Afghan War inquiry: generals owe us an explanation

There is no point in having armed forces that keep on getting beaten – however gallantly they performed

Columnist Crispin Black

The Ministry of Defence looks set to announce an inquiry into the Afghan War once the final British troops leave the country next month. Such a process is absolutely vital to the future military efficiency of our armed forces who need to understand clearly the reasons for their defeat before they can regroup and reorganise.

I often wonder if at times our military leaders have sought to exaggerate to excuse. In an interview with the BBC on becoming Chief of the General Staff in 2009, General Sir David Richards described the fighting in Afghanistan thus: “This sort of thing hasn't really happened so consistently I don't think since the Korean War or the Second World War. This is persistent, low-level, dirty fighting." Others have loudly echoed his judgment.

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is a former Welsh Guards lieutenant colonel and intelligence analyst for the British government's Joint Intelligence Committee. His book, 7-7: What Went Wrong, was one of the first to be published after the London bombings in July 2005.