Fury over MoD bid to ban soldier's book

Fury over MoD bid to ban soldier's book about Afghanistan: Officials embarrassed by study they asked for

• Author 'forced to resign' from the Army after Ministry of Defence pulled support for controversial book
• Dr Mike Martin was one of only a handful of soldiers who could speak Pushtu fluently
• Afghan conflict has so far claimed 448 British lives
• Retired British general said he 'wished' he had this book while commanding in Afghanistan

By Ian Drury

Published: The Daily Mail - 10 April 2014

Defence bosses were last night embroiled in a censorship row over a British soldier’s highly critical book about the war in Afghanistan.
The MoD was accused of being paranoid as it made a last-ditch attempt to block publication of a damning study of Britain’s military campaign in Helmand.
The 13-year conflict has cost 448 British lives – most of them after Tony Blair ordered troops into the volatile Taliban stronghold in May 2006.

Dr Mike Martin (pictured in fatigues above) speaking to an Afghan villager in Helmand Province. Dr Martin served as a Captain in the Territorial Army when he was commissioned to write his book

MoD chiefs actually commissioned Oxford-educated Territorial Army captain Dr Mike Martin to write about the mission as part of his PhD.
But his criticism of intelligence blunders and the failure of commanders to understand the conflict is said to have embarrassed officials.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2600411/Ministry-Defence-tries-block-book-Helmand-commissioned-claims-contains-secrets-published-Wikileaks.html#ixzz2yVhVMfbS