Hybris at the Hindu Kush

It is not a good idea to invade Afghanistan – geography and historical precedent are against it. In the nineteenth century, the British experienced what was probably the most devastating defeat in their colonial history. In the 1980s, the Soviet Union failed in its attempt to subjugate the country, with this defeat of its own making contributing to its downfall. But the US and its allies did not learn anything from the past. They occupied Afghanistan in 2001 without a plan or any clear goals. They financed a corrupt regime in Kabul while thousands of civilians died during drone attacks and night raids; anybody with a beard was considered a terrorist. Wanting to change a country without understanding it is a delusion of grandeur: hybris at the Hindu Kush.