Raab admits that intel could not foresee the fall of Kabul, 'no viable alliance' for Britain to stay in Afghanistan without the US

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has admitted that the intelligence service could not predict the rate of Kabul’s fall, saying there was “no viable alternative coalition” for Britain to work with in Afghanistan after the United States left.

During an emergency session of the Foreign Affairs Committee elected on Wednesday, Raab revealed that British intelligence had underestimated the speed with which the Taliban could seize control of Afghanistan.

“The key assessment that we worked on …“Outlined Raab.

The foreign minister also added that there had been contingency plans for one “more bad deterioration” of the situation in Afghanistan, yet it is believed to be “unlikely that Kabul would fall this year."

British Intel also suffered from one “bias optimism”, he added, about how long the United States would continue to maintain troops in Afghanistan.

Raab also reprimanded the possibility of British troops staying in the war-torn country without a US presence, explaining that there were no “will or is small” to stay among NATO members. The foreign minister added that he did not “think there was a viable alternative coalition” for Britain to go along with and keep troops there.

The remarks come a day after the August 31 deadline set by the United States for foreign evacuations from Afghanistan. Britain’s last flight with members of its armed forces left Kabul late Saturday ahead of the cut-off.

Operation Pitting, Britain’s military mission to evacuate British nationals and eligible Afghans, managed to air more than 15,000 people, including over 2,000 children. However, Raab has not been spared criticism of Britain’s repatriation campaign.

The foreign minister was slapped in the press for refusing, while on holiday in Crete, to take a crucial phone call regarding the evacuation of Afghan interpreters who had helped British troops before the Taliban reached Kabul and risked reprisals. The lack of acceptance of the call sparked an outcry over Raab’s resignation or his dismissal by Prime Minister Boris Johnson for “negligence."

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