Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Oct 18, 2025

Comment: As the Taliban take Kabul, America’s failure is complete

Comment: As the Taliban take Kabul, America’s failure is complete

If the most visceral image from the fall of Saigon was a helicopter taking off, then in Kabul it was the scenes of utter chaos at the airport - the small patch of territory the US still controls.
The speed of the Taliban advance clearly came as a surprise to the Americans. One wonders why, given the amount of intelligence to which they have access.

Its failure in nation-building is now complete. The Afghan state, continuously crippled by corruption, whose armed forces unable to rely on US airpower and other military assistance simply evaporated. As many Afghans suggest, it is not that the Taliban is especially strong but that the government was weak.

Assembling and then supporting the Afghan army was a centrepiece of the US’s exit strategy. It now lies in tatters, as the country’s military simply disintegrated in the face of Taliban advancements. Indeed, many of the weapons the US spent billions supplying the Afghan army are now in the hands of a terrifyingly brutal force.

“Inexcusable” and “heart-breaking” are some of the words being deployed on all sides. Minister Ben Wallace, a former soldier, struggled in tears this morning, admitting our ability to stop new terror forces gathering strength there will be sub-optimal. “The West has done what it’s done,” was as much as he could muster.

Former US national security adviser, John Bolton, went as far as to say the west looks like “suckers”. As our defence editor writes, “What next for Afghanistan? Don’t expect help from Biden.”

During the 20-year engagement, the US lost 2,448 military personnel and many more lives of US contractors. Yet despite the cost in blood and treasure, and the humiliating end, President Biden may not suffer an immediate political cost. Much of the US public has long lost interest in Afghanistan.

But assaults on US forces abroad, or even an attack on the homeland, would leave him vulnerable to the charge of incompetence. And then there are veterans of the Afghan war both here and in the US and Afghanistan — what must they now be thinking?

Trump signed a deal with the Taliban in February 2020, but it is Biden that must take responsibility for many of the last few days’ events, to which he appears to be a naive by-stander.

The UK Government appears equally flat-footed. The Foreign Secretary was on holiday. Even the Prime Minister recalling Parliament feels like an admission that doing anything is better than doing nothing.

We simply cannot abandon the Afghans who assisted Western and government forces — men and women who will now be fearing for their lives. Providing them with safe refuge in Britain is not only our moral duty — without it, we cannot expect others to help us in future conflicts.

Many of us looked in in horror as the Taliban took Kabul and hoisted its flag above the presidential palace. Yet we did so from the safety of Britain. For ordinary Afghans, the reality is far graver.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
×