Twenty-five years after the deadliest terror attack in history set the wheels in motion for the war in Afghanistan, British veterans have said their sacrifices were a ‘pointless waste of time’.
Western allies spent two decades fighting the ‘war on terror’ after Al Qaeda orchestrated the 9/11 suicide attacks that killed 3,000 people.
However, it took the Taliban just ten days to seize power after Nato hurriedly abandoned Afghanistan in August 2021, ushering in a new tyrannical regime which outlaws women and girls from going to school, bans the free press – while critics are subject to torture and executions – and the right to a fair trial is non-existent.
By the end of the war, 457 British soldiers had been killed fighting the Taliban, a further 2,000 were wounded – and many more diagnosed with PTSD or left homeless.
Despite the horror of watching their friends be killed in combat or blown up by IEDs, 25 years on from the devastating events of September 11, 2001, British war heroes have now said their sacrifice ‘wasn’t worth it’ and that the country is in a ‘worse state than before’ the conflict.
Ex-Royal Marine Commando Ben McBean was just 20 years old when he lost his right leg and left arm in an IED explosion in Kajaki, southern Afghanistan, in 2008.
His unit was approaching a suspected Taliban compound and he ran towards a wall when the bomb exploded, throwing him 20ft in the air. The Royal Marine, now 39, also lost two friends on tour and has been left with PTSD.
Mr McBean, who is raising money for a bionic arm, told the Daily Mail: ‘I’m proud of what we did on the ground but the whole thing was an absolute waste of time because we have nothing to show for it.
Ben McBean, 39, lost his his right leg and left arm in an IED explosion while serving with the Royal Marines in 2008
More than 450 British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan and 2,000 were wounded (File image)
Today marks 25 years since Al-Qaeda hijacked two planes and flew them into the Twin Towers in New York in 2001, sparking the West’s ‘war on terror’ which saw British troops deployed to Afghanistan over the next two decades
‘Whilst we were there, the Afghans had freedom and their girls went to school – but not anymore. The country has gone back to how it was before we went in.
‘We spent 20 years wasting money on the war only for the Taliban to take Afghanistan back to the way it was before.
‘What annoys me is that whatever we did has been reversed. I feel a natural rage about the way we left Afghanistan, I thought it was a joke.
‘Go and ask any Afghan veteran whether what we did has had a positive impact and they’ll say “no”.
‘I fought for my country, saw friends get killed and I lost two of my limbs. But the war has been forgotten about and veterans have been forgotten about.
‘I try my hardest to say “thank you” because I’m still alive but I’m grafting to stay on my feet. Anyone like me who was injured or has PTSD knows how hard it is.
‘The people who were killed can’t see the b*****t of how we left Afghanistan and how veterans are treated at home.
‘I don’t regret my service, I achieved my dream by joining the Marines. But if I was asked to join up now, I’d fight for the British people but not for the Government, or for politicians who would send us to a random war [far from home] just to walk away from it years later and chase us down for war crimes and treat us sh*t.
‘It wasn’t worth it because after 20 years of war, all those who died, including my friends and colleagues, and guys like me who were injured, if we carried on it would have resulted in more deaths, more PTSD, more double or triple amputees.’
Gemma Gardner, 45, who deployed to Lashkar Gah in southern Afghanistan in 2009, described how she saw troops being rushed into the medical tent opposite her room on stretchers ‘with everything falling off them’ after they were hit by IEDs.
Gemma Gardner, 45, who served in the Adjutant General’s Corps, said she ‘feels hurt and pain over the war’ after she deployed in 2009
Ms Gardner she saw British soldiers being repatriated in coffins on a daily basis when she was stationed at Camp Bastion (File image)
And when she was stationed at Camp Bastion, a former airbase to the north-west of the city, the former sergeant would see British soldiers ‘going home in a box’ every day, which she said ‘takes its toll’.
Ms Gardner told the Daily Mail: ‘I feel that unfortunately we at the time had signed up to serve “Queen and Country” and were paid to do a job, not question why. But a lot of us are now out of the Armed Forces and we have opinions.
‘A lot of us are angry and frustrated in the aftermath when we think about what we had to do with no way to then process it afterwards.
‘I didn’t grasp what we were trying to achieve in 2009 in terms of what was expected of us. There was no understanding of why we were there except for what you saw on the news.
‘It wasn’t worth it when you think about the amount of lives that were lost and the families who lost husbands, fathers, wives and mothers.
‘I was posted to the forward operating base (FOB) in Lashkar Gah and my room was directly opposite the medical tent.
‘I would come out of my room at 5am and see soldiers being brought in with everything falling off them.
‘When I was at Camp Bastion I was constantly seeing bodies being repatriated and it took its toll, being stood on parade watching British soldiers going home in a box.
‘We saw our friends die and lose limbs – but for what? Not only were all those lives lost and all those bodies to bring home but sometimes only part of them – and then how many more were medically discharged as a result?’
