The war in Afghanistan is "madcap" and "futile" and serves "no conceivable national interest," says Sir Christopher Meyer (pictured above), who as Britain's ambassador to Washington had a ringside seat on the dispatch of troops there.
The fighting is "a waste of blood and treasure" because there is no coherent purpose behind it, he argues scornfully in a new book.
Meyer, who was Blair's man in America from 1997 to 2003, writes that : "After nearly eight years in Afghanistan ... there is still no clarity about why were are there. Is it to stop Al-Qaeda returning on the shirt-tails of the Taliban? Or are we trying to create the conditions to transform Afghan governance and society? Depending on who you speak to - British or American - it is either, both or something in the middle.
Will Gordon Brown listen to one of Tony Blair's right hand men? Your guess is as good as mine.
Source: The Times
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11 comments:
Christopher Meyere is a smug twat, as it happens, but he's absolutely spot on this time.
He is indeed Mark, he's quite erm... well known in this area. But he can deliver the odd superb speech and this was one.
Probably best to avoid walks in woods or up mountains for the near future though Chris mate.
People who get in the way of what Blair wants, and try to thwart him seems mysteriously to end up having heart attacks at the topof hills or cutting their wrists in very odd ways...
Odd ways being from behind your back so I've read Tris. :)
The War in Afghanistan is over, it's all about saving face now.
http://watching-history.blogspot.com/2009/10/war-in-afghanistan-2001-201x.html
Hi Canada Guy, thanks for looking in and thank you too for the link.
Saving face is going to cost a great many lives though, that's the sadness.
You're the sensible ones pulling out next year and letting the poseurs Brown and Obama take the flack.
Good blog Canada Guy, I've put you on my reader. :)
Thanks subrosa! I was worried for a while that the Conservative government here might extend the deadline. But since the war is very unpopular and with the whole election fiasco, I doubt that will happen now.
Canada Guy, David Cameron has said nothing different to what Brown is spewing at present. Cameron would send more troops and he'd set up a War Cabinet. That's about as much as we know about tory policy and this war.
There is so little difference between labour and the tories I don't think people will notice when they change places.
Yes, that's similar to the Liberal party here (which started the war) and the current Conservative party in power. The liberals might have set the pullout for a year earlier, but that's probably the biggest difference.
RB, but you now have a pull out date organised. We're fed the information that we may be there for generations.
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