"The turncoat Afghan cop who gunned down three British soldiers was branded a coward last night — as his hero victims were named. Tributes poured in for brave squaddies, part of a team training local policemen, who were slaughtered in Helmand on Sunday.422 utterly fruitless deaths. Afghanistan and the Afghans will be as they always have been, corrupt, unconquerable and ungovernable.
They were Warrant Officer Leonard 'Pez' Thomas of The Royal Corps of Signals, 44, Guardsman Craig Roderick, 22, and Fiji-born Guardsman Apete “Tui” Tuisovurua, 28 — both of 1st Battalion the Welsh Guards.
The cop mowed them down with an AK-47 from a watchtower at a remote checkpoint at Nahr-e-Saraj.
Warrant Officer Pez Thomas, from Cornwall, who spent 15 years in the Army before leaving in 2005, was a TA reservist who volunteered to go Afghanistan with his old Welsh Guards regiment.
The keen mountaineer leaves his mother and partner Sgt Rachel Prosser, who is also in the Army...
Guardsman Craig Roderick, a rising Army star, quit as a brickie in Pontyclun, South Wales, for the chance to go to Afghanistan.
He leaves parents Mike and Sadie, sisters Katie and Lucinda Emily, as well as girlfriend Zoe...
Rugby-mad Tui Tuisovurua, who joined up in 2010, leaves a mum, dad, four brothers and three sisters in Fiji...
The deaths bring the British toll in Afghanistan to 422."
Those Afghans who killed the 422 were aided and abetted by our own politicians and military top brass, some of whose mealy mouthed platitudes in lieu of these latest killings are cited below.
On 2 July 2012, the BBC told us this:
In a statement on Sunday, Isaf said: 'An individual wearing an Afghan National Civil Order Police uniform turned his weapon against International Security Assistance Force service members in southern Afghanistan today, killing three service members'...
The latest deaths mean a total of 26 Isaf personnel have been killed so far this year, compared with 35 for the whole of 2011.
A total of 14 British troops have been killed in the past three years in these attacks...
David Cameron said he was 'deeply saddened by the appalling news. 'This tragic incident again demonstrates the very real risks that our brave soldiers face every day.
We will do everything possible to find out how this happened, and learn any lessons for the future'...
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said all thoughts were with the families of dead men. 'They gave their lives protecting Britain's national security, helping to make sure that Afghanistan never again becomes a haven for international terrorism'... However, he signalled that the killings would not prompt an overall change of strategy...
'Every day, tens of thousands of coalition forces, including UK personnel, live and work successfully with their Afghan counterparts to build an Afghan police force and Army which can take the lead for their own security by the end of 2014. That process will continue, and though deeply tragic, yesterday's incident and attacks like it will not derail the mission or distract us from the task in hand.'
Those sentiments were echoed by General Sir David Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff, who said... 'Every time I visit Afghanistan and I am struck by the progress we are making alongside the Afghans in building a country increasingly able to stand on its own two feet. Attacks like this will not stop us from moving forward.'
But Mark Cann, spokesman for the British Forces Foundation charity, said soldiers were worried about how Afghan colleagues, particularly police, were vetted. 'There is deep concern about the people they're working with and and looking also to hand over authority to'...
In February, public opinion against the foreign forces in Afghanistan was inflamed by revelations that US troops burned copies of the Koran at a base in Afghanistan - reportedly by accident. The shooting of 16 Afghans by a US soldier in March has also created resentment." Afghan policeman kills 3 British soldiers
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