Nigel Farage: U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan Has Britain Feeling ‘Betrayed’
Farage’s comments follow reports that U.K. lawmakers are furious with the U.S.
Nigel Farage, founder and former leader of the Brexit party, said the United States’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan has left Britain feeling “betrayed” and that there is “no way” the British parliament would vote for military cooperation with the U.S. right now.
During an appearance on Fox & Friends First, Farage questioned how the U.S. and Britain would be able to work together to combat any future resurgence of international terror after the U.S. treated his country with “contempt.”
He noted that “extremist jihadi groups all over the world have taken great cheer from what the Taliban have done in Afghanistan.”
“So if we do find ourselves back engaged and, you know, let’s be honest, the last few years, we’ve not seen major terrorist atrocities in the West,” he said. “But if they start to happen again and we start to think, well, how do we go out again and try and stop these cells that are spreading international terror? How can we do it with the Americans? How can we do it with an ally that is treating us with contempt and betrayed us and into the bargain, many of our own citizens?”
He said there is “no way” a British parliament would vote for military cooperation with America under the leadership of President Biden or Vice President Harris.
“And that’s a very sad thing to say, because since 1917, the U.K. and America have been side by side in virtually every major conflict,” Farage said. “We’ve been the closest allies in terms of military action, in terms of intelligence sharing, in terms of culture, in terms of business. You couldn’t have a better ally in the world. And right at the moment, I’m sorry, but there’s no way we could enter into another operation with you.”
Farage’s comments follow reports that U.K. lawmakers are furious with the U.S. after U.K. senior military commanders were reportedly left in the dark on the United States’ plan to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Senior U.K. military commanders were not included in discussions between the U.S. and the Taliban and were not given warning about when they could be forced to pull out, according to The Times.
Politico London Playbook confirmed the report, saying a U.K. government official said the U.S. did not communicate to its ally how it planned to withdraw, nor did it share details about the pace of its withdrawal.
Meanwhile, Biden reportedly ignored U.K. Prime Minister johnson">Boris Johnson’s efforts to contact him after much of Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.
One U.K. Cabinet minister told The Times that Biden’s actions around Afghanistan “shows that the U.S. is looking inward and is unwilling to do even a modest amount to maintain global order.”
“The U.S. remains by far and away our most important ally, but we are not the U.S.’s most important ally by some stretch,” the Cabinet minister reportedly added.
Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell similarly noted that after 20 years of British and American involvement “this is not the outcome we had expected.”
“Our presence in Afghanistan may not have continued indefinitely, but it needed to be handled in the right way – it has not been,” he said. “President Biden must be held to account for his actions.”
During an appearance on Fox & Friends First, Farage questioned how the U.S. and Britain would be able to work together to combat any future resurgence of international terror after the U.S. treated his country with “contempt.”
He noted that “extremist jihadi groups all over the world have taken great cheer from what the Taliban have done in Afghanistan.”
“So if we do find ourselves back engaged and, you know, let’s be honest, the last few years, we’ve not seen major terrorist atrocities in the West,” he said. “But if they start to happen again and we start to think, well, how do we go out again and try and stop these cells that are spreading international terror? How can we do it with the Americans? How can we do it with an ally that is treating us with contempt and betrayed us and into the bargain, many of our own citizens?”
He said there is “no way” a British parliament would vote for military cooperation with America under the leadership of President Biden or Vice President Harris.
“And that’s a very sad thing to say, because since 1917, the U.K. and America have been side by side in virtually every major conflict,” Farage said. “We’ve been the closest allies in terms of military action, in terms of intelligence sharing, in terms of culture, in terms of business. You couldn’t have a better ally in the world. And right at the moment, I’m sorry, but there’s no way we could enter into another operation with you.”
Farage’s comments follow reports that U.K. lawmakers are furious with the U.S. after U.K. senior military commanders were reportedly left in the dark on the United States’ plan to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Senior U.K. military commanders were not included in discussions between the U.S. and the Taliban and were not given warning about when they could be forced to pull out, according to The Times.
Politico London Playbook confirmed the report, saying a U.K. government official said the U.S. did not communicate to its ally how it planned to withdraw, nor did it share details about the pace of its withdrawal.
Meanwhile, Biden reportedly ignored U.K. Prime Minister johnson">Boris Johnson’s efforts to contact him after much of Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.
One U.K. Cabinet minister told The Times that Biden’s actions around Afghanistan “shows that the U.S. is looking inward and is unwilling to do even a modest amount to maintain global order.”
“The U.S. remains by far and away our most important ally, but we are not the U.S.’s most important ally by some stretch,” the Cabinet minister reportedly added.
Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell similarly noted that after 20 years of British and American involvement “this is not the outcome we had expected.”
“Our presence in Afghanistan may not have continued indefinitely, but it needed to be handled in the right way – it has not been,” he said. “President Biden must be held to account for his actions.”
