Monday 26 June 2006

Afghanistan will be a mess for many years to come

On 11 March 2012, the opinions of Sir William Patey, the British ambassador to Afghanistan, appeared in The Sunday Telegraph.

The interview was conducted the day before six British soldiers were killed in Kandahar.

“We were too focused on Iraq and we took our eye off the ball. We thought we had won and the Taliban had run away and we just sort of left it to the Afghans to get on with it and we very quickly switched our focus to Iraq. You don’t normally write history so quickly but I’m pretty clear that we won’t have to wait too long for history to make that judgment…

Afghans have never been comfortable with foreigners and there comes a point — no matter how benign the intentions, and how much you explain that this is not an occupying force, that we are here under a UN mandate agreed with the Afghans — when you just outstay your welcome…

It will be very difficult for the Taliban to argue they are fighting a foreign invader when the people on the streets are their own police and army…

AFGHANISTAN WILL BE A MESS FOR MANY YEARS TO COME…

You ask me what the biggest risk to the success of our strategy is? Well, IT’S US. It is the West being diverted somewhere else or the international community not being prepared to ante up the money…

It is important that Afghanistan continues to make progress on reinforcing democratic institutions, having free and fair elections, and there is no regression in human rights. So it’s not just, 'Here’s a pile of money for 10 years’. WE DON’T EXPECT AFGHANISTAN TO HAVE ELIMINATED CORRUPTION, but we do expect to see some improvements...

OUR PREFERENCE IS FOR THE TALIBAN TO REINTEGRATE and reconcile. NOBODY HAS OBJECTED TO THE TALIBAN becoming a political party, nobody has objected to the Taliban taking part in politics or holding government positions or district-level positions if that’s how it turns out.”
'We don’t expect Afghanistan to have eliminated corruption.' So, 404 deaths later, you tell us it will still be a sh*thole when we leave?

"Our preference is for the Taliban to reintegrate and reconcile."
Do you think the 404 dead were aware of your preferences?

"Nobody has objected to the Taliban."
The lies they tell, eh? If this lie was ever true, Sir Bill, why did we invade? Why are our young men still out there dying right now?

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