Watched the programme and didn’t think as much of it as some do. It came across as self justifying by Bush who had an unfortunate habit of seeming to find the whole thing a little funny at times. It also didn’t really tell the whole story did it in view of recent developments- there was a faint air of triumphalism at the end that was inappropriate.

The withdrawal of allied troops amounts to the worst of all worlds really. If you weren’t in favour of the invasion originally then it’s come far too late and, if you were, you’re left feeling why the allies didn’t see things through and, surely, you have to question whether the whole thing was worth it as it seems to me that the Taliban are back and stronger than they were in the nineties.

My feelings are on the anti intervention side with one of the reasons for that being that the intervention always seems very selective in terms of the size, power and military strength of the country to be “intervened” in. However, the Soviet experience in Afghanistan offered evidence that there was some under estimating in the nineties as to what the allies were getting themselves into.

Trying to be as impartial as possible, I find it very hard to come up with a defence of how things have turned out or of the original intervention.