David Cameron, new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said he hoped British forces would be withdrawn from the Afghanistan within five years. However, he said that he found a mood of determination to get on with the job. But this was coupled with a strong sense that few Britons really understand what the UK Forces are doing, and the thinking among some is that the task may take longer than the politicians or public want.
“We are here to create time and space for governance to take hold,” said Lt Col James UK Forces. “That’s much more decisive than fighting the Taliban. It just takes hellishly long unless you have the right force density that’s my concern that we might be here 10 years rather than five years. But we need to see this through.”
The British have had a long history of being involved in “Small Wars” as was written by Colonel C. E. Caldwell (later MajGen before retirement) in his book by the same name in 1896. Caldwell wrote that battling the against the terrain as much as the enemy, the UK regulars found supply and intelligence the key to victory.
Gen. Jim Mattis, USMC, now designated as the new CENTCOM commander, once said to find a new idea, read an old book.
