What's the end goal in Afghanstan?

[sasguru]

Shouldn't we know? Shouldn't someone ask, FFS?

Coz I sure as hell can't see it?

[minestrone]

EO told me last time this subject was raised that they were "taking the fight to them"

More like chasing crap round your arsehole with a bit of newspaper.

[Mich the Tester]

Is this another bloody football thread?

[Zippy]

To bring back the Russians?

[Menelaus]

the endgame in Afghanistan appears to be to extricate ourselves with minimal number of additional British casualties.

does that sound quite as sad to anyone else as it does to me?

[DaveB]

Shouldn't we know? Shouldn't someone ask, FFS?

Coz I sure as hell can't see it?

In their minds the Taliban are "defeated" and civilian rule established with a credible Afgan government supported by effective military and police organisations. Foreign troops withdraw amid fanfares and trumpets of victory.

In reality, it's all just a little bit of history repeating itself.

[Zippy]

the endgame in Afghanistan appears to be to extricate ourselves with minimal number of additional British casualties.

does that sound quite as sad to anyone else as it does to me?

Yes.

[Moscow Mule]

What's the end goal in Afghanstan?

The aim has been stated as converting a place where terrorists were trained to a place where terrorists are not trained.

It's also (probably) being used as a honeypot to keep jihadiis in one place.

There is some doubt as to the efficacy of the UK approach to point one. There's a fair bit of doubt about the second one too IMO.

[swamp]

The end goal in Afghanistan is to capture Osama bin Laden. Unfortunately he escaped in the first act (Rumsfeld part 1, chapter 1: 'Shock and Awe').

Right now OBL is probably in a different Stan, or he's hiding in a deep cave (or he's working for the CIA if you believe some nutters). Meanwhile we're still in Afghanistan on a hiding to nothing, and the only thing that's likely to see us leave is the break up of NATO.

[George Parr]

Whatever happened to the 'War on Drugs'?