I am a former Sunday Times journalist and author of several books, including Masterminds of Terror (2003) and Defending the Realm: Inside MI5 and the War on Terrorism. I first visited Afghanistan in the mid-1970s and have continued to follow events there very closely ever since. I was there again in January-February 2002 and, most recently, in the summer of 2008. Over the years I have never lost my interest in Afghanistan and its people and continue to believe in a great and dignified future for both.