London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Afghanistan could become terrorist base again, UK general warns

Afghanistan could become terrorist base again, UK general warns

Sir Richard Barrons says withdrawal of western troops a 'strategic mistake’ as Taliban make territorial gains

Afghanistan could once again become a base for international terrorism, according to a former senior UK military commander who has described the withdrawal of western troops as a “strategic mistake”.

As the Taliban continued to make sweeping territorial gains, Gen Sir Richard Barrons warned that attacks in Europe could be the outcome of groups re-establishing themselves in the country.

“I don’t believe it’s in our own interest – in making that decision to leave we’ve not only, I think, sold the future of Afghanistan into a very difficult place, we’ve also sent a really unfortunate message to the west’s allies in the Gulf and Africa and Asia,” he told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend.

Sir Richard Barrons said the withdrawal of British troops suggested ‘we don’t have the stomach to see these things through’.


The former head of UK joint forces command, which linked the air force, Royal Navy and army, was speaking as three more regional capitals in Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, bringing the number to have fallen since Friday to five.

In their most significant gain, armed militants swept into Kunduz on Sunday, a strategic city close to the border with Tajikistan and an important political and military hub.

Barrons said that the withdrawal suggested that “we don’t have the stomach to see these things through and we would rather leave than ensure that a humanitarian or political crisis doesn’t occur”.

“We will run the risk of terrorist entities re-establishing in Afghanistan to bring harm in Europe and elsewhere. So I think this is a very poor strategic outcome,” he added.

Warnings about the potential terror threat to Britain and other states were echoed by Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Commons defence committee, who used a column in the Mail on Sunday to condemn what he described as a “shabby withdrawal” that was “abandoning the country to the very insurgency that drew us there in the first place”.

“Unless we wake up to the reality of what is taking place, Afghanistan might once again become a terror state. This, remember, is the country that brought us 9/11,” he wrote.

Ellwood, a military veteran, called for the retention of a 5,000-strong coalition assistance force with sufficient ground, air and intelligence support to give the Afghan army the edge over the Taliban.

A UK government spokesperson said: “We recognise that the security situation in Afghanistan is serious, and reports of the escalating violence are extremely disturbing.

“We do not believe there is any military solution to Afghanistan’s conflict, and call on the Taliban to end their campaign of violence and engage in meaningful dialogue with the Afghan government.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×