WHAT HAVE WE GOT TO SHOW FOR IT?

TWENTY disastrous years in Afghanistan and what has Britain to show for it?

Absolutely nothing apart from a legacy of traumatised soldiers, countless dead civilians and a nascent failed state about to be overrun by psychopaths.

However, we now know that a well-equipped, fully trained military is no match for hirsute mountain men with AK-47s.

As with the United States, Britain’s days of imposing its well-intentioned will on countries not yet ready for our brand of democracy are over.

Along with the Afghan government, we failed to create a reliable army. All that remains now is to prepare for the inevitable exodus of civilians escaping the unimaginable atrocities of the Taliban.

Have we learned nothing from history? It seems not.

Bernie Carroll via email