It is not clear if Britain's military capability is permanently degraded. The 'overstretch' that is becoming ever more apparent will not have been helped by the extra deployment to Afghanistan. Yet, there is a need for the nascent political structure to protect itself from overthrow by the Taliban. Is this need one that the British should support?
Afghanistan presents the unusual interaction of two pet wars: terror and drugs. To avoid the resurgence of one, the British Army is focused upon fighting the other, in the southern part of the country. You may as well fight sand. Afghani peasants profit from opium crops, and alternatives are far less profitable. Why should they give up a profitable livelihood at the behest of the British government. The Blair administration, tuneless peeps to multinational shibboleths notwithstanding, are deploying British troops in a narco-state. It has been for two decades, and it will be after they are gone. If they wield a heavy hand in eradicating the poppies, terror will increase.
The task to build a 'stable and secure' Afghanistan would not be 'easy or small', added Reid.
He said while British troops were not on a 'counter-terrorism' mission, the additional support was needed to stop Afghanistan from falling back 'into the clutches of the Taleban and international terrorism.'
The operation would also be aimed at helping Afghanistan tackle its trade in opium, the raw material for heroin.
Reid stressed that the task to bring security to a 'fragile' country was being shared by all NATO states.
'This will be a truly multinational effort', he said.
This effort, and the one billion pounds that it costs, will be wasted unless new tactics are adopted. Afghanis will stop growing opium for export as drugs if you provide a more profitable use for their crops. The legal alternatives for such crops are restricted by regulation and zealous customs officials. The difficulties that the legal hemp industry afce are detailed here.
The most probable outcome is British involvement with the seasonal skirmishes that the Taliban foster with the aid of the Arabs, now appearing again along the borders. After some showcase examples, opium will be ignored to maintain peace amongst the tribes that govern these hazardous provinces. That still does not solve the problem of making the Afghani richer, the only route to a stable and peaceful country.