Before another war breaks out, just remember Afghanistan and how it is today

My Sunday Times colleague Christina Lamb has written a devastating piece about life for families in Afghanistan today. It is a country in a spiral of desperation, hunger, depression and hopelessness. Just five months after the let's-get-the-hell-out-of-here evacuation of all international troops and thousands of lucky Afghans, Afghanistan under Taliban rule has fallen into a giant black hole of despair. The UN World Food Programme is trying against all odds to provide enough food to stop children dying of malnutrition but it's a Herculean challenge. One thing that seems clear from Christina's article is that the Taliban don't care. One so-called spokesman said the problems facing the country weren't affecting his lot, they were fine thank you. Presumably they have their own ways of getting plenty of food to fill their bellies. Recently there was a meeting between western nations and the Taliban to talk abut the dire situation in Afghanistan but, I guess understandably, the West wanted assurances about the treatment of women, education for children and all the other things which the Taliban appears to be rigidly opposed to. Since none of this is going to happen there is no likelihood that the West will unfreeze the billions of dollars of aid which not that long ago was pouring into the country, sometimes in suitcases packed with dollar bills. So doom, gloom and disaster for the Afghan people. No western leaders seem to be bothered. The only thing I have heard Boris Johnson talk about is how proud he is about the way the British military evacuated so many people in such a short period. For God's sake! Now Putin wants to add to the world's woes by considering causing death and destruction in Ukraine. Despite his denials. Another war, more misery and terror and death and life-changing injuries. And for what? So that Putin can live his dream of being the leader of a revived Soviet empire.