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THE Taliban pose an unstoppable threat to the West three years on from capturing Kabul, a former British Army chief has warned.
Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded British troops in Afghanistan, told The Sun the withdrawal of allied forces in 2021 has opened up to the possibility of another terror attack like 9/11.
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Taliban show off UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters fly during the military paradeAP
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Colonel Richard Kemp spoke to The Sun on his fears of a potential Taliban attackWikipediaAfter British and American soldiers were pulled from the Afghan capital, security forces fell and the Taliban was able to claim full control of Kabul.
They quickly swarmed on the besieged city – sparking a frantic emergency evacuation on August 15, 2021 as Brits and other foreign nationals scrambled to flee.
Richard has warned that the disastrous move – headed up by US President Joe Biden – made the US look weak to dangerous actors in the region.
As a result terrorist groups like ISIS, Al Qaeda and Iran‘s proxy networks – all tied to Afghanistan – have moved to “exploit” Western vulnerabilities in recent years.
The terror group are even flouting their three-year reign of terror with military celebrations in Bagram – a pivotal former US airbase during the war – on Wednesday.
Taliban armed forces stormed down the base in Soviet-era tanks and giant motorcades as they showed off guns, rockets and flags supporting their regime.
Army chief Colonel Kemp has warned that almost nothing can be done to stop the web of terror being spun by the Taliban as they continue to grow.
Speaking to The Sun three years after the fall of Kabul, he said of the Taliban stronghold: “There’s not much we can do to stop it, because we removed everything from there.
“We took away all of our armed forces, and with them, we took away our intelligence capabilities there.”
He believes terror attacks and wars around the world can be directly tied back to Afghanistan.
And that we face attacks on British soil as a result of our withdrawal from the ravaged region.
“Even today we’ve seen in various places around the world, terrorist operations emanating from Afghanistan,” Colonel Kemp said.
“We’ve seen Al Qaeda coming back into Afghanistan more powerfully than they had been.
“Islamic State growth in Afghanistan, other jihadist groups there as well.”
Colonel Kemp also warned that the development of jihadist capabilities in Afghanistan may have the potential to directly threaten Britain in the future.
He told how the ISIS ambush on a concert hall in Moscow in March – Europe’s deadliest terrorist attack in 20 years – was directly tied to “jihadists in Afghanistan”.
I believe that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was a direct result of what he saw in Afghanistan
Colonel Richard KempThe wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and the looming Chinese invasion of Taiwan can also be tied to the fall of Kabul, Colonel Kemp claimed.
He explained that anti-Western dictators like President Xi Jinping in China, Vladimir Putin in Russia and Ali Khamenei in Iran, all took an important message from Kabul airlift.
He said: “I do think that these various despots… they look at Biden and they see nothing but weakness, and they think they can exploit that weakness.
“I believe that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was a direct result of what he saw in Afghanistan,” he explained.
“He saw a weakness in America, which led to the withdrawal, and he decided to capitalise and invaded Ukraine. I think that’s the direct result.
“The events in the Middle East now, involving Iran and their proxies are also a result of an appraisal of American weakness, which comes primarily from the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“It had huge strategic effects.”
‘TREMENDOUS ERROR’
Colonel Kemp was in the British Army for 30 years and commanded the UK forces in Kabul in the 2000s.
He oversaw security operations in the capital which involved patrol activity and guard duties but most importantly the training of Afghanistan’s army and police to defend against the Taliban.
Speaking of his time there from late 2001 onwards, he said: “We were involved in demobilisation and disarming of some of the local forces there and integrating them into government forces.
“The mission in Afghanistan by British, American and other allied troops succeeded in its primary mission, which was to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a base from which 9/11 type attacks could be launched.”
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Western soldiers crammed into a plane on their way home from Afghanistan three years ago
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APTwo decades on from his first visit Kemp says Biden’s decision to withdrawal all US troops from the area “was a tremendous error”.
Only a small number of around 900 soldiers from Britain and the US remained in Kabul when Biden pulled them all out.
But Colonel Kemp is confident they still had enough control to keep the Afghan national forces fighting against the Taliban and keep the region from being overthrown.
“The national forces fought a very hard fight and lost a lot of soldiers fighting the Taliban, but they kept fighting,” the colonel said.
“When the US withdrew, they collapsed. That’s why they collapsed, because the US was no longer there. They really lost the heart to keep fighting.”
ALL EYES ON AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan, Colonel Kemp said, should be a primary focus for Western governments looking to protect their countries from the global terror threat.
He said: “Afghanistan should be one of our major concerns, what happens there, what’s going on, what could develop from Afghanistan.”
