High Time We Left

Nick Robinson, speaking on the BBC’s Daily Politics show, for a change, actually managed to hit the nail on the head.

He observed that despite all the highly public ‘disagreements’ and arguments between the Tory ‘opposition’ (I use this term very loosely) and the Labour Government over the number of helicopters in service or the appointment of Sir Richard Dannatt as a political adviser, the two parties have practically identical policies on Afghanistan.

And it is true. The Conservatives, on this issue among so many others, have very little to say about Afghanistan or Iraq that radically differs from what is currently on offer. Both parties, save an honourable few among their ranks, enthusiastically endorsed the war by voting for it. Neither has altered their stance since.

Eight years later, some among those many who voted for the war are beginning to reconsider their position. Many more already have. After nearly a decade we have had ample time to survey the scene, to agonise over the many needless deaths and to debate the ins and outs of why we are still there. Indeed, The Times notes that opinion continues to swing towards withdrawal.

One must have concluded by now, as many did long before the invasion, that it was a bad idea to invade Afghanistan in the first place. Many have tried before and all have failed. The war was borne out of opportunity and mistaken idealism that imposing democracy was a simple matter rather than a process that takes time, experience and many generations.

Our presence in Afghanistan, like Iraq, does us no favours. It is high time that we left; high time that we got out of Afghanistan.