Saturday 26 June 2010

History Repeating As Tragic Farce

In 1842, shortly after his return from Afghanistan, an army chaplain, Reverend G R Gleig, wrote a memoir about the First Anglo-Afghan War, of which he was one of the very few survivors. It was, he wrote, "a war begun for no wise purpose, carried on with a strange mixture of rashness and timidity, brought to a close after suffering and disaster, without much glory attached either to the government which directed, or the great body of troops which waged it. Not one benefit, political or military, has Britain acquired with this war. Our eventual evacuation of the country resembled the retreat of an army defeated."

FF to the present day and Obama has announced that he will begin withdrawing troops in July 2011. The start of the US withdrawal is likely to begin a rush to evacuate the other Nato forces located in pockets around the country: the Dutch have announced that they will be pulling out of Uruzgan this summer, and the Canadian and Danes won't be far behind them. Nor will the Brits, despite assurances from Hague and Fox. A recent poll showed that 72 per cent of Britons want the troops out of Afghanistan immediately, and there is only so long any government can hold out against such strong public opinion. Certainly, it is time to shed the idea that a pro-western puppet regime that excludes the Pashtuns can remain in place in Afghanistan indefinitely. The Karzai government is crumbling before our eyes, and if we delude ourselves that this is not the case, we could yet face a replay of 1842.

5 comments:

  1. Did the U.K. not just commit to another 5 years in Afghanistan?
    The only way the U.S. will leave is if the global community demands it. Or if too many of the NATO forces start pulling out fast. THE U.S. clock has just reset to 0.00 now that Patreus is in full charge. Forget about the past 9 years. [Conditions on the ground] [draw down], not withdrawal, [as they stand up, we will stand down], same ol EFFEN lip service.

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  2. Yes as always RZ. The '5 years' was actually an inept attempt at setting a date for clearing out. The FIVE will be treated with horror in tomorrow's Sunday papers and rightly so. There is no, repeat NO, chance of UK soldiers being in Afghanistan by even the end of next year. There is NO support for this clustefuck in this country. See Rory Stewart (a former soldier, diplomat and Conservative MP amazingly) on the subject today - link below.
    Best
    T
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/5797197/Afghanistan-a-war-we-cannot-win.html

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  3. The U.K. and the U.S. will be in C/Asia for a long time to come.
    As long as China, and OPEC keep lending America money. They will continue into the abyss.
    I do hope that I am wrong, and that you are correct.
    Unfortunately I see only further chaos. As soon as they see it is futile, and they still want to continue. A false flag will be raised.

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  4. I think you are right about the US but hope you are wrong about the UK. Hard to call but the balance sheet might trump all bets in the UK. We are seriously broke.

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  5. Unfortunately major wars have pulled economies out of the toilet in the past. I hope they are not listening. :-)

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