Credit: PA Images/Sipa USA
The Andrew Marr Show
NEW YORK (77WABC) — Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has broken his silence on the crisis in Afghanistan, calling Biden’s decision to pull out troops as “imbecilic” and only a political move.
“We didn’t need to do it,” Mr Blair wrote on his Institute for Global Change. “We chose to do it. We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending ‘the forever wars’.”
Blair, who as Prime Minister also sent British troops into Afghanistan in 2001, claims the crisis reveals that the UK risks being relegated to “the second division of global powers”.
“For Britain, out of Europe and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation, we have serious reflection to do,” Blair said. “Maybe we don’t mind. But we should at least take the decision deliberatively.”
“We need to be drawing up a list of incentives and sanctions, and other things that we can do in order to use the leverage we have, which is not insignificant”
Read Tony Blair’s article on Afghanistan and what needs to happen next: https://t.co/WLy5UcxMpUpic.twitter.com/ZdSh8pw0aY
— Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (@InstituteGC) August 22, 2021
“The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours,” the former leader writes.
Blair explained what needs to happen now in order for things to get back to peace.
“We must evacuate and give sanctuary to those to whom we have responsibility – those Afghans who helped us and stood by us and have a right to demand we stand by them,” Blair said. “There must be no repetition of arbitrary deadlines. We have a moral obligation to keep at it until all those who need to be are evacuated. And we should do so not grudgingly but out of a deep sense of humanity and responsibility.”
“We need to draw up a list of incentives, sanctions, actions we can take including to protect the civilian population so the Taliban understand their actions will have consequences. This is urgent,” he added.
