KABUL: FINAL CALL
A RIVETING ACCOUNT OF THE SHAMEFUL ABANDONMENT OF THE AFGHAN REPUBLIC
Author: Laurie Bristow Publisher: Whittles Publishing Price: £18.99 (Hardback) Released: Out now
If you want to understand what went wrong in Afghanistan then read this fascinating book. Laurie Bristow, the UK’S last ambassador to Afghanistan from mid-june 2021 until the end of August 2021, gives a no-holds barred account of the dramatic fall of Kabul. Bristow, who previously served as ambassador to Azerbaijan and Russia, comes across as a cool character when operating under extreme pressure. He had to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Bristow makes it clear that the rot set in for the Republic of Afghanistan following the Doha Accord between the US and the Taliban, committing America to pulling its troops out by the summer of 2021. It consigned the republic to a miserable fate. The withdrawal of US and NATO military assistance meant that the Afghan armed forces could no longer rely on vital air and logistical support. The results of 20 years of international intervention were to vanish in the space of just nine days.
Ridiculously, the British government insisted it that would keep diplomatic representation in Kabul after the military withdrawal, but this became impossible once the Taliban had overrun the regional capitals in rapid succession and entered the city. Bristow and his team overseeing the closure of the embassy and the evacuation of British nationals were placed in an almost impossible position. Nonetheless, they worked miracles and managed to rescue 15,000 Afghans from the chaos in the space less than two weeks. To the very end, ever the professional diplomat, Bristow works hard to hide his bitterness over what happened. Kabul: Final Call is a salutary lesson in how not to conduct foreign policy.