UK Set To Bail on Afghanistan by 2014; What's the Narrative?

Hey, they might be there longer than the US...

Dr Fox said that within four years the Afghan army and police should take responsibility for security, leaving British troops to work only as military trainers.
The date is a full year earlier than the deadline suggested by David Cameron this month, who said he wanted most troops back by 2015.
"Dr Fox said that Mr Cameron's timetable was somewhat 'conservative,' and that the Government hoped the withdrawal of combat troops would take place a year earlier.
He spoke as foreign ministers from more than 60 countries converged on Kabul for a conference announcing the clearest timetable yet for withdrawing troops from the nearly nine-year-long conflict.

Over at Kings of War, there's a very nice, short blog post on how the British public isn't getting a coherent narrative on the war in Afghanistan. 8 years later.

When General Slim (also 6th Gurkha Rifles) drew the over-extended Japanese Army onto the Imphal plain thereby emasculating their logistic capability and turning the tide of the entire campaign, no one in Tokyo said it was a despicable trick. The British and the Japanese were fighting for their lives, tough tactics and despicable trickery were the norm.

The Taliban are fighting for their lives, and for some time have been completely aware that the effective build up of the ANA is one significant key to the coalition’ s success and their failure. They are also completely aware that the trust that runs between the mentored ANA battalions and their mentoring coalition cadres is both the critical and the most vulnerable point of that build up. Sowing distrust between the mentor and the mentored must be their top priority. Above all contriving the murder of a mentor by a soldier of the host Afghan battalion drives a wedge between the two parties that is hard to overcome.

Crying despicable fails to emphasise that the mentor-mentored relationship is a critical point in the operational concept for both sides. Using words like “despicable” makes it seem like a surprising and egregious act, whereas in truth it is an obvious thing to do. Instead of crying despicable, generals and politicians need a more robust narrative or explanation for what is happening. Rather than exuding baffled surprise, they should be saying firmly : look, the key to success is the establishment of an effective Afghan security force so we must expect that the Taliban will desperately try to sabotage this effort.

By: Brant