IT is inevitable – and it is right – that the involvement of British troops in Afghanistan is questioned and reexamined whenever another soldier is killed in action.

And when 15 of our brave men are lost in the space of ten days, the calls for a review of our strategy are bound to grow louder.

It is how it should be, because we must never take the sacrifice of those soldiers for granted.

We must constantly think about the dangers they face and, as we said on Saturday, look for ways to make their task safer.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown responded to renewed demands for a reassessment of Britain’s role in Afghanistan yesterday, as the Ministry of Defence named six soldiers killed in action on Friday.

He insisted that the fight to clear terrorist networks from Afghanistan and Pakistan must continue.

But, while the political debate goes on back home, it is a quote from the front line which we feel is most pertinent in these particularly tragic days.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Thomson, commanding officer of 2 Rifles, which lost five men on Friday, said: “Each one of those riflemen would have wanted us to crack on.

“And that is what we shall do – there will be no turning; the work is too important.”

Our forces know the dangers that they face in Afghanistan. They know that when they go out on patrol, they may not come back.

But they want to “crack on” and complete the extremely important job they have been given.

And that speaks volumes about the quality of the men battling to prevent terrorism coming to our streets.