The mess in Afghanistan exposes Britain’s foolish security policy
The time is long past for Britain to repair relations with its European neighbours
DURING DEBATE in Parliament and in unattributed briefings, British MPs, ministers and officials have used language to describe America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, and America’s leader, rarely heard from such mouths. The withdrawal was “shameful”, “dishonourable” and “catastrophic”. President Joe Biden was “gaga” and “doolally”. Tony Blair, the prime minister who sent British forces into Afghanistan at America’s behest in 2001, wrote an article calling the withdrawal “imbecilic”. Other reports, soon denied, claimed that the current prime minister, Boris Johnson, had referred to Mr Biden by the pejorative coined by his predecessor, Donald Trump: “Sleepy Joe”.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “A rock in a hard place”
Leaders August 28th 2021
- The mess in Afghanistan exposes Britain’s foolish security policy
- After Afghanistan, where next for global jihad?
- Despite his shortcomings, Jerome Powell should be reappointed Fed chairman
- Apple exemplified an era of global capitalism that has passed
- Fundamental physics is humanity’s most extraordinary achievement
From the August 28th 2021 edition
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