Get out now

Azeem Ibrahim (Opinion, 6 July) expertly explodes all the arguments justifying our presence in Afghanistan. Witness his statement of the obvious; the campaign has heightened the danger to us both there and here at home.

As he points out, this is not a country in the western sense, but a clan-based region of disparate tribal areas with their own leaderships. British explorers, imperialists and "peacekeepers" have never intervened in other lands with the ways of their people uppermost in mind. We have no right to object to, let alone interfere in any of their ways of life which we find offensive. It is up to people themselves to change their society by whatever means appropriate to their setting.

Where I disagree with Azeem Ibrahim is where he says the best we can now hope for is a negotiated withdrawal. We have failed the friendly Afghans and we should leave immediately with a profound apology to them.

ROBERT DOW

Ormiston Road

Tranent, East Lothian