Col Harry Fullerton (OBE) Afghanistan: Tactical Success - Strategic Failure

In the second part of the podcast with Colonel Harry Fullerton, the former commander of the Household Cavalry regiment assesses what went wrong in Afghanistan and why. Harry explains that while he, and other commanders, achieved tactical success on the ground - defeating the Taliban wherever they met them - the overall mission was a strategic failure. He describes the campaign as Britain’s fourth Afghan War, adding that the previous three had all failed. He lists the many failings associated with the campaign but argues that the greatest mistake was the misguided belief that Western nations could deliver democracy to a country like Afghanistan in such a short period of time

Harry also talks about the loneliness of command, the fear of failure and the differences between commanding troops on combat operations compared to undertaking public duties back in the UK.