The House of Commons was packed, and the atmosphere dark and tense. On Wednesday August 18, the British deputies, recalled urgently from their vacation for a day of debate, were very hard against the rout of the Western allies in Afghanistan. Noting a definite military and diplomatic failure, they are also worried about the evidence put forward by this fiasco: the United Kingdom’s excessive dependence on the Americans, leaving little room for improvement. maneuver towards an independent British foreign policy.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May has stepped up to attack her successor, Boris Johnson. “What does that say about our country? What does it say about NATO, that we are entirely dependent on a unilateral decision by the United States? “ Mme May points out that the dreams of “Global Britain”, this slogan sketching out an influential UK in the world after Brexit, seem to be far from reality. “It is a major failure of British foreign policy. Where is “Global Britain” in the streets of Kabul? “ “Where is our foreign policy decided? Here or in Washington? “, added Tobias Ellwood, another Conservative MP.
In his address, Mr Johnson replied that you have to watch ” the hard reality “ opposite : “Since 2009, 98% of the weapons supplied by NATO have come from the United States. At the peak [de l’intervention], sof 132,000 soldiers, 90,000 were Americans. The West could not continue without US logistics, air capacity and power. “ He adds that neither the Western allies (outside the United States) nor the British population are ready to send tens of thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan.
Boris Johnson attacked from all sides
This realism – or defeatism, in his view – was not at all to the liking of British MPs. Labor, but even more so the Conservatives, attacked the Prime Minister from all sides. On July 8, he had the misfortune to testify “Not to believe that the Taliban are capable of a military victory”. Mme May chokes, wondering about the good faith of his successor:
“Was our information on the ground really that bad? Was our knowledge so inadequate? Did we really believe that or did we think that with a little luck, everything would be fine in the end ?! “
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