Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who led his country's military intervention in Afghanistan alongside the United States in 2001, criticized on Saturday the Western "abandonment" of Afghanistan, describing it as "dangerous" and "unnecessary." In an article published on his foundation's website, he stated that "the abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, and unnecessary, and it is not in their interest nor in ours."
Blair said, "In the wake of the decision to return Afghanistan to the same group from which the September 11 massacre emerged, in a manner that seems designed to showcase our humiliation, the question being asked by both allies and enemies alike is: Has the West lost its strategic will?"
Blair is considered a controversial figure in Britain and abroad due to his strong support for the U.S.-led military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. He indicated that the current strategy of Western allies will harm them in the long run, stating that "the world is now uncertain of the West's position because it is very clear that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this manner was not driven by strategy but by politics."
He noted that this occurred "amid applause from all the jihadist groups in the world," pointing out that "Russia, China, and Iran are watching and benefiting" from the situation. Blair stated that the commitments made by "Western leaders will certainly be viewed as an unstable currency."
During his ten years at the head of the British government starting in 1997, Blair established close relations with former U.S. President George W. Bush. However, decisions related to unpopular military interventions in the Middle East played a significant role in Blair's downfall in 2007, leading to the transfer of power to his successor Gordon Brown.
Blair also called for a strategic rethink of how the West engages with "radical Islam." He continued, "We have learned the dangers of intervention in the way we intervened in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. But non-intervention is also a policy with its own consequences."
