UK
The Guardian view on the Afghan evacuation: a governmental disaster and human tragedy
A damning report by the Commons foreign affairs committee exposes the full scale of failure by ministers and officials
A damning report by the Commons foreign affairs committee exposes the full scale of failure by ministers and officials
‘The “chaotic and arbitrary” Foreign Office response probably cost hundreds of people their chance to leave, and thus likely cost lives.’
Photograph: LPhot Ben Shread/MoD/Crown Copyright/PA
Editorial
Tue 24 May 2022
The excoriating parliamentary report on Britain’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan is such a lengthy catalogue of failure that it is far quicker to say what was done well: there were heroic efforts by individuals, working under enormous pressure, to save lives. Unfortunately, as the inquiry by the Commons foreign affairs committee – chaired by the Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat – makes clear, they were utterly let down by both ministers and top officials. It describes the British withdrawal as a disaster and a betrayal, and is particularly damning about the evacuations.
Politicians and senior officials showed too little interest, were absent at key moments, took inadequate or misguided action and failed to record what they did. MPs found that the “chaotic and arbitrary” Foreign Office response probably cost hundreds of people their chance to leave, and thus is likely to have cost lives. Yet those who are to blame have utterly failed to take responsibility. Indeed, when challenged, the Foreign Office provided answers that “in our judgment, are at best intentionally evasive, and often deliberately misleading”.
The chaos in the days before and after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban on 15 August 2021 looked appalling enough at the time. The detail provided by Foreign Office whistleblowers and others shows it was worse. The government should have begun planning when the US withdrawal was announced in February 2020, instead of simply hoping the US might change course. What action it did take was late, inadequate and often incompetent. It was hopelessly slow in addressing the cases of Afghans who had worked for it, and failed to design a scheme to help others who had supported UK objectives until Kabul fell. Emails from desperate people went unread. Sensitive documents were left to fall into Taliban hands. Multiple senior officials believe that the prime minister played a role in the disgraceful decision to prioritise the case of the Nowzad animal charity. While Downing Street has denied that, the report notes that “we have yet to be offered a plausible alternative explanation”.
Dominic Raab, then foreign secretary, had a single one-to-one conversation with the British ambassador in Kabul in the two weeks before the city fell, as the Taliban advance accelerated. He – like the prime minister, the minister for Afghanistan, Lord Ahmad, and the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary, Sir Philip Barton – were still on holiday on 15 August. Though Sir Philip, like Mr Raab, has expressed regret for not returning sooner, his failure to come back until 26 August, the day the civilian evacuation ended, is – as the committee notes – impossible to excuse; it is right to call for his resignation. Mr Raab, demoted to justice secretary (with the consolation title of deputy prime minister), has surely proved himself unfit for high office.
Beyond holding those who failed accountable, three issues are paramount. First, as the human rights group Global Witness says, the failure continues; people are still waiting for visas and the criteria have been tightened to bar some of those originally told that they had valid claims. Second, those who have made it to the UK must be properly supported to make their home here; thousands of Afghans remain in temporary accommodation. Finally, Afghanistan is in desperate straits. Development as well as humanitarian aid is necessary, along with serious consideration of how to get the economy back on to its feet. Britain has failed Afghans appallingly. It must not continue to do so.
Tue 24 May 2022
The excoriating parliamentary report on Britain’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan is such a lengthy catalogue of failure that it is far quicker to say what was done well: there were heroic efforts by individuals, working under enormous pressure, to save lives. Unfortunately, as the inquiry by the Commons foreign affairs committee – chaired by the Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat – makes clear, they were utterly let down by both ministers and top officials. It describes the British withdrawal as a disaster and a betrayal, and is particularly damning about the evacuations.
Politicians and senior officials showed too little interest, were absent at key moments, took inadequate or misguided action and failed to record what they did. MPs found that the “chaotic and arbitrary” Foreign Office response probably cost hundreds of people their chance to leave, and thus is likely to have cost lives. Yet those who are to blame have utterly failed to take responsibility. Indeed, when challenged, the Foreign Office provided answers that “in our judgment, are at best intentionally evasive, and often deliberately misleading”.
