British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace held back tears Monday as he conceded that Britain was unlikely to be able to evacuate all its Afghan allies from Kabul.
Wallace, who served as a captain in the Scots Guard before entering politics in the late 1990s, has in recent days voiced regret at the sudden seizure of Afghanistan by Taliban militants. He has openly worried about the potential return of al- Qaida and instability in Afghanistan and criticized the deal then-U.S. President Donald Trump signed with the Taliban in February 2020 that limited direct military action against the insurgents.
But it was during his morning media round on Monday, the day after Kabul fell, that Wallace briefly offered a glimpse into the strain he has been under.
Speaking via webcam on LBC Radio, Wallace’s voice started shaking when he began describing his regret at Britain’s likely inability to get all eligible Afghans back to the U.K. in coming days.
“It is a really deep part of regret for me that some people won’t get back,” he said. “Some people won’t get back and we will have to do our best in third countries to process those people.”
When asked why he was so personal to him, Wallace’s voice started to quiver some more.
“Because I’m a soldier,” he said. “Because it’s sad and the West has done what it’s done and we have to do our very best to get people out and stand by our obligations and 20 years of sacrifice — is what it is.”
(AP)
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One Response
“Because he’s a soldier” and a mentsch. While our “President” is a bumbling fool who could care less about human life, lives of people that worked hand in hand with Western forces for the past 20 years! We are betraying them. Their blood is on the hands of the US, specifically the lying idiot at Camp David.