But he also warned there are bigger issues than just Afghanistan with Pakistan also facing a dire situation as a jihadist insurgency is looking to go up against the government.
Colonel Kemp said: “When we were in Afghanistan we were able to interdict that growing insurgency in Pakistan, particularly during Obama’s time, by firing numerous drone attacks at the Pakistan Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan.
“And that was possible due to intelligence capabilities in Afghanistan and military capabilities which enabled weapon systems to be deployed from Afghanistan to Pakistan.
Chaos of Afghanistan airlift
WHEN Afghanistan fell to the Taliban this time last year it sparked the biggest evacuation since the end of World War Two.
In two short weeks Britain’s military managed to rescue an incredible 15,000 civilians from almost certain death at the hands of the country’s ruthless new rulers.
Just 900 soldiers and flyers from the RAF saved nearly FIVE times more people than expected from the jaws of hell.
Captain Jamie Robson told The Sun in 2022 how 90 paratroopers — outnumbered 20 to one — helped save Kabul airport from being overrun.
Capt Robson arrived in Kabul in the early hours of August 15 – the day the Taliban took control of the city.
The next morning, 30,000 civilians massed outside the international airport and thousands stormed through the perimeter.
Terrorists were also trying to exploit the carnage at the airport trying to sneak aboard RAF flights back to Britain.
Just 90 soldiers from 2Para and 200 US Marines stood between the crowd and catastrophe as part of Operation Pitting.
Capt Robson says: “It was incredible to see that thin line of paratroopers and US Marines standing there with a crowd of five or six thousand people staring at them and a runway in the middle.
“If the runway had not been held, had we not pushed the crowd back and reopened the runway, the whole operation would never have taken off.”
Taliban terrorists flooded into the city and manned checkpoints outside the airport following the decision by the US to pull their troops out of the country.
Capt Robson says: “For the more experienced soldiers who had spent the best part of their careers doing multiple tours of Afghanistan, fighting the Taliban, having friends killed by the Taliban, I think that was a surreal moment.”
The troops’ biggest fear was that a suicide bomber would be hidden among the crowds milling around the airport and the Baron Hotel where evacuees were processed.
On August 26 a bomb did go off, killing 150 civilians — including two Britons — and 13 US soldiers.
“That’s no longer there. And that’s a big concern because Pakistan is a nuclear armed state.”
According to the ex-army chief jihadist groups, such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, seem to be intent of bringing down the government in Pakistan.
Due to the US And Britain withdrawing from Afghanistan the security has also gone meaning we are left with little options to help Pakistan from a potential takeover.
Speaking of the nuclear threat in Pakistan, Kemp said “you couldn’t assume that if jihadists took over whether they would actually launch nuclear missiles”.
There are close connections between the Taliban and China, which has considerable interest and is gaining greater influence in Afghanistan
Colonel Richard KempBut did warn: “They could certainly have access to nuclear materials, which could be used in different ways and provided to, you know, other jihadist groups.
“It’s obviously a major concern, which if it came to the crunch, the Americans have plans in place to try and deal with it.”
Other dangerous actors like China, Russia and Iran have all benefited from the withdrawal in Afghanistan as well, he explained.
The close connections between the Taliban and China is said to be gaining greater influence in Afghanistan.
Further links between the militant group and Iran are also increasing due to jihadists in the region and the fact Iran borders Afghanistan.
There lots of reasons to be concerned about a lack of Western troops in Afghanistan, Colonel Kemp added.
On China, he explained: “China obviously likes to have influence in various different parts of the world.
“Their primary objectives in relation to Afghanistan were as in Iran, a way of opposing the West.”
When the US withdrew, they collapsed. That’s why they collapsed, because the US was no longer there. They really lost the heart to keep fighting
Colonel Richard KempBut he added: “China’s got a close eye on the natural resources in Afghanistan. That’s probably its primary motive for continuing engagement with the Taliban.”
“China will align with any entity that is opposing the West as part of its wider competition with us.
“Russia still has connections in Afghanistan as well.”
When asked if we could send troops back into Afghanistan to form a resistance Colonel Kemp said any reason would be very hard to justify.
He said: “It was justified when we originally intervened in Afghanistan after 9/11. But now I don’t think it’s feasible at all.”
“If there was a major attack launched again from Afghanistan or planned in Afghanistan, then that might trigger one of those contingency plans, which might include forces deploying again.”
As wars rage around the globe, he warned the Taliban will be taking advantage to “build up their capabilities and be ready to do what they think they need to do”.
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English (US)