‘Our sacrifice was pointless’
With the Taliban sweeping to power in trouble-hit region, Portsmouth’s Afghanistan veterans tell of their feelings of betrayal and warn of a ‘tsunami of mental health problems’ if government support is not forthcoming
AN AFGHANISTAN veteran who lost both his legs hunting for hidden roadside bombs near schools has said he has been left horrified by the Taliban’s terrifying rise to power.
Luke Sinnott, a retired Captain with the Royal Engineers, was blown up while on patrol in Helmand Province, in November 2010.
The army hero had been leading a group of explosive ordnance experts in a bid to rid Afghan streets of the hidden menace of improvised explosive devices, when he inadvertently triggered one of the bombs.
The resulting explosive blasted both his legs off above the knee, and severely damaged his left arm.
The 40-year-old, who lives in Hampshire, was speaking out as chaotic scenes emerged from the Afghan capital of Kabul last night, as desperate refugees attempted to flee on military transport planes out of the city.
Luke, who lives in the New Forest but was speaking to The News during an event in Portsmouth yesterday, said: ‘It’s bloody horrible to see what’s happening there now. I know a lot of guys won’t be happy.
‘But I really didn’t see how else they were going to get out of that place, without just walking away at some point.
‘I just feel for the people that were left... I think one day we'll look back and realise we had two goes in Afghanistan and that it’s probably time to leave it alone now.’
His comments came as other survivors of the conflict today insisted they felt ‘betrayed’ and had been ‘wasted on a hopeless war’.
In a plea to prime minister Boris Johnson, forces heroes warned a tsunami of mental health woes faced the UK if action wasn’t taken urgently to support the most traumatised troops from the war.
The alert comes after the vast majority of British and American troops pulled out from the embattled nation, opening the door for the Taliban to retake the country and destroy all the progress made by Allied troops.
The decision has left UK veterans dismayed, with survivors of the conflict telling The News many now feel lost and angered, having watched friends die fighting in Afghanistan ‘all for nothing’.
Retired Lance Corporal Dan Arnold deployed with the Second Battalion, the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment to Afghanistan in 2008 – and lost three of his comrades to the war.
The 35-year-old dad from Portsmouth, who now works as a mental health specialist with the NHS having been left with post-traumatic stress disorder from his military service, was heartbroken by what’s now happening in Afghanistan.
He said: ‘I’m truly gutted by it all. It really makes the sacrifice and loss feel so pointless.
‘I have seen a huge wave go across the veteran community in the lads’ morale. Some have taken this personally and feel like they have been betrayed and let down.
‘It makes a mockery of the lads and lasses that we left behind.’
He added: ‘When we were out there it felt like every day was just surviving. It
I’m truly gutted by it all. It really makes the sacrifice and loss feel so pointless Retired Lance Corporal Dan Arnold
never felt like there was a wider game. I felt like we were on the back foot getting hammered and just trying to do our best, fighting for the people to the left and right of us. Now what?’
Former military intelligence officer Dr Frank Ledwidge, a naval veteran who served as a justice advisor to the UK mission in Helmand Province in 20072008, said the UK had suffered a ‘humiliating defeat’. Dr Ledwidge, who is now a lecturer specialising in British foreign policy at the University of Portsmouth, said: ‘It’s important to stress that our people fought well but they were wasted on this hopeless mission. It doesn’t help anyone to pretend that this was anything other than the shameful defeat that it was.
‘There’s nothing positive about it. It was a waste of resources and people’s lives. The focus should now be on taking care of our veterhome. ans close to
‘The government spent £39bn on this war. None of that has been set aside l o oking af ter our v eterans. We have a responsibility to our veterans, far more than the Afghans. ‘We have a responsibility for the people we sent into war. To not do this is a failure of the government.’
The call was repeated by Lieutenant Colonel Chris Parker, chairman of the PWRR Association, Hampshire’s local infantry association.
He said: ‘Many of our
soldiers have been affected a lot in the last few weeks by this news because it rather sheds light on their sacrifice, both personal and their friend’s sacrifices and whether it was worth it.’
The war claimed the lives of 457 British service personnel.
The prime minister has insisted the sacrifices made by British troops in Afghanistan have not been ‘in vain’, but warned there was no ‘military solution’ to prevent the resurgence of the Taliban.
While he said that the UK would continue to work with international partners to prevent the country again becoming a breeding ground for international terrorism, he acknowledged they could not impose a solution on the battlefield.
‘It is very difficult obviously, but I think the UK can be extremely proud of what has been done in Afghanistan over the last 20 years,’ he said.