AFGHANISTAN (3)

Britain has ended its combat operations in Afghanistan. Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, the U.K. has seen 140,000 soldiers serve there, at a cost of some £19 billion. 453 troops have died, many more have been wounded, a sizeable proportion for life.

Politicians have been scrambling over themselves to say that the cost has been worth it, and that Afghanistan is now able to stand on its own two feet. This is one big lie. The country was a mess when the West went in, it is still a mess today.

The arguments I made back in 2010 are still valid today. All that blood and treasure was a complete waste of resources. Future historians will judge it very badly.

Walter Blotscher