More deaths in Afghanistan

Yet again we've had reported over the media that more soldiers have died in Afghanistan: this time one of the deaths has been of a high-ranking officer. While I've never disguised my opposition to UK troops being in these places, I've always respected the men who have been sent there to endure the deprivation, heat, flies, muck and the bullets (unless they engage in sick murderous or sadistic games with unfortunates who get in their way). What angers me is that these men who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan were sent to do a dangerous job by politicians who for the most part have proved themselves lacking in even the basic credentials of honesty and integrity. How many military people are asking themselves why they're risking their lives every day (and the eternal heartbreak of their families) for the political reputations of a self-serving clique of mealy-mouthed politicos? If our institutions carried with them some dignity and the gravitas that comes with trustworthiness and honesty, perhaps they would be worth fighting (and dying) for.