This content was published on 13 August 2021 – 17:46
London, Aug 13 (EFE) .- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was “extremely proud” on Friday of the role that the United Kingdom has played in the last 20 years in Afghanistan, from where he will evacuate in the next few days to the “great majority” of its diplomatic personnel before the resurgence of the Taliban offensive.
“Thanks to the efforts of the UK Armed Forces, all the sacrifices they have made, we have not seen Al Qaeda attacks on the West for a long time,” Johnson said in an interview with “Sky News” after holding a meeting of emergency over Afghanistan with its top ministers and security officials.
“In addition, three million girls and young women have been educated in Afghanistan thanks to the efforts of the United Kingdom and the British Armed Forces,” he said.
The British Government announced on Thursday the dispatch of 600 military personnel to assist in the repatriation of British embassy staff in Kabul and Afghans who have assisted the UK mission.
The Prime Minister stressed today that a team from the Home Office will also be dispatched to help process the necessary documents so that these local staff can travel to the British Isles and asked those who have helped the United Kingdom in Afghanistan to ” present and identify themselves “before your diplomatic legation.
“We could see that this was going to happen for some time, so we had to make preparations to withdraw. That moment has come now,” stressed the head of government.
Asked about the possibility of keeping troops on the ground in the country from now on, Johnson declared that “you have to be realistic about the ability of the UK or any power to impose a military solution.”
“What we can do is work alongside our partners in the region and around the world who share an interest in preventing Afghanistan from becoming a breeding ground for terrorists again,” he said.
Asked whether the fighting in Afghanistan in the last two decades was “in vain”, Johnson said he shared “the pain of the families” of the 457 “women and men of British troops who died in the conflict.”
“I understand how they (their families) must feel right now, but I have to say that I don’t think it was in vain, because I think that when you look back, over the last twenty years an incredible effort has been put into dealing with a particular problem. “, he claimed.
“Everyone will remember (what happened) after 9/11 (the Twin Towers bombing),” said Johnson, who called it a “success” that “largely the threat of Al Qaeda in the streets of our capital, and across the UK and the West, it has been greatly reduced. ” EFE
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