British military needs to operate outside the US, Raab says, after Washington's Afghan withdrawal revealed continued dependence

Britain needs to reassess its military capabilities and even develop its own further, as the US withdrawal underlined London’s dependence on the US military to operate effectively, the British Foreign Secretary has said.

Foreign Minister Dominic Raab told the British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday that the United States would remain the country’s closest ally, but recent events have stressed that Britain is not ready to go it alone.

Raab told lawmakers that when the United States announced it would withdraw from Afghanistan, there was no viable coalition left for British forces. He noted that there was very little petit among NATO leaders after the US evacuation plan became clear.

The Foreign Secretary said the events had highlighted Britain’s need to reassess its military capability in the light of parental dependence on the United States.

“We need to look at our own capabilities," Raab stated and added that “One of the things we talked about was the importance and the ability to operate in a more flexible way. This is already part of the strategic analysis. ”

Raab also stated that he was unsure of the number of Britons remaining in Afghanistan after British troops completed the evacuation missions, but said they had sought and received direct assurance that they would have safe passage out of the country.

The Foreign Secretary insisted that the majority had now left the country, adding that the British Government’s efforts would now be focused on “The necessary documents” for people to cross borders out of Afghanistan.

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