This Might Explain Some Things

The British commander in Afghanistan doesn't think the war there can be won.

"We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army."

He went on: "If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this. That shouldn't make people uncomfortable."

Well, he may be right, or he may be wrong. But attitudes like that certainly go a long way to explaining why, 232 years later, there are US troops permanently based in the UK, and not the other way around. That "negotiating with the insurgency" thing didn't turn out that well for them.