‘UK troops’ sacrifice not in vain’ – Blair
FORMER Prime Minister Tony Blair has stressed that Britain’s involvement in Afghanistan has not been a “hopeless endeavour”.
He said: “Our troops were fantastic in Afghanistan and a lot of them made the ultimate sacrifice, a lot of them were injured.
“And it’s really important that they know that this wasn’t a hopeless endeavour and it wasn’t a bad cause.
“It was a good cause, that we went there because we had a state of Afghanistan turned into a state that was run by an extremist Islamist group that were harbouring people who were carrying out attacks, like the 9/11 attack and who were providing support for terrorist groups around the world.
“We went in there for very good reasons and we achieved a lot thanks to those British and American and other armed forces over the last 20 years.
“What I’d say to them is the sacrifice was not in vain, that those 20 years matter.
“What we achieved in Afghanistan matters today.
“I think it’s really important that people realise this, the story of Afghanistan, the story of the Taliban takeover, it’s not over.
“It’s tragic what’s happened, I think it’s
unnecessary, I think we’ve made a serious mistake in doing this in this way, but it isn’t over yet.”
In a 2,700-word article on the threat of “radical Islam”, Mr Blair said Britain has a “moral obligation” to stay in Afghanistan until “all those who need to be are evacuated”.
He called the decision to withdraw troops “tragic, dangerous, unnecessary” and that the move had “every Jihadist group round the world cheering”.
He said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistan’s interest as he lamented the likely reversal of gains made during the occupation, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country in recent days.
The former Downing Street incumbent issued a stark warning to Boris Johnson that the manner of the US’s handling of the exit indicated that the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports that Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave.
“For Britain, out of Europe and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation, we have serious reflection to do,” said Mr Blair.
“We don’t see it yet, but we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers.”
His comments come as US President Joe Biden signalled he wanted evacuations from Kabul airport completed by the end of the month as he prepares to withdraw all American troops - a move that would likely force Britain to wrap up its operation at the same time.