Winston Churchill on Afghanistan

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Financially it is ruinous. Morally it is wicked. Militarily it is an open question, and politically it is a blunder.

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Taken from an article by Con Coughlin, the author of a new book ' Churchill’s First War: Young Winston and the Taliban', published by Pan Macmillan:http://www.amazon.com/Churchills-Fir...nd+the+Taliban or http://www.amazon.co.uk/Churchills-F...nd+the+Taliban

Churchill wrote in his own book these words as a criticism of Imperial (British) India's policy of 'Forward Defence' in Afghanistan, that had been followed for sixty years at the time:

Quote:

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Churchill wrote these words in 1897 when, as a young cavalry officer, he found himself fighting the great-great-grandfathers of the modern Taliban movement. Churchill came very close to losing his own life during the six weeks he spent on the North-West Frontier, and his summary of the British effort in the 19th century eerily echoes the sentiments many British soldiers must now feel as they seek to wind down operations in Afghanistan.

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Link:http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/co...e-8600516.html

An independent review of the book:http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/890...s-own-destiny/

IMO his words apply today.