It's hard to believe what's happened to the world over the past six years.
The fact that we (the west) have learned nothing from the horrors of the Russia-Afghanistan conflict bears testimony that we are ignorant, arrogant fools who are doomed to fail. Like bullies in a schoolyard, we automatically assume that superior firepower and larger armies always win the day.
Don't forget that Russia - at that time - was a Superpower, with few other military commitments. Britain and America are fighting two wars with failing armies and economies that will follow suit if the present situation continues.
I didn't and don't support either of the wars that our government have decided are a necessity (for war can and must only be that). Anyone with just the smallest amount of common sense knew then and knows now that to fight such a war of ideology is folly. You cannot kill an idea or a spirit and the harder you try to force someone into doing something that they don't want to do, the harder they try to repel you.
No-one in History has ever ultimately won such a war and acheived peace. The only purpose such conflicts serve is to exacerbate hatred and resentment.
So, will we be in Afghanistan for more than nine years? Well, I hope not, but I think we probably will be. And I think that when we do leave, we will be facing some pretty awkward questions about our own future and morality.