Letters to the Editor: Afghan war was not for nothing and Biden is right to withdraw, says Cork army veteran

On TV and social media, people are saying it was all for nothing, including ex-veterans of the conflict.

I fully respect their beliefs and, like myself, they have earned the right to their opinions, but I disagree on the basis of three points.

1. Our main primary goal was to destroy al-Qaida and severely diminish there capabilities to attack the West again. Accomplished.

2. Eliminating Osama bin Ladin and his high-ranking lieutenants. Accomplished

3. The West has not had a major attack since the Manchester Arena suicide bombing in 2017. Accomplished.

I also support Joe Biden’s policy on withdrawal from Afghanistan. I have enormous sympathy and respect for the innocent Afghan civilians affected by the collapse of their country, but the fact still remains that they did not stand and fight for the freedoms they enjoyed for 20 years.

Joe Biden has saved thousands of soldiers lives, who will never see the horrors of war, or come back home maimed or disabled, or take their own lives over PTSD in a never-ending war.

I will always look upon my Afghan medal and Nato medals with pride, because of the heroism and bravery I witnessed with the men and women I served with. God be with the Afghan people.

Owen O’Sullivan

Carrigaline

Co Cork

2021 is a make or break year for our world

On August 19, 2003, the first year of the Iraq war, a deadly terrorist attack hit the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, killing 22 people.

Among those who lost their lives was Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN’s top representative in Iraq. Five years later, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 63/139, designating August 19 as World Humanitarian Day.

Since 2009, World Humanitarian Day has evolved from a day that recognises those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes into a global campaign to advocate for the survival, wellbeing and dignity of all people affected by crises, and for the safety and security of aid workers.

This year, as the extremely volatile situation in Afghanistan continues to unfold, while on the other side of the world another devastating earthquake has hit Haiti

, there is an especially tragic relevance to World Humanitarian Day.

These desperate humanitarian crises are taking place against the broader backdrop of the global Covid-19 pandemic, which continues to wreak havoc everywhere, but particularly in lower-income and largely unvaccinated nations. And we must remind ourselves that the pandemic arrived at a time of already heightened humanitarian need, driven by surging conflict and the worsening impact of the climate crisis.

This deadly combination of conflict, climate breakdown and the pandemic is taking us back to world we thought we had left behind; extreme poverty has risen for the first time in 20 years, and famine — something we thought we had consigned to history — is back.

We are truly at a grave global moment, but we have to focus on solutions and act now.

The UN secretary-general has said that 2021 is the world’s ‘make-or-break year’. The choices we make now may shape the course of events for many years to come.

We must do all that is in our power to secure a better future.

Dominic MacSorley

CEO, Concern Worldwide

Afghan people need protection

This is the biggest war crime committed in years and there are certain people responsible, but they won’t be brought to justice.

What we need to do is go back into Afghanistan and protect the people who believe in democracy. The likelihood of this happening is almost zero, as we humans have become cowards and selfish.

Shame on all of us.

David Hennessy

Dawson St

Dublin 2

‘Robot trees’ are a waste of money

Cork City Council should hang its head in shame after paying €350,000 for ‘robot trees’. It is €350,000 wasted. One new social home could have been built for that money, with change left over, which would have paid for the planting of a few hundred natural trees or hedges, (the current approximate cost of building a new social home in this country is €270,000).

Alternatively, several derelict buildings could have been renovated and turned into homes or other useful spaces, for the €350,000.

The council say they weren’t allowed to spend the money on anything else (eg housing). This tells me that both our Government and our local authority think that PR stunts are far more important than (for example) tackling homelessness in a real way.

Tim Buckle

Cork City

Council needs to get priorities right

In pursuit of a environmental agenda Cork City Council is spending €350,000 on replacements for trees in Cork city centre. While experts have questioned the environmental benefits to derive from such an exercise, I would seriously doubt the economics associated with the above project.

l would respectfully suggest to the local authority that, if they are serious about environmental protection, why not get priorities right and support a concept with a proven track record — namely the collection of waste directly from householders and commercial users by the city council.

Funding for same could be secured with a proactive national waste management strategy, where taxation is at the point of waste creation.

If environmental protection is to be realised, then investing in a concept that is proven and tested is a far more attractive proposition then to embark on very expensive, experimental theories that aspire to replace natural trees.

Tadhg O’Donovan

Fermoy

Cork

Confusing time to be a dog

Robot trees... how confusing for your average dog.

Tom Gilsenan

Beaumont

Dublin 9

Rewilding would benefit us all

Saoirse McHugh’s article on rewilding the Irish landscape is welcome and helpful for us to reflect on what we think and regard as normal or customary in regards to land use and management in Ireland (Saoirse McHugh: Rewilding is one of the best solutions we have in fight against climate collapse, Irish Examiner, August 16).

For thousands of years we have farmed the land with increased intensity to the present, mostly exclusive industrial attitude to land management.

What we look at as a healthy state of affairs environmentally is not how it should or could be with a philosophical and practical readdressing of our approach to agricultural and land management and use.

Using rewilding of the land as a template, and that is a really broad and diverse one, is an opportunity to develop new and more social, environmental and economical benefits for us all.

We do need to stop, take stock and reimagine how the Irish landscape must be or we are cosigning future generations a very poor legacy indeed.

This does not have to be the case if there is a change to customs, practice, routines and rituals, and we truly appreciate our natural environment, both on land and in our seas.

Robert Grandon

Tullow Road

Carlow Town

When all (and more) are against you

Overheard in the Metropolis: “The other 32 counties and the referee were against Dublin.”

Mattie Lennon 

Lacken, Blessington, Co Wicklow

Clare data centre will benefit area

I was surprised to read about opposition to data centres planned outside Ennis town from Futureproof Clare, Extinction Rebellion Clare, and Clare Environmental Network (Environmentalists warn Clare data centre is a ‘climate disaster waiting to happen’, Irish Examiner, August 14).

Data centres bring jobs to the local area, initially in the form of construction, and IT staff who will maintain operations on site, so Futureproof Clare don’t sound like they are very passionate about future-proofing Clare.

Data centres are used by big tech companies, which have all stated that they want to run on 100% renewable electricity, and have been buying wind and solar farms to maintain that goal. This has helped push the Government towards more renewable energy, which I thought would make Extinction Rebellion Clare and Clare Environmental Network very happy.

Considering the construction and maintenance jobs that wind and solar will bring, it seems like a no-brainer; more data centres equals more wirt

Co Mand and solar, equals more high-skilled jobs, equals a more prosperous society for rural Ireland.

Declan Dever

Westpoyo