Richards Sets The Tone

I don't think General Sir David Richards, who becomes Chief of General Staff on 28th August, has made a promising start:

“I believe that the UK will be committed to Afghanistan in some manner — development, governance, security sector reform — for the next 30 to 40 years. “We need now to focus on the expansion of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police. Just as in Iraq, it is our route out militarily, but the Afghan people and our opponents need to know that this does not mean our abandoning the region. We made this mistake once. Our opponents are banking on us doing it again, and we must prove them wrong,”

"Of the Taleban, he said: “We can and are outfighting them.”

Maybe I'm being a little unfair but in this self-penned article, it sounds like he's gone native. What's more, a thirty or forty-year commitment, whether in troops, money or expertise, isn't one the British people want but I bet the oil pipeline & mineral exploration companies do.

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UPDATE: With thanks to one of Sub Rosa's commenters for pointing up this article which shows the American administration are trying to learn from parallels with Vietnam, in particular bogus elections and the standing of President Karzai.

Richards Sets The Tone