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Wars are seldom if ever fought for noble reasons, and in spite of your attempts to inflict our consciousness with the exploits of the terrible Taliban, let's be honest about their beginnings as the mujahideen, a group America funded and helped to train as a resistance force against the Russian military. Afghanistan was basically a player in the old US/Russia proxy wars. Good riddance to that hell hole, and good riddance to the policies which supported our occupation.
There was a lot of criticism at the time, from various world leaders and former British PM Tony Blair famously branded Joe Biden's decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan as 'imbecilic'.
Although the British Government was more reserved, there was still a lot of anger behind the scenes, and Tom Tugendhat's now famous speech to the House of Commons summed up the general mood.
It should be noted that before he became a politician, Tugendhat served with the British Army in both Iraq and in Helmand Province in Afghanistan, and rose through the ranks to become a Lieutenant Colonel in the Intelligence Corp. and was even was decorated by the US 82nd Airborne after the capture of Musa Qala.
Tugendhat went on to state that "It was a huge privilege to be recognised by such an extraordinary unit in combat (US 82nd Airborne)". However "To see their commander-in-chief (Biden) call into question the courage of men I fought with, to claim that they ran, is shameful. Those who have never fought for the colours they fly should be careful about criticising those who have".
Tugendhat also served in Afghanistan, in a civilian capacity, for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), and helped set up the National Security Council of Afghanistan and the government in Helmand Province.
Sadly even British and US forces, who had worked so closely together had a falling out in relation to Biden's withdrawal, with British forces ignoring US advice and going out to rescue any British nationals or Afghan's that had links to British forces.
The video below shows extracts from Tom Tugendhat speech to the British Parliament regarding Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan -
If Britons felt this way than the obvious question is: Why did they end military participation in Afghanistan back in 2014? America had to carry the military burden there for many years by itself. Is it any wonder that at some point we did a cost/benefit analysis and concluded that we could not justify spending billions more dollars each year and risking more American lives?
I'm sure many people in Britain were upset at the withdrawal and the rapid collapse of the Afghan government. However, Britain and many nations have a history of failure in Afghanistan. Britain failed. The USSR failed. Finally, the USA failed to make any meaningful change in the country.
Rather than castigating nations or individuals the smart thing to do is simply realize when a task is futile and move on.
Many people don't move on because the real goal is to use the withdrawal as a tool to batter the Biden Administration which they oppose for other reasons.
If Britons felt this way than the obvious question is: Why did they end military participation in Afghanistan back in 2014? America had to carry the military burden there for many years by itself. Is it any wonder that at some point we did a cost/benefit analysis and concluded that we could not justify spending billions more dollars each year and risking more American lives?
I'm sure many people in Britain were upset at the withdrawal and the rapid collapse of the Afghan government. However, Britain and many nations have a history of failure in Afghanistan. Britain failed. The USSR failed. Finally, the USA failed to make any meaningful change in the country.
Rather than castigating nations or individuals the smart thing to do is simply realize when a task is futile and move on.
Many people don't move on because the real goal is to use the withdrawal as a tool to batter the Biden Administration which they oppose for other reasons.
British Military participation did not end in 2014, what ended was Operation Herrick which was part of NATO's ISAF foece, was replaced by Operation Toral which was part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission. UK forces had two major tasks: training and mentoring Afghan Forces, and providing force protection for NATO advisors via the Kabul Security Force/Kabul Protection Unit.
The NATO led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), was completed on 28 December 2014, and British forces then joined the new NATO's Resolute Support Mission, however 5,200 British troops remained in Afghanistan (with 3,800 going home), along with other NATO troops until Biden decided to withdraw without properly conferring with NATO allies.
US troop numbers were similarly cut with the move from the ISAF mission to the Resolute Support Mission, whilst troop numbers further declined as the NATO mission progressed, in terms of the UK, in 2018, the US requested more British troops under the Trump administration, and Britain obliged, in order to help train and meet the objectives set out in the Resolute Support Mission (Operation Toral)
The Resolute Support Mission, drew to a close on 8 July 2021 with the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from the country. However, British troops were subsequently redeployed under Operation Pitting in August 2021 to evacuate British nationals and staff following the 2021 Taliban offensive.
Last edited by Brave New World; 08-17-2022 at 08:49 AM..
British Military participation did not end in 2014, what ended was Operation Herrick which was part of NATO's ISAF foece, was replaced by Operation Toral which was part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission. UK forces had two major tasks: training and mentoring Afghan Forces, and providing force protection for NATO advisors via the Kabul Security Force/Kabul Protection Unit.
The operation drew to a close on 8 July 2021 with the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from the country. However, British troops were subsequently redeployed under Operation Pitting in August 2021 to evacuate British nationals and staff following the 2021 Taliban offensive.
It maybe arguing over semantics. This article from the BBC says the British combat role ended around 2014-2015.
The NATO Combat role ended in 2014, hence the end of the ISAF role, and the US Combat Role also ended, the role was now one of training and supporting Afghan forces in order that the nation could remain stable under the rule of democratic law.
The British Army's role along with other NATO forces including the US changed in 2015, and it should be noted that British forces remained in Afghanistan in significant numbers until 2021, and Biden's poorly thought out withdrawal.
The British response to the US withdrawal was Operation Pitting, which became the final British mission in Afghanistan.
The UK emphasis was now on the Specialised Assistance which were based along the same lines as the US Army Security Force Assistance Brigade, and British forces carried out this role until the US led withdrawal.
The British Specialised Assistance role is now the 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade of the British Army, which is similar to the US Army Security Force Assistance Brigade, and this is mainly due to lessons learnt during the Afghanistan campaign.
By 2021, there were around 3,500 US Soldiers still in Afghanistan, and they were supported by other NATO forces including around 750 British soldiers.
So no we didn't abandon Afghanistan, and leave the US led campaign at all, which just changed roles, which is what the US and other NATO allies also did.
Last edited by Brave New World; 08-17-2022 at 09:28 AM..
As for British history in the region, British only ever went in to Afghanistan as part of what was known as the Great Game, and in order to deflect Russian influence and to prevent Russia from establishing a foothold in a strategic region, close to British India.
The British always feared an attempted Russian invasion of British India, so was keen to prevent Russia from gaining footholds in strategic areas nearby, in this respect Britain never wanted Afghanistan in terms of it's Empire, it merely wanted to stop the Russians taking control of an area near British India.
Afghanistan was never that important to Britain, it served no great importance in terms of trade, and just as the US War of Independence is looked at as a footnote in relation to the struggle for global power between Britain and France, and the eventual Napoleonic wars, the conflict in Afghanistan is usually seen in the context of the Great Game being played between Britain and Russia at the time.
The British, French and Ottoman Empire later defeated the Russians and Greeks during the Crimean War, which was fought under the pretext of religion but was actually a war causes by the decline of the Ottoman Empire coupled with the expansionist ambitions of the Russian Empire in the preceding Russo-Turkish Wars, as well as the British and French preference to preserve the Ottoman Empire to maintain the balance of power in the region and in parts of Europe.
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