News:
The last UK troops left Afghanistan on Monday, after the end of British combat operations, was announced the day before with Camp Bastion handed over to Afghan control. It marked the close of one of the longest campaigns in British military history, which has claimed the lives of 453 British servicemen and women.
The British flag was lowered, along with the US and NATO flags, marking the end of Britain’s ground war in Afghanistan. Camp Bastion was opened in 2006 in response to a surge in Taliban attacks and has been Britain’s main operating base in the country for eight years. Camp Bastion is the only British base left in Helmand Province, compared with more than 120 outposts three years ago.
A few dozen British military personnel will remain in Kabul to operate an officer training facility nicknamed Sandhurst-in-the-Sand, as part of the continued support of the Afghan people. Special Forces will continue to operate in the region. The US will maintain a force of around 10,000 troops in Afghanistan next year, after reaching an agreement with the new Afghan president Ashraf Ghani.
There are concerns about the future security of the country with almost 800 members of the Afghan security forces have been killed in Helmand this summer, and around 4,000 Afghan security forces this year.
As the American-led forces pull out of bases across Afghanistan, they have faced attack after attack, with some ground attacks being launched on the day of departure. Some security experts believe that the Taliban is trying to establish their superiority as soon as coalition forces depart. The Taliban have carried out a series of operations in Helmand this summer, attacking in areas such as Sangin and Nad-e Ali, where British soldiers spent months battling to maintain control.
Comment:
It is ironic, that as this war ends, the Poppy Appeal that aims to raise money for armed forces and veterans as part of Remembrance Day begins in the UK this month. The Muslim community frequently face criticism for not celebrating the actions of British troops abroad past and present. This year such calls for greater Muslim involvement have gone further with Muslim women being urged to wear a new “Poppy hijab” as a challenge to extremist groups who “spout hatred” about the Armed forces.
And yet what exactly are Muslims supposed to be marking this November? As of 2013, tens of thousands of Muslim civilians have been killed in Afghanistan alone, leaving the country in a state of ongoing turmoil. This operation was flawed from the outset, with little justification for the war in the first place. The objective changed very quickly from hunting Osama bin Laden, to liberating women from the Taliban rule, to state building. The country is now in a worse state than it has ever been before.
Britain’s total cost in the US-led war in Afghanistan is between £30bn and £37bn, while BBC polls found that 68% in the UK said involvement was not worthwhile, while in the US, 51% said it was not. It is widely accepted that the war has achieved nothing militarily or politically, with the Taliban stronger than before. Greater support and tolerance from Afghans for the Taliban also exists compared with the NATO backed force ISAF (International Security Assistance Force).
Muslims living in the UK should not be fooled into participating in the Poppy Appeal. This is a mere ploy to distance the Muslim community from the greater Ummah, and to further the government’s aims of creating a “British” Islam, as has been successful in America. This is the latest in a number of campaigns and policies to reform Islam and build a nationalistic allegiance to Britain, as we have seen with the Prevent Strategy, implemented in mosques and Islamic schools across the nation.
As for physical intervention, it is safe to assume that Britain and other Western nations will not be willing to commit to any further ground invasions any time soon. However, this does not of course mean their influence in the region is at an end. This can already be seen in the way of Syria and Iraq where jet planes have replaced boots on the ground in the war against ISIS. Britain has also willingly trained and armed the moderate FSA and the Kurdish Peshmerga in the area. Again, Muslims must remain vigilant and aware of this interference as part of the ongoing agenda of the West in the region.
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Aisha Hasan