Ex-Soldier says British lives lost in Afghanistan 'were for nothing'

5 August 2021, 13:47

By Tim Dodd

This former soldier who did two tours in Afghanistan tells James O'Brien that British and American troops pulling out of country 'makes him sick' as they are leaving when 'the job is only half done'.

It comes after Conservative MP and chairman of the Defence Select Committee Tobias Ellwood has called for Western troops to return to Afghanistan, saying the country has been handed "back to the very insurgency we went in there to defeat."

The head of the UK's armed forces General Sir Nick Carter has warned Afghanistan becoming a failed state is "one of the scenarios that could occur" unless government forces can resist the Taliban.

Chris in Tetbury told James O'Brien: "If I'm honest, it makes me sick we're pulling out. I did two nine-month tours in Afghanistan.

"It all comes down to politics and money I believe... We went through villages, we won the elders over, winning hearts and minds, and within 48 hours we were told to pull out and go back.

"We were building schools, restoring electricity on the hydro dams and stuff like that. So we've done half a job, so why are we pulling out now when the job's only half complete?"

"And the Taliban will undo a lot of the good that was done," James added.

"All that kit that's going to be left over there by the Americans and NATO, they're just going to take it and use it to their advantage, and all the work my brothers and sisters did, who've been severely injured or lost their lives, is going to be for nothing."