Raab: 'Blood, sweat and tears spent in Afghanistan not for nothing'

17 August 2021, 08:23

Why didn't the UK see the rapid rise of the Taliban coming

By EJ Ward

"I do not believe the blood, sweat and tears spent in Afghanistan was for nothing," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab reacts to comments by President Biden.

Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Mr Raab said "no one" saw the situation in Afghanistan coming and the UK "would have taken action if we had".

His comments come after US President Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, saying he stands "squarely behind" it.

The American President admitted the collapse of the country's government "was quicker than anticipated" after the Taliban took hold.

The Foreign Secretary agreed with the assessment by the US President, explaining the situation in Afghanistan "deteriorated far more quickly" than expected.

"No one saw it coming," Mr Raab told LBC.

The Foreign Secretary said the "quick and early" rise of the Taliban was not expected.

"I'll be very frank with you, no one saw this coming in the way that it was coming in terms of the scale and the timing."

Is Joe Biden right to stand by his decision to leave Afghanistan

Mr Raab told LBC he understood the reason the US decided to withdraw from the country.

"I do not believe the blood, sweat and tears spent in Afghanistan was for nothing,"

He said he thought the British troops who served in the country over the course of the 20-year Operation Herrick deployment "managed to make sure that we didn't have a terrorist attack on the UK from Afghanistan in 20 years."