I dislike using macabre milestones to make political points but as the tragic deaths of three paratroopers in Helmand seem to have at last roused those with a conscience into justifying the Afghanistan mission, I felt I should do the same. The moral argument is, for me at least, a no-brainer but there are certain groups that cannot fathom the fact that altruism and military intervention can be one and the same.

So for their benefit:

1. The invasion of Afghanistan was backed by a UN Resolution.

2. Al Qaeda used Afghanistan as a base from which they could plan attacks on U.S. targets in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. Al Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan and its terrorist activities were actively supported by the Taliban Government. In 2001 the U.S. had been attacked by Afghanistan based militants for four years. If it allowed Al Qaeda to continue to operate with impunity from its Afghan bases then it would undoubtedly suffer further attacks on its citizens. The invasion of Afghanistan in order to destroy terrorist operating bases was a bona fide act of self-defence.

3. Aside from Al Qaeda the Taliban hosted numerous other terrorist groups. Tens of thousands of people attended the dozens of terrorist training camps that were openly run in Afghanistan.

4. Operation Enduring Freedom was winnable, with clear political objectives and the loss of life was kept as minimal as it could be.

5. The Taliban regime was a brutal theocratic totalitarian dictatorship involved in torture, mass murder, persecution and political oppression. The removal of the Taliban Government struck a blow for the emancipation of human kind.

6. The coalition forces are in Afghanistan under a UN Mandate to protect the democratically elected Government, provide security and help with reconstruction.

7. The Taliban murder civil servants, policeman, Afghan soldiers, reconstruction engineers, doctors and journalists amongst many others. They burn down schools and shoot teachers in front of their pupils. They murder Afghans who work for the Government or for foreigners. They murder women and children in cold blood for ‘crimes against Islam’. The Taliban destroy Afghan infrastructure and do everything they can to stop the reconstruction of the country. The Taliban are hated by the vast majority of Afghans.

8. Western countries left Afghanistan to its own devices in 1989 and the country was torn apart by war, famine and drought. If NGOs are to redevelop the country then they need to be protected from the Taliban who would be happy to drive them out of the country.

9. There is no oil in Afghanistan.

The strategic goal of making Afghanistan secure and democratic is the right one. That is not to say that we are using the right tactics or that the coalition tactics are above criticism.

Is the campaign morally justifiable? Absolutely.

Is it worth the cost? Perhaps only the soldiers who have served there and the Afghans who live there have the right to answer that question.