DEATHS IN HELMAND PROVINCE (No. 2)

That this House is distressed at the news of the death of the sixth British soldier in Helmand Province; acknowledges the worthwhile benefits of the UK's presence in Afghanistan since 2001 in deposing the previous regime and eliminating much of its medieval cruelty but is appalled by the imposition by President Karsai of warlords, criminals, gangsters and drug smugglers as police chiefs in many provinces inciting tribal resentment; regrets that the incursion into the previously peaceful province of Helmand to destroy its only means of livelihood has inevitably inflamed local antagonism and multiplied support for the Taliban; and calls for an immediate rethink of the UK's role in Helmand before the lives of more British soldiers are sacrificed.