Changing tack somewhat to keep an eye on the mood and views on the other side of the Atlantic …
The UK Parliament was recalled for an urgent debate on the Afghan crisis back in August. On Wednesday, September 1 , the UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, will be questioned by a cross-party committee of MPs , chaired by Tom Tugendhat. Expected to be a lively session, Raab is not someone who currently enjoys an excess of respect or support.
I have linked below to Tugendhat’s speech in the parliamentary debate. You’ll need to scrub forward to 11:23:35 , it lasts some 7 minutes, earned a standing ovation from both sides of the house and plaudits later.
Also highly recommended, is Tobias Elwood, ex-military, US/UK dual national. Some 6 minutes starting at 11:38:17 .
https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/392a628b-beda-4bc1-91df-584f2a1cdf90The last British soldiers flew out of Afghanistan last night as a vitriolic blame game erupted in Whitehall over efforts to save thousands more Afghans who are trapped at the mercy of the Taliban.
Ministers and officials accused the Foreign Office of negligence in preparing escape routes and claimed that up to 9,000 people who could have been eligible for rescue would be left behind.
But with Boris Johnson pushing for more rescue efforts to save those who remain, ministers and officials traded blows over whether there was a feasible plan.
Anyone who gets to a third country and qualifies for the resettlement scheme for former British staff will be offered a free flight to the UK. But the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are reluctant to provide free passage.
It was also claimed that the decision by Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, to remain on holiday at the start of the crisis cost vital days that meant up to 1,000 people have not been evacuated who otherwise would have been.
Last night a senior official in the Pakistani government said Raab had shown no interest in talking to them, claiming that he did not make a single phone call to the Afghan or Pakistani foreign ministers in the six months before the crisis. “He just didn’t care,” the official said. “He thought Afghanistan was yesterday’s war and the government was totally focused on Brexit.”
In a move nicknamed “Uber escapes”, security sources said that local drivers are being contracted to take those at risk through Taliban checkpoints to land borders with neighbouring countries. But insiders said this had already led to extortion by people traffickers demanding $25,000 per person to provide safe passage out.
Source: The Times (UK)
