The campaign in Afghanistan is now recognised as a war, not as a peacekeeping operation. The continued drip drip faucet of fatalities, returning to the patria, leaves little room for misunderstanding. Yet, the government has again misrepresented the commitment and the mission of British troops, leaving the country open to the risk of overstretch and failure. NATO has argued that the failure to deal with warlordism and the 'Taliban resurgence' was due to the Iraqi peace.
A report from the Senlis Council argues that the focus on drug eradication policies, the main livelihood of many Afghan farmers, has destroyed the sympathy of the Afghans and increased the likelihood of Taliban support. Instead of providing a subsidised false market for their goods, fostering capital development amongst the farmers, a stable market governed by contract and long-term diversification into more profitable products. Instead, their answer is weedkiller...
If you buck the market in an insurgency, you will prolong the war.