The humiliation of the west in Afghanistan is now complete

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Taliban fighters and local people sit on an Afghan National Army humvee on a street in Jalalabad province on 15 August (AFP via Getty Images)

The humiliation of the west in Afghanistan is now complete. Many will draw comparisons between the scramble of people to get out and the denouement in Vietnam in 1975.

There were good reasons for the initial incursion 20 years ago. It was quite proper for the US to want to get rid of the Al-Qaeda bases where so much evil was planned. But clearly something went wrong after that in the strategic thinking of the generals and politicians. Was it perhaps the dreaded “mission creep” – with delusions that Western countries could somehow do nation building in a culture utterly foreign to them?

Britain in the 19th century, Russia in the 1980s and now the US and UK have all had to leave this sad country with their tails between their legs. Hopefully there can be found some way of tempering the medieval practices and beliefs of the Taliban but it clearly won’t be easy.

The Rev Andrew McLuskey

Middlesex

I confess that I am one of the 30 per cent of “don’t knows” in the argument about whether troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was the right course of action. The Independent is to be congratulated on having journalists of the stature of Mary Dejevsky (Friday) and John Rentoul (Saturday) presenting both sides of the case.

Though the outcome seems likely to be appalling, you would need a crystal ball to currently judge which view should prevail. However, what is not in doubt is that the Afghan people should be supported, particularly those who worked with UK troops or told the truth to the world. They have risked their lives and those of their families and should be welcomed to our shores without delay.

Susan Alexander

South Gloucestershire

The Taliban’s gain is going to be a loss for the people of Afghanistan, especially helpless women and children, bracing for a humanitarian crisis as the world watches in horror. The vast landlocked country of Afghanistan, located in a strategic geographic position, has always been a quagmire where no political or diplomatic solution has ever worked and no superpower could ever foster a sustainable peace. I sincerely hope I am wrong in my assessment.

Atul M Karnik

New York

When will western democracies realise that the world has changed and they can no longer police the world in the expectation of creating democratic societies out of nations whose people have totally different cultures, religions and ways of life? The conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan have brought terrorism to the West and a military response which has generally made matters worse. America is right to leave Afghanistan and other countries where anti Western feeling makes any kind of military victory unattainable.

Peter Fieldman

Address supplied

President Joe Biden deserves praise not criticism for calling out the sunk fallacy of the war in Afghanistan. As a direct result of the war, 241,000 people have been killed, including 456 British military personnel, and 71,000 civilians. No vital interest of the West justified this, or the $2.3tn cost. The fallacy has kept the futile endeavour going so long.

Dr John Doherty

Warwickshire

Brexit has hindered ‘levelling up’

Was it not European funding through such budgets as the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund that sought to “level up” disadvantaged communities? Brexit took that away and at a stroke widened the funding gap between advantaged and disadvantaged areas. Perhaps those chickens are coming home to roost and the allegations of scaremongering against Remainers will be seen for what they were.

John E Harrison

Lancashire

Plymouth mass shooting

Once again we are trying to deal with the consequences of an unrecognised or, at best, an unacknowledged and unsupported serious mental health issue. It is already clear that the mother of Jake Davison had asked for help. We know mental health problems were discussed; we know Davison was known to social services; we know he had agreed to take part in an anger management course, and so on.

But once again questions are raised and great attention is paid in the media to “is this terrorism?” or whether his membership and the influence of “incels” was at fault. But let’s be clear: Davison did not acquire mental health problems because he was attracted to incels; he was attracted to incels because he had mental health problems. And yes, membership or attraction to incels should be monitored, not in the context of terrorism, but to spot and monitor mental health issues which, without the required help, can lead to extreme violence.

Jenny Backwell

Hove