The figures - gathered by a network of Afghan veterans - reveal the scale of what one former UK general calls a “betrayal” and a “disgrace”.

The soldiers fled to Pakistan, which now says it will expel Afghan refugees.

The UK says it has brought thousands of Afghans to safety.

Gen Sir Richard Barrons, who served the British Army in Afghanistan over 12 years, told BBC Newsnight that the failure of the UK to relocate these soldiers “is a disgrace, because it reflects that either we’re duplicitous as a nation or incompetent”.

“Neither are acceptable,” he said. “It is a betrayal, and the cost of that betrayal will be people who served with us will die or spend their lives in prison.”

  • girlfreddy@lemmy.worldOP
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    11 months ago

    Maybe. Personally I’d just put it down to asshole leadership. Sunak is one of those.

    • MataVatnik@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Country invades other country, installs friendly government. That’s colonialism, all the fallout from that is a consequence of it.

      • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        That’s not colonialism. You just saw the UK letting down some troops that worked with them and essentially went “when the UK does something wrong… that’s colonialism”

        Afghanistan was not a UK colony.

        • MataVatnik@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          True, it was probably worse. Because with colonialism the UK would have at least governed and built infrastructure and cr3ated businesses. In this case they just helped install a crony government, helped perpetuate a decades long war, and the whole thing collapsed as soon as they left leaving destruction in their wake.

      • girlfreddy@lemmy.worldOP
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        11 months ago

        That’s fair.

        If gov’ts had focused on repairing/replacing the infrastructure the Soviets had demolished and rebuilt schools, mosques, markets, roads, etc instead of barreling in like a “great white savior” it would have been much different.

        • MataVatnik@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Honestly there was so much potential to do good. Both in Afghanistan and Iraq. But we came in with guns blazing instead of trying to understand and integrate local people into a thriving economy and government.

        • MataVatnik@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          It’s only slavery when there is a certificate issued by the government calling them slaves. Otherwise it’s called

          🌟 Sparkling Exploitation 🌟