mi like toni blr

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• sceptic64

  Afghanistan was pretty much a necessary intervention. This was a completely failed state, run by a hideous regime who also supported and housed terrorist organisations, giving them a base from which they regularly attacked the west, culminating in 11-Sept 2001. They were given the option to hand over the ringleaders and refused; hence the invasion and ‘regime change’.

  As to “staying around and killing Taliban”, well, they asked for it.

  Where it went wrong, though, was when he insisted on poodling up to the neocons and following them into Iraq, which was a huge error.

  Among other things, it worsened Afghanistan in two ways: first, it diverted the bulk of troops and attention – both UK and US – from Afghanistan, and meant that the Taliban could ’slide back in under the radar’; secondly, the insurgents could point at Iraq and claim “this is western policy – invasion and subjugation”, and people believed them and joined up.

  If we’d stayed focussed on Afghanistan, I don’t think it would be half the mess it is now, and the problem wouldn’t have worsened the way it did. But Blair’s feeble and supine posture towards Bush, Cheney et al meant we ended up with the worst of both worlds.