IN The Press of March 9, we read much about the latest soldiers to be killed in Afghanistan – “brave”, “heroes”, ”gave up their lives” and so on. But not a word about the Afghans killed by our troops.

They are also people, men, women and children too, civilians as well as fighters for their country. How do we judge the worth of a human life?

How long are we going to brutalise our own young men, teaching them to murder total strangers?

There was also a letter from Tom Mitchell, stating: “We need to update our Trident submarines”. What does he think these are for? To blast countless thousands into oblivion with a nuclear bomb?

Only if this is truly his belief has he the right to ask unknown young men of the future to do this in his name.

And if he accepts the government line that “nuclear weapons are essential for our safety” then which other states can dare not to be equally “safe” from attack? Iran? Syria? Saudi Arabia?

He seems ready to put the vast cost of such weapons before people’s jobs, homes, pensions and health.

Joyce Pickard, Hansom Place, York.

• LIKE most people in the country, my sympathy goes out to the relations and friends of the servicemen who lost their lives in Afghanistan.

I think it is now time for our politicians to give the country a very viable reason as to why we are there.

In the first instance, we were told that we were sending troops to free the country from insurgents and allow them to grow crops that would help to feed the population and stop the growing of poppies for the drugs trade.

This strategy has totally failed and the growth of the poppies has increased.

This now is evident in a glut of illegal drugs on our streets. The Government should make the dealers and the users pay for this by longer sentences for the dealers and not as much mollycodling for the users.

So come on you so called leaders give us a good reason as to why we must stay there or bring our service people home immediately.

TJ Ryder, Priory Gardens, North Lane, Dringhouses, York.

• CAN anyone tell us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth as to what precisely has been achieved in, say, the last ten years of our involvement in Afghanistan?

Allison Peterson, Barlow Street, Acomb, York.