Ms Gardner now works as an independent researcher and is the founder of the AURIS Institute, which helps veterans transition back to civilian life
Pictured: The chaos in Kabul as British troops rushed to evacuate civilians before the Taliban reached the gates of the capital city in August 2021
‘I don’t agree with why we were there but I don’t regret going… but so many people died and we didn’t need to go in the first place. I feel hurt and pain over the war, but not anger like some other veterans.’
Former Royal Engineers sapper Jack Cummings, 38, lost both his legs above the knee during his second tour of Afghanistan – at the age of only 22.
They were blown off while searching for bombs in Babaji, Lashkar Gah, in 2010.
Mr Cummings, whose job was to search for IEDs with a metal detector, landed ‘face down’ after being hit. His commander thought he was dead.
He was left in a coma for 30 days and then spent six months in intensive care before he was transferred to a military rehabilitation centre for three-and-a-half years.
Mr Cummings first deployed at the age of 19 in 2007 and said it is ‘absolutely heartbreaking’ to see Afghanistan in a ‘worse state’ than it was before the war.
The veteran, who went on to win Bronze in the Invictus Games and completed the London Marathon wheelchair race, told the Daily Mail he feels ‘pure frustration and anger’ over how the West ‘abandoned’ Afghanistan.
He added that while Nato were fighting the Taliban ‘we gave Afghans freedom’, with ‘women and children having the right to go to school’.
Jack Cummings, 38, lost both his legs in an IED explosion while searching for bombs with a metal detector on his second tour of Afghanistan in 2010
He said he feels ‘pure frustration and anger’ over how the West ‘abandoned’ Afghanistan
But now, five years on, it is as if all that was achieved has been undone by the brutal iron fist of Taliban oppression.
Mr Cummings also said that politicians have since ‘forgotten’ the sacrifice of British troops.
The veteran told the Mail: ‘I feel pure frustration and anger over how the country collapsed so quickly, with the amount of lives lost and the money and effort spent.
‘Considering where Afghanistan was before the war and where it has got to, the amount of money, effort and training spent on the Afghan National Army just to see the country collapse in days – and now it’s in a worse state than before… of course, it hurts.
‘When Afghanistan collapsed it was absolutely heartbreaking. It was a total clusterf**k in Kabul, it was like “how has this happened?”
‘I still question whether it was worth it but I don’t think it was. I lost both my legs above the knee and to this day I still don’t really remember what happened.
‘However, I am very proud of my service. I had a hard job to do, it wasn’t just clearing the way.
‘It was saving another soldier or civilian from stepping on a bomb… you didn’t know if your next step would be your last. I hope I made a difference.
‘I’ve always been positive about it and I hope Afghanistan isn’t forgotten after what we went through – but it is being forgotten now.
‘When I was injured I was in the best care, but after I was medically discharged it was a bit like “thanks, see you later” and I’ve had to rely on certain charities for help.’
Mr Cummings added: ‘I was 19 on my first tour. I was naive and I thought I was invincible so I didn’t get any insurance but I was 21 on my second tour and luckily I had it then.
‘So many of our guys were injured. We lost a couple of great guys but I can’t imagine how their families feel seeing [what has become of Afghanistan].’
Britain ‘wasted’ £22.2billion funding the war in Afghanistan. The US alone invested more than $2trillion (£1.48trillion), according to one estimate.
Western forces spent 20 years fighting the Taliban but it took just ten days for the Islamic insurgents to seize power in the summer of 2021 as they marched on Kabul with alarming speed.
Nato armies were forced to abandon millions of pounds worth of equipment – including armoured vehicles, helicopters and weapons – as they hurriedly withdrew.
A Taliban soldier patrols the streets of Kabul equipped with what appears to be American-style kit, including an M4 rifle and combat vest
The vast Western coalition assembled to fight the Taliban fled ignominiously five years ago to the day, leaving behind billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure and military hardware
Taliban fighters wielding American supplied weapons, equipment and uniforms, storm Kabul Airport on August 31, 2021 after Nato forces withdrew
Since then images from Kabul have shown fighters decked out in Western uniforms and carrying M4 rifles, the standard issue US infantry weapon.
This equipment is now being used to oppress the Afghan people.
The draw down condemned countless civilians to the tyrannical new regime, with human rights collapsing in the country.
Because despite promising women and girls the right to go to school, the Taliban ordered a total ban on female education.
And the regime’s rise to power ‘sounded the death knell for press freedom’, according to Reporters Without Borders, with the media now being required to broadcast only state-approved information.
Amnesty International reports that Taliban critics are tortured and executed, with citizens having no right to protest, and access to a fair trial being ‘essentially impossible’ as the country faces a ‘deepening humanitarian crisis’. Meanwhile religious persecutions are carried out too.
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