It is often remarked that Great Britain’s was the empire on whom the sun never set. It was also the empire on the whom the never blood never ran dry, which makes the current figures released by the UN all the more ghalling.  It says that the first six months of this year killed more civilians than at anytime through out the current conflict in Afghanistan.  From January to June, a total of  1,462 civilians were killed, a 15 per cent increase on the same period last year. “The rising tide of violence and bloodshed in the first half of 2011 brought injury and death to Afghan civilians at levels without recorded precedent in the current armed conflict,” the report says. In a stark reminder, last night (Wednesday),  at least six more people were killed in a Nato raid on a house in Matun, in Khost province , which local Afghans said were civilians but Nato claim were insurgents.

Media reports always break such figures down to insurgent activity, etc, but the truth is that as the occupying power, America along with her Nato allies – just like Great Britain in its heyday –  know they are fully responsible for all combat related deaths because it is their job to ensure a peaceful environment for human beings to get on with their day to day lives.

If they can’t, then they should leave.