Afghanistan: The Dangers of Happy Talk  

One of the good innovations by the new government in foreign affairs is the quarterly report to Parliament on Afghanistan.  It is a pity, therefore, that as far as I know there was no advance notice of the latest one, and that it seems to be a substitute for proper debate about the situation in the country.  William Hague introduced the latest report by saying it was a ‘review of progress’ – and true to his word he only told us how well things were going (using the word ‘progress’ nine times). You wouldn’t know from the report that western nations are announcing unilateral and divergent dates for pulling out of combat (British troops are according to today’s statement to be fighting for some 18 months after the Americans) or that Pakistan is at risk of going into freefall.  Both are directly relevant to the situation today.  As Paddy Ashdown has written in the Times, and...