Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who engaged Britain in the war in Afghanistan in 2001 alongside the United States, on Saturday criticized the "abandonment" of the country by the West.
The ex-British Prime Minister has launched a violent charge against Joe Biden's “foolish” withdrawal from Afghanistan, as the airport at the center of the evacuation efforts was forced to close on Saturday amid scenes of panic, causing at least three dead.
In an attack as rare as it was violent, the former prime minister, who led Britain in this conflict, declared that the "deep politicization" of American foreign policy "visibly atrophied" American influence, and asserted that the withdrawal debacle risked relegating Britain to the "second division" of world powers.
"The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous and unnecessary, (it is) neither in their interest nor in ours," he wrote in an article posted on the site. from its founding, its first reaction since the collapse of the Afghan government and the seizure of power by the Taliban.
"By observing the consequences of the decision to return Afghanistan to the same group from which the 9/11 carnage started, and in such a way that we seem to stage our humiliation, the question posed allies and enemies alike is: has the West lost all strategic will ”.
Read also Afghanistan: first dead in the chaos of Kabul airport
"The world no longer knows what the West is defending"
The former British Prime Minister, much criticized for his eagerness to follow the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, explains that the current strategy of the West will be harmful to them in the long term.
"The world no longer knows what the West stands for, as it is obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was motivated not by strategy but by politics", writes the former champion of the " 3rd way ”.
"We did it to the applause of all the jihadist groups in the world."
“Russia, China and Iran are watching and profiting.
The commitments made by Western leaders will obviously be seen as a devalued currency, ”according to the former Labor.
During his ten years as head of the British government, starting in 1997, Blair had forged a close bond with US President George W. Bush. The unpopularity of military interventions, in particular Iraq, on the altar of the famous “weapons of mass destruction” - ultimately non-existent - played a big role in its downfall in 2007 and its replacement by Gordon Brown at the time.