The chaos in the days before and after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban on 15 August 2021 looked appalling enough at the time. The detail provided by Foreign Office whistleblowers and others shows it was worse. The government should have begun planning when the US withdrawal was announced in February 2020, instead of simply hoping the US might change course. What action it did take was late, inadequate and often incompetent. It was hopelessly slow in addressing the cases of Afghans who had worked for it, and failed to design a scheme to help others who had supported UK objectives until Kabul fell. Emails from desperate people went unread. Sensitive documents were left to fall into Taliban hands. Multiple senior officials believe that the prime minister played a role in the disgraceful decision to prioritise the case of the Nowzad animal charity. While Downing Street has denied that, the report notes that “we have yet to be offered a plausible alternative explanation”.
Dominic Raab, then foreign secretary, had a single one-to-one conversation with the British ambassador in Kabul in the two weeks before the city fell, as the Taliban advance accelerated. He – like the prime minister, the minister for Afghanistan, Lord Ahmad, and the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary, Sir Philip Barton – were still on holiday on 15 August. Though Sir Philip, like Mr Raab, has expressed regret for not returning sooner, his failure to come back until 26 August, the day the civilian evacuation ended, is – as the committee notes – impossible to excuse; it is right to call for his resignation. Mr Raab, demoted to justice secretary (with the consolation title of deputy prime minister), has surely proved himself unfit for high office.
Beyond holding those who failed accountable, three issues are paramount. First, as the human rights group Global Witness says, the failure continues; people are still waiting for visas and the criteria have been tightened to bar some of those originally told that they had valid claims. Second, those who have made it to the UK must be properly supported to make their home here; thousands of Afghans remain in temporary accommodation. Finally, Afghanistan is in desperate straits. Development as well as humanitarian aid is necessary, along with serious consideration of how to get the economy back on to its feet. Britain has failed Afghans appallingly. It must not continue to do so.
Foreign Office failures in Afghanistan evacuation was ‘betrayal’ of allies that cost lives, MPs warn
Foreign Affairs Committee gives damning assessment of Afghan withdrawal and calls for most senior Foreign Office civil servant to consider postition
Armed Forces personnel evacuated more than 15,000 people from Afghanistan in August 2021
Foreign Affairs Committee gives damning assessment of Afghan withdrawal and calls for most senior Foreign Office civil servant to consider postition
Armed Forces personnel evacuated more than 15,000 people from Afghanistan in August 2021 (Photo: Ben Shread/MoD/Crown Copyright/PA Wire)
By Richard Vaughan
May 24, 2022
A failure of leadership shown by Dominic Raab and the most senior civil servants at the Foreign Office during the Afghanistan withdrawal was a “betrayal” to UK allies that cost lives, MPs have insisted.
In a scathing report into the handling of the UK’s evacuation from the region, the Foreign Affairs Committee condemned both ministerial and civil servant decision making and lack of planning that led to Afghans who had helped the British mission being left behind.
It also attacked the Whitehall department’s lack of transparency over who authorised the evacuation of dogs and cats owned by the Nowzad animal charity from Kabul, and urged the FCDO’s most senior civil servant, Sir Philip Barton, to consider resigning for his failure to ensure the department took the “basic administrative step of recording its decisions”.
The panel of cross-party MPs said they were forced to rely on information provided by whistleblowers about the mishandling of the evacuation, something the committee said should leave those who lead the department “ashamed”.
By Richard Vaughan
May 24, 2022
A failure of leadership shown by Dominic Raab and the most senior civil servants at the Foreign Office during the Afghanistan withdrawal was a “betrayal” to UK allies that cost lives, MPs have insisted.
In a scathing report into the handling of the UK’s evacuation from the region, the Foreign Affairs Committee condemned both ministerial and civil servant decision making and lack of planning that led to Afghans who had helped the British mission being left behind.
It also attacked the Whitehall department’s lack of transparency over who authorised the evacuation of dogs and cats owned by the Nowzad animal charity from Kabul, and urged the FCDO’s most senior civil servant, Sir Philip Barton, to consider resigning for his failure to ensure the department took the “basic administrative step of recording its decisions”.
