Afghanistan’s fate means West is now perceived as weak, British minister says

The fate of Afghanistan after a 20-year war led by the United States means that the West’s resolve is now perceived as weak by major adversaries such as Russia, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Thursday.

The war in Afghanistan has cost several hundred thousand lives and trillions of dollars but the Taliban are now back in power, and the West’s leading powers are scrambling to evacuate their diplomats and Afghan staff from Kabul airport.

“What I’m uncomfortable with is that we have a world order now, where resolve is perceived by our adversaries as weak, the West’s resolve,” Wallace told BBC TV.

“That is something we should all worry about: if the West is seen not to have resolve and it fractures, then our adversaries like Russia find that encouraging,” Wallace told LBC radio.

Britain fears the Taliban’s return and the vacuum left by the West’s chaotic withdrawal will allow militants from al Qaeda to gain a foothold in Afghanistan, just 20 years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

“Around the world, Islamists will see what they will view as a victory and that will inspire other terrorists,” Wallace said.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace  also said that Britain is unable to evacuate unaccompanied children from Afghanistan, when asked about footage which showed a young child being handed over a wall to Western soldiers at Kabul airport.

The footage, which Reuters was unable to immediately verify, showed a small girl being handed over a wall to British and U.S. soldiers at Kabul airport.

Wallace said the child was passed over the wall as her family was being taken out.

“We can’t just take a minor on their own,” Wallace told Sky News when asked about the footage. “You will find as you see in the footage I think you’re showing now, the child was taken – that will be because the family will be taken as well.”

“It will be the challenge trying to make it through that crowd,” Wallace said. “We are finding other ways of dealing with that but that is what’s happening.”

Wallace said British soldiers at the airport were facing a difficult situation given the desperation of some Afghans to leave.

“It is very very difficult for those soldiers as you’ve seen in your own footage, dealing with some desperate, desperate people, many of whom are just wanting to leave the country,” Wallace said.

Photo: Taliban fighters are seen on the back of a vehicle in Kabul, Afghanista. EPA-EFE/STRINGER