Major Khan makes some cogent points - but fact is that every occupying foreign force in Afghanistan, throughout history, has lost not only large numbers of soldiers, but also the will to carry through an impossible mission. I believe we lost an entire division, some 10000 men, in Queen Victoria's time and the Soviets lost double that, before withdrawal. No "mission" is worth that. We should also ask ourselves why, if we are in Afghanistan, we are not also (God forbid) in Somalia.