Kabul
The West underestimated what it would take to rebuild Afghanistan, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said this week during a surprise visit to Kabul. Blair said that five years after the invasion, rapidly accelerating violence across the country shows that the war is not close to an end. “I think we are wiser now to the fact this is a generation-long struggle,” he said. “I am not saying we remain here in the same way for that length of time, but I am saying that overall the roots of the Taliban and al Qaida are deep.” Insurgents this year have been carrying out an average of 600 attacks a month on NATO or Afghan forces, compared with 130 a month last year.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 exclusive cartoons about Trump and Putin negotiating peaceCartoons Artists take on alternative timelines, missing participants, and more
-
The AI arms raceTalking Point The fixation on AI-powered economic growth risks drowning out concerns around the technology which have yet to be resolved
-
Why Jannik Sinner's ban has divided the tennis worldIn the Spotlight The timing of the suspension handed down to the world's best male tennis player has been met with scepticism
