Introduction

Abstract

The armed forces of the United Kingdom have now, at the time of writing, been involved in Afghanistan for exactly a decade. By the time the forces draw down from combat roles in 2015, they will have been engaged for almost a decade and a half. Nor will this be the end of the commitment. Some UK forces will remain in a mentoring and support role for the Afghan National Security Forces for some years thereafter. The political commitment to create a sustainable Afghan state and deny international terrorists any ungoverned space in the country remains open-ended.