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Afghanistan: The Lion's Last Roar?
SERIES 1 - EPISODE 1
BBC Two (not Wales) Sun 26th Oct 9pm - 10pm
Repeat: BBC Two Wales Today 10:30pm
Repeat: BBC Two (only England, Wales) Thursday 11:20pm

Review by: David Butcher

“I think there’s a very good chance that Afghanistan marks the end of Britain as a global military power,” argues one expert here. That’s the gist of this powerful two-parter, which charts with brutal hindsight how British involvement in the war there went so wrong.

Generals, diplomats and historians line up to analyse each step of the process, and it makes for a gripping but dispiriting watch. The historical perspective is pretty haunting too: one contributor recalls that when British soldiers searched roadsides in Helmand for IEDs they dug up the bones of their forerunners who died there in the nineteenth century.

1/2. Eight years ago, the British Army arrived in Helmand in Afghanistan, confident they could keep the peace, defeat the Taliban and rebuild the impoverished province. Now the troops are leaving, with hundreds having given their lives. This two-part documentary tells the story of the conflict in Afghanistan, beginning with how initial miscalculation led to near catastrophe shortly after the troops arrived.
www.radiotimes.com

Afghanistan: The Lion's Last Roar?
BBC Two Sun 2nd Nov 9pm - 10pm
Repeat: BBC Two (not Scotland) Thursday 11:15pm
Review by: David Butcher

It's hard to get past the despairing tone of this documentary, fascinating as it is. The conclusion of the two-parter continues in the vein set last week: from 2006 onwards, the Afghan war sees one disastrous mess-up follow another. You might call it a comedy of errors if it didn't feel so tragic.

Overall, we’re left with the impression of the British Army being handed a hopeless mission, an unwinnable war – and getting humiliated as a result.

Generals, ministers, diplomats and Taliban commanders chew over the stages of a campaign that cost £25 billion and 453 British lives yet seems only to have wrecked our global reputation – and appetite – for fighting.

2/2. As the death toll mounted, the British public began to lose faith in the campaign in Afghanistan and questioned whether the sacrifice was necessary. The conclusion of this two-part documentary tells the story of Britain's attempts to extricate itself from the conflict, and asks whether the nation will ever have the desire to commit troops to such wars in the future.
www.radiotimes.com