History

History was my favourite subject at school. I still find it fascinating, in all its guises.

Take my family history. A little summer's research revealed great-grandparents who were coal miners, hay and straw merchants and domestic servants and great-great-grandparents who were shepherds, farm labourers and straw plaiters. The only political connection is a great-grandmother who was Winston Churchill's housekeeper when he was the Chancellor!

However, I'm finding the history of technology more relevant for my work. I'm currently studying the Internet, looking at ideas on everything ranging from education to competition policy. I'm finding past technological revolutions useful for understanding what's happening now.

The history of electricity, for example, provides lessons for the Internet's development. Past policy successes and failures from electricity's early age could inform our approach to the Internet's many challenges.

History should also inform how we fight international terrorism, particularly within the context of Afghanistan. As British and American forces rightly hunt down terrorist groups in Afghanistan, history strongly supports the Government's emphasis on simultaneously conducting humanitarian efforts for Afghans. Not for propaganda, but to prove we care about them.

British forces have fought in Afghanistan on at least three previous occasions. The first Anglo-Afghan war ended in 1842, with the British Empire's first major colonial defeat, and tens of thousands of British and Afghan deaths. After the second Anglo-Afghan war ended in 1880, the then British Government Minister said, "All that has been accomplished has been the disintegration of the state which it was desired to see friendly, strong and independent."

The conclusion of the third Anglo-Afghan war in 1919 saw Afghanistan look towards Communist Russia.

Whether our motivation is enlightened self-interest or moral duty, the history of British failure in Afghanistan shows we must win the hearts of innocents, as well as punishing the guilty.