How Long Has Afghanistan Been a Military Disaster?

Well, the Brits have been dicking around there since the late 1800s.

Having spent eight frustrating years behind a desk, the Brigadier-General relished the opportunity to climb back into the saddle and lead an active life. Here was occasion to rediscover adventure and rekindle his military career.
'I feel sure that change will be good for me in ever way,' he reflected.
His enthusiasm might have been dented by the discovery he made while on his way to Kandahar. On April 18, 1880, at a small British depot compound near Dubrai, he came across a massacre.
Refusing to withdraw in the face of a local revolt, a Major Waudby and two Indian sepoys, along with 30 unarmed staff, had been butchered by insurgents after holding them off for three hours.
When they ran out of ammunition they had charged the enemy. Some, recalled Henry Brooke, had been shot 'clean hit between the eyes'. Pathos was added to the brutal scene by the loyal pet dog of Waudby which, in spite of deep swordcuts to its back, continued to stand guard above its master's body.
The dog survived and was taken back to Britain, a lone survivor. It was a vignette from a small-unit action in a long-forgotten war. Worse was ahead.
Then, as now, we embarked on the mission ill-equipped and unprepared for the hazards that lay ahead. Then, as now, we won countless skirmishes and yet failed to win Afghanistan.
Then, as now, we imposed Western systems of control and later wondered why they fell apart. Then, as now, our political leaders scrabbled for an exit strategy with as much dignity and as little panic as they could muster.
The despair of Henry Brooke is obvious when he wrote: 'A more useless and unnecessary thing than an expedition into this country could not be imagined.'
Things have hardly changed.
Make no mistake, Afghanistan is dying. Do not be misled by news of elections and images of ballot boxes, by media reports of village fruit stalls piled high and shops enjoying a fine trade, or by reassurances that our latest push has met with scant resistance.
The bare fact is that nine years on, the insurgency is strong and undefeated. The Taliban has time, patience and limitless manpower - yet we continue to deceive ourselves that we are winning,

Much, much more over at the Daily Mail

By: Brant