A member of Britain’s special forces told me recently that in 2006, he had been on operations something like 269 days out of 365,’ said Adam Holloway, Conservative MP for Gravesham and a member of the Commons defence committee. ‘People like him have been incredibly busy ever since the build-up to the Iraq war more than four years ago, but they can’t do it forever. Not surprisingly, his marriage has cracked up.’ The past fortnight has seen a rush of announcements which emphasise the far-flung nature of Britain’s military commitments since the start of the century. Tony Blair – who had earlier stayed away from a Commons debate on Iraq – told Parliament that the long-awaited withdrawal from the south of the country would begin with the departure of 1,600 troops this spring. A day and a half later, Des Browne, the Secretary of State for Defence, announced that 1,400 more troops would be sent to southern Afghanistan, where British forces had to fight desperately last summer to avoid being overwhelmed by the Taliban. Mr Holloway, a former army officer, said his old regiment, the Grenadier Guards, was in the process of returning from Shaibah logistics base, […]