No one has a good word to say about the Afghanistan campaign

President Biden will insist until his voice gets hoarse that he did the right thing to get all US troops out of Afghanistan in August last year. But now a year later - I won't call it an anniversary - I haven't heard a single military commander who was involved in the 20-year war say anything remotely positive about the way the campaign was handled or the way it was abruptly ended. Normally top commanders hate to admit that the men they commanded may have fought and sacrificed their lives for nothing. But this is the message coming out loud and clear. And of course they are technically right because Afghanistan has reverted to the Middle Ages. However, having gone to Afghanistan for a month at a time on about eight occasions over the years during the war, I think I have a duty to point out that despite the disastrous conclusion, a huge amount of good was done for the Afghan people in those 20 years. There were literally tens of thousands of international troops who during their tours dedicated themselves to helping the Afghans, whether it was training the Afghan military and police, setting up health clinics, rebuilding schools so that children, girls and boys, could be educated, and protecting communities from the Taliban. Huge mistakes were made at the very top of the military who espoused ambitions that were never realistic and resorted to counter-insurgency tactics that never worked against a ruthless insurgency. So those who served in Afghanistan either as military or as civilian professionals, deserve our thanks. It wasn't all for nothing because for 20 years the multinational force kept the Taliban at bay. And thousands lost their lives or were severely injured in the process. That should never be forgotten.