I woke up with the words of veteran Jack Cummings ringing in my ears – He said: I lost my legs for nothing. Did my mates die in vain, yep, it was all for nothing.
457 British troops died in Afghanistan. 2,000 were injured. For what? We leave a country in a bigger mess than when we arrived, with the Taliban stronger than ever before.
The old Taliban always had the threat of Western intervention looming over them, that was something that barely kept them in check. That threat has now gone. It flew away with several Afghan civilians clinging to the underneath of it.
How does this government look the families of the dead and wounded British soldiers in the eye? When those families got the dreaded phone call from a withheld British army number – the phone call that every Army wife, army parent, army child hopes will never come – the phone call to say sorry, your son died a hero fighting for Queen and country – the one solace that they had was that their beloved died fighting FOR something, that they did their duty, that they gave their lives for a cause.
That solace doesn’t exist today. Our heroes died for nothing. I get the fact we couldn’t stay in Afghanistan forever, I get the fact that once America pulled out we had to follow them. Joe Biden has a lot to answer for, the fact that he had the gaul to stand up yesterday and say he stands squarely behind his decision to retreat as suddenly as he did was sickening, but the fact he pinned the blame on the Afghan national army was shameful.
Members of Joint Forces Headquarters (JFHQ) deploying to Afghanistan to assist in the draw down of troops from the area.
LPhot Ben Shread/MoD/Crown Copyright
Coalition forces built a modern army in Afghanistan – a modern army relies on logistics, air support, vast swathes of modern technology and we removed all that from them. We cut that army off at the knees.
President Trump is to blame as well, he negotiated with the Taliban and did a deal with terrorists behind the backs of the Afghan government, undermining them massively. But there’s one man who’s not copping it as much as he should be today – Tony Blair. Tony Blair led us into this war, he followed George Bush like a faithful lapdog – he sent British troops over to fight and die I’m convinced more to massage his own ego and sure up his connections on the world stage than to bring liberal values to the people of rural Afghanistan, who frankly weren’t clamouring for enrichment to begin with.
People try to get into Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.
STRINGER
I think we need to talk about Tony – Iraq, sexed up dossiers, weapons of mass destruction, Afghanistan, backdoor deals with Northern Irish terrorists, the great big university education swindle, dragging us closer to the EU…what’s Blair’s legacy?
Tony Blair has more front than Southend – how can he have the brass neck to stand before us and give his sage wisdom on anything, like some political prophet sent to us from on high? He’s got the opposite of the midas touch, everything he touches turns to disaster. Blair has been very quiet about the tragic situation unfolding in Afghanistan, I wonder why?
Do you think he feels any responsibility for the British war dead? Do you think he feels any responsibility for the children growing up without fathers? For the wives growing old without husbands? For the women of Afghanistan who are being sold into slavery? For the people falling from planes in a desperate bid to escape the Taliban? He really should do.
Maybe we could airlift Tony into Kabul and he can try to sort this mess out himself.
