All the sacrifice is in vain and it is all on Joe Biden now
– Lost soldier’s father
As the Taliban started to sweep across Afghanistan and while Nato leaders played down the threat, Billy Monkhouse feared his soldier son had died in vain.
Seven weeks later, the militants are in control in Kabul – having seized an estimated $62 billion of abandoned US military equipment – and Monkhouse could not be more certain that the death of Stephen, whose bravery was honoured posthumously, was for nothing.
The driving instructor from Greenock, whose son was awarded the Military Cross, one of the Queen’s highest awards, after losing his life in battle 11 years ago in Helmand, said: “I fear the bombing at Kabul airport and atrocities we’ve seen in the last few days are just the start of the horror. The worst is yet to come, there and here.
“Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw has put every other country who helped America at risk of repercussions on our own doorstep. No wonder the hundreds of British troops who lost their lives and were injured and psychologically damaged are asking what was their sacrifice for.
“The US withdrawal has been a shameful betrayal of all those who fought out there and tried to help the people of Afghanistan escape the Taliban. Stephen gave his life fighting for something he believed in. He loved the people he tried to help. He used to stuff his pockets full of sweets for the kids and one of my favourite photographs shows him doing that in Afghanistan. I believe he would be distraught and deeply saddened that the people of Afghanistan who looked to us and trusted us to free them from the brutality of the Taliban have been so badly let down and left in danger.”
Seven weeks ago, as the Taliban began its sweep to power, Monkhouse told The Sunday Post of his pride in Stephen, who stood 6ft 5in tall, was a lance corporal and heavy machine gunner with the 1st Battalion The Scots Guards. He was killed on 4,000 miles from his Greenock home on July 21, 2010, shot in the neck by a Taliban fighter while trying to save a wounded comrade. His dad said: “When we went to a recent memorial service I vividly remember Yorkmninster being filled with wheelchairs, injured men and women who had lost their arms, legs, and suffered dreadful injuries.
“How must they all feel when they see how things have turned out? This war wasn’t just costing around hundreds of millions of dollars a day., the human sacrifice that has been made in vain over the last 20 years is incalculable and it’s all on Joe Biden’s hands today.”