Mirror on the Campaign trail

Some nice solid campaigning from this morning's Mirror sticks up for our troops in Afghanistan, rather than its continous coverage of the Maddy case

The paper reports that

"IN the baking heat, British soldiers advance through a poppy field in the wilds of Afghanistan towards the Taliban.
Dark rings under their expressionless eyes show they have been through hell. Their cheeks are hollow from weight loss. They wince from bleeding sores on their bodies caused by carrying more than 70lbs of kit for up to 10 miles in 50C heat.
The grim toil of war makes them look like battle-hardened veterans with at least 10 years' service - but their average age is just 19."

And voice of the Mirror says

These young men hourly risk their lives fighting a fanatical Taliban hell-bent on re-imposing cruel religious laws.
We have nothing but admiration for them. They are the proof that their generation has the courage to stand up and be counted when the going gets nasty.
But we are concerned about the longterm impact on young servicemen and servicewomen of the intolerable strains and stresses of military combat.
The average age of the young men encountered by the Mirror is just 19 - the average age of American servicemen killed in Vietnam.
A political and economic solution to the conflict that is tearing Afghanistan apart must be the government's goal.
Because our children's young lives are too precious to lose.