09-07-23, 13:28
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#41
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Re: Afghan EVACUATION: Brit Troops' Heartbreaking Choices as Taliban Advance & US CHA
EVACUATION CH4 - British Troops Open Up About Afghanistan Mission & US Disorganised CHAOS Due to TRUMP
- British Squadon Leader & an RAF Wing Commander Tell of How They Had to Organise a Flight Plan For American Pilots Entering Kabul When They Told Him They Hasnt Been Given One
Heartbreaking Accounts of Awful Choices British Troops Had to Make in Kabul Turmoil
Seeing hardened soldiers cry while recalling the terrible events of August 2021, as the Taliban advanced, makes for a difficult watch
BBC NEWS 9 JUL 2023
Afghan evacuees Burhan, Narcis and Sepeh....
Many terrible things happened during the evacuation of Kabul, but one piece of footage will live long in the memory. Captured in shaky mobile phone footage, desperate Afghans clung to the undercarriage of a US military plane as it took off from the airport.
Within seconds, the first body fell. “And another one. And another one,” murmurs someone behind the camera, as they keep falling.
We have seen news footage from those days in August 2021, after the US announced its withdrawal and the Taliban advanced on the capital. A BBC/HBO documentary last year, Escape from Kabul Airport, told the story through the eyes of Marines.
But Evacuation (Channel 4) gives us the perspective of British military personnel, including the build-up to the operation. It is an excellent film, in which the contributors speak with honesty and clarity about an experience that clearly left an indelible mark. Afghan evacuees also share their nightmarish experiences.
A situation that began with relative order – British passport holders and Afghan interpreters being told to report to a hotel before boarding a flight out – soon turned to chaos as thousands surrounded the airport and the Taliban got within 100 metres of the British HQ.
Diana (only first names were used here), a squadron leader with the RAF Police who had been sent out with a young team to plan the evacuation, surveyed the scene as Taliban gunfire rang out. “We are completely and utterly surrounded. The airfield is denied… there is nowhere to go. I really thought, ‘I may not be going home.’”
With vivid recall, they described the moment that the crowds broke through the perimeter, many carrying babies and toddlers.
Fahim, a private with the Parachute Regiment and someone who was born in Afghanistan, said: “I understood every single scream. ‘Help me.’ ‘I’m going to die.’” Their fear of the Taliban was enough to make some of them climb onto that plane. Seeing hardened soldiers cry will always bring you up short.
Mark, whose job was to fly the C-17s, became emotional as he described the sight of two girls running over to the plane. “In the midst of all of this… they were dancing. Two little girls in matching outfits.” Calvin, an RAF wing commander, teared up when he recounted the decision he made to send more aircraft to Kabul, knowing how far the situation had deteriorated. “I sent for the next plane and the next crew to go off and do something that I know they might not come back from,” he said. “But we weren’t going to stop.”
The servicemen and women had to make awful choices. They deserve respect not just for risking their lives, but for speaking so candidly.
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