After two tours leading British and NATO forces in Afghanistan, recent events there have left me with a sense of loss, raising many more questions than answers.  It’s as nothing compared with those who have lost loved ones, or have sacrificed their physical and mental health in the operation, and I struggle to answer the question ‘Was it worth it?’ with a straight yes or no.  There are no simple soundbites which offer solutions or apportion blame.

The first thing to state is that it is absolutely a tragedy; Afghanistan is now not a good place to be a woman, or anybody who believes in education or the rights of the individual.  It was never perfect, but progress had been made in the past 20 years in key areas such as women’s rights, education and health; literacy rates more than tripled – more so among women - and infant mortality halved.  The sad reality is that progress in those areas was not matched by similar advances in reducing corruption and crime, or in building good governance.  In a deeply traditional and patriarchal society, it wasn’t enough.  I find it interesting that, weeks after taking Kabul, the only policy promise that the Taliban have made is to fight corruption. For many Afghans, tired of being shaken down daily for ‘taxes’ by policemen and government officials, that is probably enough.