At the British military headquarters at Kandahar, there is a pretty mural of the Afghan  countryside with the following quote beneath it: “It is better to let them do it themselves imperfectly, than do it yourself perfectly. It is their country, their way and our time is short.”

Were he alive, the quotation’s claimed author, T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia), might cringe, disturbed at such a cult of Lawrence among some fighting men and their leaders in Afghanistan and Iraq. To paraphrase another oft-quoted author, it is time to bury Lawrence, not to praise him.