Afghanistan and Pakistan

Any decisions on what to do about Afghanistan and Pakistan should be made in the light of the ruinous cost to the ailing US and UK economies of these wars.

The Iraqi surge was morally the right thing to do, given the bloodshed there, and the fact that the allies had broken the previous status quo; the surge gave military backing to the political alliances and avoided unequivocal defeat. To what extent a surge will have the same short-term effect in Afghanistan is the burning question, to which I don't have an answer.

But we need to get out as soon as is practical, because even America, never mind the UK, can't afford to play world policeman anymore. When America had a strong industrial base, it could have done so. Incursions into Pakistan will undermine the Pakistani state rather than support it; a political solution will involve some form of compromise with uncongenial Islamic social systems.

At least we have learned to stop talking about liberal democracy. Not much comfort in this situation, but the West is becoming a little more attuned to the political, cultural, demographic and economic realities.