PM defends hasty UK exit from Afghanistan

Johnson argues nation had little choice after US fixed deadline for withdrawal

The United Kingdom's prime minister has defended his nation's sudden exit from Afghanistan in a statement before lawmakers in the British Parliament.

Boris Johnson had been sharply criticized in the days leading up to his statement; by former prime ministers, high-ranking members of the military, and even senior lawmakers within his ruling Conservative Party.

But he said on Monday his government was proud of its record and its reaction, after 20 years of occupation, to the United States announcing it would leave Afghanistan by Aug 31.

He insisted the effort to evacuate British troops and Afghan workers, which began on Aug 13, was full of "courage and ingenuity".

"If anyone is tempted to say that we have achieved nothing in that country … in 20 years; tell them that our armed forces and those of our allies enabled 3.6 million girls to go to school, tell them that this country and the Western world were protected from al Qaida in Afghanistan throughout that period, and tell them that we have just mounted the biggest humanitarian airlift in recent history."

And he said his government will now use "every economic, political, and diplomatic lever" to try to influence the Taliban government, and insisted "we will judge the Taliban by their actions, not their words".

Johnson added that the UK will work to ensure Afghan citizens who supported the British during their 20 years in the country and who were unable to leave during the airlift will ultimately be allowed to resettle.

More than 8,000 Afghan workers and their families were among the 15,000 people the UK evacuated from the country. Johnson said 311 Afghan citizens who were eligible to be airlifted are thought to still be in the country. He said London will do "everything possible" to get them out.

He added that the UK expects to ultimately accommodate around 20,000 Afghan citizens.

Johnson also thanked the 150,000 UK military personnel who served in Afghanistan during the two-decade occupation, saying: "They fulfilled the first duty of the British armed forces－to keep our people safe－and they and their families should take pride in everything they did."

His defense of the UK's actions followed the nation's top general, Nick Carter, who is chief of the defense staff, telling the BBC on Sunday the speed at which the Taliban regained control "surprised us", and that "everybody got it wrong".

"I don't think what anybody predicted was how fragile that Afghan government was and how fragile it was in relation to the command of its armed forces" Carter said.

On Saturday, former UK prime minister John Major criticized the hasty withdrawal by telling the Financial Times: "I think we were wrong to leave Afghanistan; we were wrong morally but also wrong practically."

Former prime minister Tony Blair said earlier the exit was "imbecilic "and something that would have had "every Jihadist group round the world celebrating".