And how has this money been spent? Certainly not on social projects or rebuilding initiatives. Rather, the reporting indicates, the money has been funnelled to Karzai's cronies as bribes in a corrupt attempt to buy influence in the country.

Despite the US-led invasion of Afghanistan starting back in October 2001, around 9,000 British soldiers still remain stationed in the country to this day, with a remit of training up local military forces to take over security by the end of 2014.

We have a legal duty to provide protection to those who have a well-founded fear of persecution; a principle that the British public broadly supports, even if politicians and the officials who carry out their mandate don't.

Let's be clear on something here. The Mastiff is STILL the safest form of transport. The news should not be about the failure of the Mastiff to protect the troops travelling inside, but more about the fact that the insurgents had built a massive bomb capable of beating the armour of a Mastiff.

The RAF has carried out its first drone strike from an aircraft operated out of a base in the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. ...

Recognising the deep, long-term nature of development work is critical to reasoning why we cannot duck out of our obligation when we feel the financial strain at home, and plan to return to it at a later date. Debate on how to achieve our objectives in development needs to be open and informed.

On the same day as the Boston bombings at least 33 were killed and 160 wounded in a string of bomb attacks across Iraq. Attacks which did not take place before the US led invasion of the country. The same media coverage was not afforded to the dead in Iraq, nor did Obama seek to comment on the issue.

In our report published today, we concluded that, at the end of UK operations in Afghanistan in 2014, the best the UK will be able to do is to withdraw in good order and engage with external partners to improve Afghanistan's future prospects.

This story is about young men (and yes, it is mostly men) who leave the forces early, rather than those who have undertaken multiple tours and spent a decent amount of time in the services. It's about those young men who already have a propensity for violence and who can't handle the discipline of the army. It's about how they are discharged and then booted out into society.