Afghanistan was the first battleground in America’s “war on terror”. Now it has become the unlikely proving ground for a different struggle: nation building. When George Bush ordered US forces to attack al-Qaida and topple the Taliban regime after 9/11, his aim was revenge, not reformation. He was opposed to nation building in principle and had criticised the Clinton administration’s efforts in the Balkans and Haiti. In his view it was a bad idea, best left to the UN and EU.Full Story