STRANDED IN HELL!
RUSH TO GET BRITS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN
The Foreign Secretary claimed yesterday the UK Government did not see the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan coming and admitted it will have to engage with the brutal islamists in the future.
Dominic Raab said several nations were “caught off-guard” by the quick and hostile nature of the militant group’s takeover, which prompted Afghans to flee the country.
He said British intelligence had been tracking what was happening on the ground in Afghanistan “very carefully” after the United States decided to reduce its troops in the country.
Mr Raab said: “The truth is, across the world, people were caught by surprise.
“I haven’t spoken to an international interlocutor, including countries in the region over the last week, who hasn’t been surprised.
“We saw a very swift change in the dynamics, and of course this has been part and parcel of the withdrawal of Western troops, but it has also been the way and the approach of the Taliban.
Ignored
“Of course it’s been a test for the Afghan security forces. All of those factors have been very fluid.
“But no one saw this coming. Of course we would have taken action if we had.”
Mr Raab defended his decision to return from his holiday when he did, adding he arrived back in the UK “as soon as the situation deteriorated and demanded it”.
But it was reported that he was warned by officials NOT to go on holiday but ignored the advice and went anyway.
Many yesterday called on Mr Raab to resign.
Asked if he would sit down with his counterpart in a Taliban government, the Foreign Secretary said it would not happen “for the foreseeable future” but added there has always been some form of communication between Britain and the militant group.
He said: “We’ve always had dialogue of some sort, either indirectly through third parties or through the Taliban’s political commission in Doha.
“It is important to be able to engage at least in some shape or form to test and to exert as much influence as we credibly, realistically can, and also to try and hold the Taliban to account to the new commitments they made.
“We’ve got to try and use every lever working with our partners, working with the UN, working with Nato, to try and secure a more moderating influence and a better course for the Afghan people.”
Around 900 armed forces are in Afghanistan helping to bring UK nationals home and secure the safety of selected Afghans.