UK pulling out of Afghanistan betrays local allies who fought Taliban with us

A top former SAS commander has blasted Britain’s decision to pull troops out of Afghanistan as a betrayal of the locals who risked their lives ­alongside our soldiers.

The highly decorated officer, one of the first members of the SAS to serve in the war-torn country, warns today that the Afghan special forces he helped to train could be wiped out within weeks as the Taliban press their advantage.

They have been “sold down the river by the British and US governments” and the entire Western military operation had been a “total waste of time, effort and lives”, he stormed.

The senior officer, who also served in Northern Ireland, the Balkans and Iraq, told the Sunday Mirror: “It’s not the enemy that gets you killed but a bad plan. And we had a very, very bad plan.

“Our failure proved that politicians shouldn’t trust the judgement of ambitious generals and their equally self-motivated staff officers â€" sadly, none of those that died in Afghanistan did so ‘for their country’ but for the vanity of the military leadership”.

SAS commanders tell of their fury over Britain's withdrawal from the war torn country

“I think it is now highly likely that most of the Afghan Special Forces we trained are dead or likely to die within a matter of weeks.

“The UK’s government’s withdrawal is criminal and they have a lot of blood on their hands.”

The SAS and SBS first entered Afghanistan in 2001 shortly after the 9/11 attacks in the hunt for terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.

British troops entered the Taliban heartland of Helmand in 2006. The officer said: “The plan was based on the best-case scenario and not the worst.

“The moment the enemy attacked, the British force in Helmand was on the back foot. It was meant to be a reconstruction operation but very quickly British troops were fighting for their lives.”

President Joe Biden ordered the withdrawal of US personnel last month and, as Britain followed suit, large areas soon began to fall to the Taliban.

Earlier this week thousands of civilians fled as the Taliban attacked Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Herat

Today President Biden sent aircraft including B-52 bombers to target Taliban forces.

The UK government advised Brits in Afghanistan to leave amid a “worsening security situation” .

The Taliban has today captured a prison in the northern province of Jawzjan and freed all prisoners.

Billy Monkhouse, from Greenock in Scotland, spoke out about the loss of his eldest son just before the 11th anniversary of his death .

He said: “This war was not worth the loss of my son and that of so many others. He, like lots of working-class lads who went out there, was cannon fodder.”

Lance Corporal Stephen Monkhouse, of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards, died aged 28 while protecting a comrade in Lashkar Gah, now on the verge of falling to the Taliban. His bravery earned him a posthumous Military Cross.

Kabul is still being targeted by the Taliban ( Getty)

His dad added: “Afghanistan was a... waste of time. It was all for nothing.”

Gen Sir David Richards, chief of defence staff from 2010 to 2013, said he accepted a “share of the blame” for the failure to secure Afghanistan from eventual recapture by militants.

But he added: “We can’t win these things by military means alone.

“At the very moment, in 2002 to 2005, when the West should have poured in assets â€" and I’m talking primarily non-military â€" we didn’t do so. The Taliban sensed an opportunity, they came back.”

At the war’s height in 2009, around 10,000 UK troops were in Afghanistan.

After this year only a few will be at the British-run military academy in Kabul.

The MoD said that for 20 years UK troops “denied terrorists a safe haven to launch attacks against the UK”.

It added: “They enabled development that has improved millions of lives.”

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