Brown’s crass Olympics comparison

So Britain’s soldiers, risking life and limb, fighting in the treacherous Hindu Kush, defending our freedoms and the safety of ordinary Afghans are like our Olympics athletes? Heh? That’s what the Prime Minister seems to think. On his visit to Helmand, Gordon Brown said that British soldiers “have showed exactly the same courage, professionalism and dedication” as the British Olympians. 

Sure, the achievements and medals of Britain’s Olympians should be celebrated. But it is absurd, insulting and inappropriate to compare their courage, professionalism and dedication to that of our men and women fighting in Afghanistan. After all, 116 British troops have lost their lives in Helmand and our forces there are involved in the hardest fighting any person serving can remember.  

The No. 10 spin-doctors wanted to connect the increasingly unpopular (but necessary) war with the feel-good factor of UK wins in Beijing. But Brown’s comparison was demeaning to our troops and not the way to make the case for Britain’s Afghan mission.