Imperial Incompetence

As the evidence of our past incompetence grows, so too does the ability of TV documentaries to chart that process in excruciating detail. “Partition in Colour” (Channel 4) made a lot of the technical changes which enables us to turn historic black and white footage into colour, giving it a more realistic and contemporary feel.

But the story it tells is still one of bungling and insensitivity, of Brits taking rapid decisions in their own short-term self-interest, with little awareness of the consequences that these will have for the people who actually live in the country. To watch Mountbatten’s vanity and personal prejudice foul up any notion of a rational, fair negotiation is embarrassing - but that’s far too weak a word when you add up the number of people who died as a result.

If 1947 seems a long time ago, watching “Afghanistan: Getting Out” provides no reassurance that anything has go better. British and American decision-makers blunder through a series of contradictory decisions, trying to minimise their own discomfort without any recognition of the consequences for the allies they are betraying. And on both cases these programmes have expert local witnesses, Indians, Pakistanis and Afghans, who watched these disasters unfold, warned against what was likely to happen and were fatally ignored.

It’s uncomfortable viewing, but it also explains why the West has found it hard to gather truly international support for the cause of resisting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Europe is mostly onside, give or take the occasional lapse, but across the world our track record of exploitation and selfishness does not look all that different from Russia.