Yet Toynbee is correct to point out that Afghanistan needs help and the West would be both morally wrong and politically short-sighted to abandon it. And Hamilton is equally correct when he says that NATO is the politically wrong vehicle to control the mission because it is a military rather than a political entity and the problems being addressed are greater. But, for Afghanistan to have a chance of progress, that would imply a UN mission and that would require the USA to cede control. Something that I think we all know is never gonna happen; not now, nor even a year from now

War is politics by other means. But for a military solution to be an effective part of policy we need to understand the politics of what we're attempting and determine the best way to achieve it. Arguing about the size or command structure of the military is pointless until we know what we're supposed to be doing with it.

We need a political solution. that requires somebody with a brain to run the show and right now that seems in short supply.

keep to the Fen Causeway