THE latest revelations that MOD Civil Service pen-pushers are to receive £47m in salary bonuses this year must surely be calculated to raise the blood pressure of most electors.

In view of the rising number of soldier deaths in Afghanistan, it makes this war, actively supported by our present Government but with a well published reluctance by the MOD to spend the money required to properly finance it, together with a background of persistent rumours that our troops out there, are not being properly equipped, doubly enraging.

It seems more than significant that the Cenotaph, where the wreaths in respect of the millions of our war dead are laid, has been sited at the heart of Whitehall, where all these Governmental decisions are made to send our troops to war.

We have no means of gauging the real truth of the Government's assertion that we would be fighting this international terrorism on our streets, if we weren't fighting it out there in Afghanistan. But it appears that we already have sufficient home-grown potential Muslim terrorists here already to bring about such a scenario.

I think what annoys most people, accepting that the evil Taliban (AI Quaeda) should be stopped from taking over an impoverished country and wreaking further havoc in that region, is the fact that it appears to be only us and the Americans who are bearing the brunt of the war. The wisdom of our insisting that democratic elections are held in a tribal society more akin to our Middle Ages, where a democratic government has never been known, seems to be questionable. Surely we should deal with the tribal factions encouraging them to unite first, then progress more slowly towards democracy. But the worrying thing is that we could be there for many years to come.

Since PM Brown has now signed us over to the EU Superstate, the least he should be doing is to be actively persuading the EU (Italians, Germans and French all active EU members) to assist us in Helmand province. The EU, we are told, is now able to make international foreign policy decisions on all our behalves, well let them bear the real burden of financing this war. The UK's £45m daily membership contribution, should be more than sufficient to cover this. But all we are now hearing is that the other EU member nations are keen to withdraw their troops from the quieter regions in Afghanistan. Is this the united effort we can expect to see from the EU in all of their future international foreign policy decisions on our behalf? If so, the sooner we withdraw the better.

John Tilley The Oaks Chorley