Rory Stewart, the British MP who traveled Afghanistan on foot in 2001 and 2002, argues that it's time to accelerate the Western withdrawal:
'Did our mission go wrong because Nato had too few troops; or because it sent too many? Could a different strategy have fixed the situation; or was it always impossible? The reason no longer matters. Whatever the explanation, things will not improve: Nato will not â??solve the relationship with Pakistanâ?Â; it will never create â??an effective, credible, legitimate Afghan governmentâ?Â; and in most parts of the country it has already lost â??the hearts and mindsâ? of the Afghan people.Some US and UK generals have long been pressing for â??just one more fighting seasonâ?Â. They feel that with just a little more time, things will improve. They are wrong. The longer we stay, the worse things will become. The Prime Minister made a wise and difficult decision to set a final end-date for combat operations. The UK cannot leave tomorrow because we need to ensure an orderly transfer, help the Afghan government take over, safely extract our men and equipment, and stay in step with our Nato allies (and in particular the US).
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