WHY were young British men and women being killed in Iraq and are today still being killed in Afghanistan? One thing is certain – they are not laying down their lives for the defence of this country.

The war in Iraq was to change the regime and ensure the oil companies could get their hands on its oil, which they are now doing. The US led Saddam Hussein to believe it had no interest in Kuwait, formerly part of Iraq, and Saddam fell into the trap. The US then launched an attack to annihilate Iraqi forces even when they were in retreat – the precursor to the war to remove Saddam.

In Afghanistan, the US funded and armed the opposition to the elected government which was friendly with the then Soviet Union. The Taliban defeated the government forces and seized power, taking Afghanistan back to the dark ages and allowing other terrorists to use their country.

Today, the American generals are talking to Russian generals to learn lessons from the latter’s defeat. Our troops are now dying to protect a corrupt government which is friendly to the West.

The “terrorists” have long since moved from Afghanistan to the Yemen and elsewhere.

Bring the troops home now before more die and/or injured.

John W Antill, Darlington.