Afghan security forces deployed around the Tolkham border point between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, on July 23, 2021, and started operations against the Taliban. The Taliban recently attacked Spinbolda in Kandahar Gram border point. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
- Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace said The decision of the United States to withdraw troops “leaves a very big problem for the local area.”
- Wallence warned that al-Qaeda might make a comeback.
- About 600 British troops were sent to Afghanistan to help evacuate the country’s nationals.
Britain lashed out at the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan on Friday, warning that the Taliban’s comeback will create a breeding ground for extremists who threaten the world.
Defense Minister Ben Wallace announced on Thursday that as Islamists seize more control, about 600 soldiers will help evacuate British nationals from the country.
But he told Sky News that the US decision to withdraw “leaves a very big problem on the ground” and handed the momentum to the Taliban.
He predicted that this would benefit Al-Qaeda, who were provided a safe haven by the Taliban before the September 11, 2001 attack, which prompted the West to participate in Afghanistan for 20 years.
“I am absolutely worried that failed countries are hotbeds for such people,” he added.
“Of course, al Qaeda may make a comeback,” he said, warning that it would “pose a security threat to us and our interests.”
When talking about the Doha agreement signed by the United States and the Taliban, Wallace said: “I think it is a mistake to do that. As an international society, we may all pay the price.”
As the Taliban’s series of victories indicate that the Afghan government forces are in chaos, a young general is improving his reputation on the battlefield and social media.https://t.co/Hyr6s6Vo5R
— News24 (@News24) August 12, 2021
He said that the agreement signed last year under the leadership of former US President Donald Trump gave Britain no choice but to withdraw its troops.
The 600 British troops sent to Afghanistan to help repatriate approached the 750 British troops in the country before the withdrawal.
Wallace said they will help up to 3,000 British nationals to leave.
The minister’s criticism of the withdrawal came from senior politicians and senior military officials.
-‘Total betrayal’-
Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the influential special committee on foreign affairs in the parliament, told the BBC: “We just got rid of them,” referring to the Afghan people.
Conservative MPs added that Britain needs to send more troops to facilitate its withdrawal, which is a “clear sign of failure.”
Former Minister of International Development Rory Stewart called the withdrawal “a total betrayal of the United States and Britain” and may trigger a civil war between rival warlords currently defending the Taliban.
Read also | Taliban captures Kandaharat, Afghanistan; embassy personnel evacuated
Johnny Mercer, a former Conservative MP who served in Afghanistan and former Veterans Minister, called the withdrawal “a shame.”
“I think this is a shame for the British army and the families who lost individuals there, but most importantly, it is a huge tragedy for the Afghan people, who have gone through so much over the years,” he told Times Radio station.
“We chose this failure, which is shameful.”
Doug Beattie, the leader of the Ulster Unity Party in Northern Ireland, has traveled with the British army three times in Afghanistan, and he said ordinary Afghans will pay for it.
“We have raised the expectations of the Afghan people that we will create better things for them,” he told the Irish national broadcaster RTE.
“And we will break it because of our inaction… We have committed a strategic failure, the last time we left Afghanistan as soon as possible without a political solution.”
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