- Fearing that thousands of eligible Afghans might be left behind, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the British airlift from Kabul.
- Like the United States, Britain has also been criticized for failing to predict the speed of the downfall of the Afghan government.
- Both countries have come under fire for failing to prepare adequately for the chaos that followed the Taliban’s seizure of power.
On Sunday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended Britain’s airlift from Kabul after increasing criticism that ministers were “asleep under surveillance” and may leave thousands of eligible Afghans in the country. .
Like the United States, the United Kingdom has been criticized for failing to predict the speed of the downfall of the Afghan government, which means it is not fully prepared for the chaos following the Taliban’s seizure of power.
The last British military flight departed Kabul late on Saturday, ending a chaotic two weeks, during which soldiers helped evacuate more than 15,000 people arriving at the capital’s airport, who fled the country desperately.
Richard Dannat, the former chief of staff of the British Army, said the government now needs to conduct an investigation to determine why it was not prepared for a rapid change in the situation.
He told Time Radio:
Why it seems that the government is asleep under surveillance is unfathomable. We have done this kind of chaotic extraction, we should do better, we could have done better.
According to the Observer, thousands of e-mails sent by lawmakers and charities to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs detailed the cases of Afghan citizens who needed help to leave, but no one read them.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has been tirelessly evacuating people, but it has been warning that it cannot help everyone. The spokesperson declined to provide any further details about the process.
British Defense Minister Ben Wallace predicted last week that the time to evacuate about 1,000 Afghans who are eligible to come to the UK has run out, including former staff members to the UK.
Read | Britain may destroy or abandon some military equipment to make more space for evacuees
Lisa Nandy, a spokesperson for the opposition in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ministers were completely unprepared for the withdrawal. “For this government, this is truly an unparalleled moment of shame, and we allow it to go to this point,” she told Sky News.
However, Johnson said that although Britain does not want to leave Afghanistan as it does now, the armed forces should still be proud of their achievements.
Johnson told the 150,000 men and women who completed the trip to Afghanistan and the families of the 457 people who died there that they had successfully protected the safety of Britain and improved the livelihoods of the locals in Afghanistan.
“I am grateful to all those who participated, and I believe they will be very proud of what they have done,” he said in an online video.
On Sunday, a flight carrying the army and London ambassador Laurie Bristow landed in the UK, and more flights are expected. Bristol said that the British Embassy in Afghanistan will currently operate in Qatar and then return under safe conditions.
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