The panel of cross-party MPs said they were forced to rely on information provided by whistleblowers about the mishandling of the evacuation, something the committee said should leave those who lead the department “ashamed”.
Dominic Raab Mr Raab refused to return from holiday at the time Kabul fell to the Taliban on 13 August 2021
(Photo: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty)
In particular, the report issues a brutal assessment of Mr Raab’s performance during the crisis, stating: “The absence of the FCDO’s top leadership—both ministerial and official—when Kabul fell is a grave indictment of the attitudes of the Government, representing a failure of leadership across the board in the Foreign Office.”
The report adds that failure to get a grip on the situation was a “betrayal of our allies”, which was “not only morally wrong, but has undermined the credibility of the UK with serious consequences for our interests around the world”.
Mr Raab, who was moved from the Foreign Office and appointed Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister in the last reshuffle, has come under sustained criticism for refusing to return from holiday at the time Kabul fell to the Taliban on 13 August 2021.
Sir Philip, the Foreign Office’s most senior civil servant, also failed to return from his holiday until 26 August, nearly two weeks later and only after the civilian evacuation mission had been completed.
Difficulties getting people out of the country were compounded by a decision to remove UK consulate staff from Kabul leading to a 48-hour delay before replacements arrived.
The report states: “This mismanagement and under-resourcing of the evacuation effort in a crucial period likely cost hundreds of people their chance to leave the country, and as a result likely cost lives.”
In particular, the report issues a brutal assessment of Mr Raab’s performance during the crisis, stating: “The absence of the FCDO’s top leadership—both ministerial and official—when Kabul fell is a grave indictment of the attitudes of the Government, representing a failure of leadership across the board in the Foreign Office.”
The report adds that failure to get a grip on the situation was a “betrayal of our allies”, which was “not only morally wrong, but has undermined the credibility of the UK with serious consequences for our interests around the world”.
Mr Raab, who was moved from the Foreign Office and appointed Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister in the last reshuffle, has come under sustained criticism for refusing to return from holiday at the time Kabul fell to the Taliban on 13 August 2021.
Sir Philip, the Foreign Office’s most senior civil servant, also failed to return from his holiday until 26 August, nearly two weeks later and only after the civilian evacuation mission had been completed.
Difficulties getting people out of the country were compounded by a decision to remove UK consulate staff from Kabul leading to a 48-hour delay before replacements arrived.
The report states: “This mismanagement and under-resourcing of the evacuation effort in a crucial period likely cost hundreds of people their chance to leave the country, and as a result likely cost lives.”
Tory Chair of the Committee, Tom Tugendhat MP, said: “The UK’s part in this tragedy exposes a lack of seriousness in achieving co-ordination, a lack of clear decision-making, a lack of leadership and a lack of accountability.”
And he added: “The absence of the FCDO’s top leadership – ministerial and official – when Kabul fell is a grave indictment on those supposedly in charge. While junior officials demonstrated courage and integrity, chaotic and arbitrary decision-making runs through this inquiry. Sadly, it may have cost many people the chance to leave Afghanistan, putting lives in danger.”
A Government spokeswoman said: “We are still working hard to assist the people of Afghanistan, having already helped over 4,600 individuals to leave the country since the end of the military evacuation.
“We carried out a thorough review to learn lessons from our withdrawal from Afghanistan and have drawn on many of the findings in our response to the conflict in Ukraine including introducing new systems for managing correspondence and increasing senior oversight of our operational and diplomatic response.”
And he added: “The absence of the FCDO’s top leadership – ministerial and official – when Kabul fell is a grave indictment on those supposedly in charge. While junior officials demonstrated courage and integrity, chaotic and arbitrary decision-making runs through this inquiry. Sadly, it may have cost many people the chance to leave Afghanistan, putting lives in danger.”
A Government spokeswoman said: “We are still working hard to assist the people of Afghanistan, having already helped over 4,600 individuals to leave the country since the end of the military evacuation.
“We carried out a thorough review to learn lessons from our withdrawal from Afghanistan and have drawn on many of the findings in our response to the conflict in Ukraine including introducing new systems for managing correspondence and increasing senior oversight of our operational and diplomatic response.”
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