What wonderful news to hear that, at long last, Bomber Command are to get the memorial they richly deserve and which is so long overdue.

What a truly dreadful state of affairs that the 55,573 men who were killed in the Second World War are only now, 65 years after the end of that conflict, being officially recognised with the building of this memorial in London.

Sadly, many of the survivors of those fraught days have passed away before seeing this memorial to their valour.

The succession of politicians, from Winston Churchill down, who have consistently refused to allow this memorial to be built, for the usual “politically correct” reasons, should hang their collective heads in shame at this dreadful calumny.

Unfortunately, we are currently embroiled in another political debacle with the completely unwinnable war in Afghanistan.

This war will drag on, as nobody in Government (even our brand-new dual Government) has the faintest idea of how to end our involvement, and pull our troops out, as it would bring the wrath of the United States crashing down on their politically correct ears, and they’d sooner our servicemen and women stayed there than risk that.

Philip Roe, Roman Avenue South, Stamford Bridge.

• Afghanistan will be Britain’s Vietnam unless we pull out now. It is costing us a fortune in money and loss of life, and achieving almost nothing.

We are supporting and helping a rotten and thoroughly corrupt government and administration, exactly like the US did in Vietnam.

It is ridiculous to expect the ordinary peoples of Afghanistan, never mind their Taliban fighters, to respect us and follow our wishes and policies, when we aid people like Hamid Karzai and his government.

There is no sign of decency, democracy or diligence anywhere on the horizon. The whole affair is sordid and wrong. We must leave now.

David Quarrie, Lynden Way, Holgate, York.