Joe Biden needlessly abandoned the Afghan people – and Britain stood idly by

In the worst foreign policy failure since the Suez crisis, the UK has desperately lacked the speed and decisiveness required.

By Tom Tugendhat

Stranded Afghan nationals at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on 16 August 2021. (Photo By Getty)

Update: on 7 December a Foreign Office whistleblower said the UK withdrawal from Afghanistan was “chaotic” and thousands of pleas from desperate Afghans were overlooked. This article was first published on 16 August.

Last night I listened to friends from Afghanistan talk about what’s going on in their street. Unfamiliar noises that would once have been dismissed as nothing are bringing fear. Everyone has heard the stories.