'We've been defeated': Iain Dale's searing take on Afghanistan crisis

23 August 2021, 20:49

Iain Dale's monologue on the crisis in Afghanistan

By Seán Hickey

The Taliban are 'in the driving seat' in Afghanistan after NATO's 'humiliation,' Iain Dale concludes in a fiery monologue.

"This is a defeat. let's not get away from this, we have been defeated," Iain Dale began.

He was reflecting on a chaotic week in the Middle East which saw the US withdrawal from Afghanistan overshadowed by a Taliban resurgence, ending with President Ghani fleeing the country and the group taking over.

Iain admitted that he supported the Afghan invasion in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, but was shocked to see such a disastrous end to NATO involvement in the nation.

"It is a humiliation," he told listeners.

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He went on: "Today, we are almost begging the Taliban to let this evacuation continue past the 31st of August." He hinted that the West should stop trying to influence the group now they're in power.

"They've won. They're in the driving seat. We can't dictate to them what to do."

Iain added that any attempt by the UK to push America to extend the deadline is also futile.

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"Boris Johnson in this G7 meeting tomorrow can go through the motions of saying to President Biden and try to persuade them to extend it – it's not going to happen."

He concluded by telling listeners of scale of the disaster for the reputation of the West: "You've got the spectacle now of the 20th anniversary coming up of September the 11th and of course the Taliban are back in control of Afghanistan.

"The optics of that are absolutely terrible."