Nato is not winning in Afghanistan, which risks becoming, once again, a failed state and haven for global jihadism, sustained by almost limitless narcotics revenue. That is the bleak conclusion of high-level reports last week from the Atlantic Council, a Washington think-tank, and the Afghanistan Study Group, co-chaired by General James Jones, the retired Nato commander, and Thomas Pickering, the former US ambassador to the United Nations.

These are not voices or views to be lightly dismissed. Gen Jones argues that Nato’s future as a credible alliance is at stake in Afghanistan. Or, as a top European diplomat puts it: “We are there in force, the country is going backwards, and the whole world is watching.”