""Will any of the above come to pass if the international community pulls out of Afghanistan as rapidly as possible?

Not a hope in hell, all the above would do would be to create a horrendous human catastrophe. Potentially costing the lives of some 8.8 million people and committing the population of Afghanistan and the region to an endless civil war.""


Of course pulling out now would be a disaster, there's no gainsaying THAT.

But we never should have been there in the first instance.

Unless the US and the UK are prepared to spread their "altruistic" protection to countries with equally serious, or even worse, human rights problems (Darfur, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Nigeria, China, Tibet etc. etc.) it is hypocrisy to pontificate on the "unselfish" interference in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When, for example, might we expect them to separate the Israelis from their neighbours' territory, and stop them killing Palestinian civilians?

Don T.