Afghanistan: The Uncertain Legacy Of A Flawed Campaign

[Purveyor]

The thirteen-year war against the Taliban has been described by one senior British general as a 'score draw'

By Ben Farmer, Defence Correspondent

When the awful images of the 9/11 attacks filled British television screens and Tony Blair said the UK stood shoulder to shoulder with America, few could have suspected his vow would lead to a grinding military campaign in an obscure south western corner of Afghanistan.

Thirteen years after Mr Blair began military operations in the country, Britain’s withdrawal from Helmand and the handover of its last base in the province effectively ends the UK’s Afghan war.

In those years, Britain has lost 453 servicemen and women, while many more have been maimed and scarred. A campaign which began as a mission to topple the Taliban regime and capture or kill the terrorist leader they were harbouring evolved into an uncertain attempt to build a nation.

It was a campaign that became deeply unpopular and will cast a long shadow over future decisions to send British troops to fight abroad.

Even as the Union flag came down over the vast Camp Bastion, violence is still raging across the country and the campaign’s lasting success is difficult to judge.

more...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/11189170/Afghanistan-The-uncertain-legacy-of-a-flawed-campaign.html

[CJCRANE]

1. The UK and US were never going to implement liberal democracy and nation building abroad

when their politicians no longer believe in that at home.