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We will never succeed in Afghanistan or Iraq because we will never be able to prove once and for all, beyond any reasonable doubt, that it was our fault that we succeeded.

Assuming for the moment we eventually succeed in either theatre, it will always be a matter of debate and perspective as to whether you believe it was the British, or some other combination of factors, that may have brought about the peace (read: absence from armed conflict) and stability (read: stable economy, national standard of education, universal suffrage as appropriate within the bounds of the reigning cultural restraints and job opportunities).

With a very few seconds thought you can realise just how long the second of these two criteria could potentially take to achieve. It could be generations. Over such a long period, anyone with even a little knowledge could point to any of dozens of alternative reasons for any claims of success.

So, unless it's a declared war between two industrial states, or a short, sharp peace enforcement mission of some kind, or a disaster relief effort followed by enthusiastic reconstruction, don't think for a moment that history will give you credit for it. To win, you have to win outright as quickly as possible and in a way that can be weighed and measured. Winning an industrial war is a clean result. Proving that you have defeated some wishy washy bullshit like "global terrorism" (as if it were that well organised!) or some made-up "axis of evil" is as impossible as proving a negative.

There is another problem. In both theatres, we invaded. I don't care why we did it, or whether we asked anyone's permission, or whether it was (theoretically) legal... we invaded. End of discussion. This is a problem because history will look anywhere but at the feet of the armed invaders for the credit. No invader in history ever got a good write-up, no matter how honourable their intentions. They might spin the propaganda in the short term, but ultimately it'll bite them back. The empire bit us back hard and turned us into a nation of apologetic depressives whom ethnic minorities with an axe to grind the world over take great pleasure in poking with a sharp stick every time there is an anniversary of the slave trade.

I think we have the capacity to succeed in Afghanistan and if our politicians don't bottle it (and they will, unfortunately, because they are gutless, venal, self-serving career politicians), we could do quite well there. But I absolutely do not believe we will ever get any kind of credit for it.

Pitt's kind are dinosaurs. We will never see their like again. Other species flourish now (don't read too much into that. I'm not calling the lefties and liberals rodents, for instance! I have liberal leanings myself, after all ;-).