Saturday 13 August 2022 01:07 AM Defence Secretary Ben Wallace admits 20-year military campaign in Afghanistan ... trends now
The Defence Secretary has admitted the 20-year military campaign in Afghanistan – which cost the lives of hundreds of British troops – ended in failure.
A year after the Taliban swept back into power, Ben Wallace said he feared grieving parents would wonder: ‘What was it all for?’
Monday marks the anniversary of the Islamist militants walking unopposed into Kabul, sparking a frantic fortnight that saw Western troops pack up and leave. In an exclusive interview, Mr Wallace described his feelings as everything UK troops had fought and died for ‘crumbled before our eyes’.
He also revealed how visiting a war memorial made him fear families of the 457 personnel killed would think their sons and daughters gave their lives for nothing.
A year after the Taliban swept back into power, Ben Wallace said he feared grieving parents would wonder: ‘What was it all for?’
British service personnel, including the Royal Marine Commandos, pictured, spent 20 years battling the Taliban before withdrawing almost one year ago
Mr Wallace spoke to the Daily Mail to mark the first anniversary of Operation Pitting, the UK’s largest evacuation effort since the Second World War.
More than 1,000 personnel were involved in a death-defying mission to rescue UK nationals and entitled locals after the Taliban swept aside Western-trained Afghan forces with embarrassing ease.
Mr Wallace, a father of three, was working all hours and suffering sleepless nights after receiving death threats from animal rights extremists – who thought dogs should be prioritised as part of the airlift.
He was enjoying a rare opportunity to spend time with his 11-year-old son when they saw a memorial to Guardsman Michael Sweeney, 19, in Blyth, Northumberland.
Mr Wallace said: ‘It was a rare evening off and we had been working all hours. I wasn’t getting to see much of my family.
‘But my son and I went for a walk and saw Gdsm Sweeney’s war memorial, which was immaculately kept. He was the only soldier from Blyth killed in Afghanistan. I looked at the picture of him and I looked at my son.
‘Then it occurred to me – this young man had died for the very event that was collapsing
