1770
Nato troops in Afghanistan are staging nightly drinking and karaoke sessions as British soldiers are dying on the front line.
Exhausted British Paras returning from four months of battles against the Taliban - while enduring meagre rations and shortages of clean water - have been 'disgusted' to find other European troops partying at Kabul International Airport, known as KIA.
The Paras have even dubbed the base "KIA Napa" after Cyprus's notorious party resort, Ayia Napa.
Most Nato troops in Kabul are not sent to the front line because their governments have refused to put their lives at risk. They protect the airport and the capital instead.
British soldiers from 3 Para Battle Group, who have seen 41 comrades die in Afghanistan since the spring, say the airport is a 'haven' for parties for Italian, Hungarian, French, German and Belgian troops.
They are held in giant tents designed to cover military aircraft, or in huge containers that are transformed into makeshift nightclubs.
One Para sergeant who stayed at the airport last week after a tour in Helmand Province said Kabul was "like something out of a Vietnam war film where everyone is oblivious to what is going on elsewhere".
He added: "The clowns at the airport had no idea of what was going on in Helmand. An Italian invited us to a party where he said there would be a lot of chicks and plenty of action, then his French mate tried to pick a fight. I told my boys to keep away from them - losers.
"At a bar in the airport, soldiers sat in their pressed uniforms with beer in one hand and women in the other. We stood there with our mouths open. What a waste of rations."
Another British officer said: "The situation is causing a major split in the Alliance, as the UK, the US and a handful of other nations are seen to be doing all the work."
And a corporal with 3 Para said: "It is an insult to the rest of us who are mixing it with the enemy at close quarters. These people should just go home. They are on the lash every night and delivering very little to the operation."
But Mark Laity, Nato's spokesman in Kabul, said comments made by British troops were "highly exaggerated", "inaccurate" and "misleading".
He added: "Alcohol is not banned and it is common to find women in Nato forces. It should therefore be no surprise that in off-duty hours, men and women mix together while sharing a drink."
British General David Richards, commander of Nato's force in Afghanistan, added: "Away from the front line, living conditions are inevitably better, although still austere.
"The troops are still separated from their families and still work long hours. So when their day's work is done it would be churlish to begrudge them a break from their duties that is as pleasant as possible. "But bad behaviour and excessive drinking will not be tolerated and are subject to disciplinary action."