The retreat from Afghanistan dishonours civilians who have suffered and sacrificed so much

Editorial: The conflict was never quite won, nor the nation ‘built’, but there must surely have been a gentler way to wind down the operation, for the sake of both the Afghan people and the security of the west

While the war may have been unwinnable, it is now certain to be lost (PA)

It is not disrespectful to those who fought, lost their lives or were injured during the 20-year-long war in Afghanistan to declare the engagement a failure.

On the contrary: it is to highlight the scale and the abject nature of the retreat and surrender now being performed by the United States and its allies. With rare exceptions, British forces served with great distinction, and did all that they could to liberate the people of Afghanistan and to build a nation. There were great achievements: security, freedom, a semblance of democracy, better treatment of women and girls – especially in education – not to mention the establishment of schools and clinics, and access to clean water and electricity.

They will not last long, now that the Afghan security forces must fend for themselves. The Taliban are back, though in many places they never went away. They control swathes of the countryside, and are close to taking provincial capitals. Few observers give President Karzai much chance of staying in office, even if he shares power with the Taliban. Within a few years – if not months – Afghanistan will at best be in a state of bitter civil war; and at worst, it will have been returned to the tribalistic system of medieval fiefdoms that prevailed under the Taliban’s previous period of cruel hegemony.

It has long been an open secret that the British, along with others involved in the Nato mission, regard leaving the country now, and in this manner, as – in the prime minister’s words – “fraught with danger”. He understates things. The decision by President Biden to leave – in reality, the continuation of a policy of disengagement begun under Donald Trump – left America’s allies with no choice but to follow suit. It is a decision that the United States may come to regret.

It is true, as the president says, that the war in Afghanistan was unwinnable. It is also true, as Boris Johnson says, that western troops were never supposed to be in the country indefinitely. Yet there is no logical reason why western air power, intelligence-gathering and military training could not have continued, and for the long run. For while the war may have been unwinnable, it is now certain to be lost.

For the short to medium term, the situation could have been stabilised with a relatively small contingent, and the political process involving the Taliban could have ground on. By pre-announcing a virtually unconditional withdrawal, there was little incentive for the Taliban to make concessions. All the Americans and their allies have is an unenforceable promise from the Taliban – not famed for their sincerity – not to entertain the likes of al-Qaeda, or others who pose a terrorist threat to the west. It is, as the old saying goes, a “piece of paper” upon which no one should rely.

We have been here before. When the Russians abandoned the country in 1989, after only a decade of lonely, merciless conflict, they left behind a puppet regime in Kabul that was soon swept away, creating a vacuum that the Taliban and their soon-to-be famous tenant – Osama bin Laden – happily filled.

The Americans fled Cambodia and Vietnam in the 1970s in a similar hurry, condemning their “allies” to the oppression of the Khmer Rouge. The British, too, should remember when they scuttled out of Palestine, India and South Arabia. Such abandonments may have been inevitable, but – as is now likely in Afghanistan – they had gruesome consequences for the people left behind.

Unlike the later invasion of Iraq, the war in Afghanistan was just, lawful, and backed by the UN. It was fought hard, with around 450 British service personnel giving their lives, and many more injured.

The conflict was never quite won, nor the nation “built”, but there must surely have been a gentler way to wind down the operation, both for the sake of the Afghan people and for the security of the west. This retreat dishonours all those, including Afghan civilians, who have suffered and sacrificed so much.