British Afghanistan war veterans Ben McBean, Gemma Gardner and Jack Cummings have condemned the 20-year campaign as a pointless waste of time.
Speaking 25 years after the September 11 terror attacks in the United States, the wounded former service personnel warned that Afghanistan is now in a worse state than before Western forces intervened in 2001.
Western allies spent two decades fighting the war on terror after Al-Qaeda orchestrated the 9/11 suicide attacks that killed 3,000 people. However, it took the Taliban just ten days to seize power after NATO hurriedly abandoned Afghanistan in August 2021.
By the end of the conflict, 457 British soldiers had been killed fighting the Taliban and a further 2,000 were wounded. Many more veterans were left suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or experiencing homelessness.
Royal Marine Commando Ben McBean
Former Royal Marine Commando Ben McBean was 20 years old when he lost his right leg and left arm in an improvised explosive device explosion in Kajaki, southern Afghanistan, in 2008. His unit was approaching a suspected Taliban compound when he ran towards a wall and the bomb detonated, throwing him 20 feet into the air.
Mr McBean, now 39, also lost two friends on tour and has been left with PTSD. The former commando, who is currently raising money for a bionic arm, said he remains proud of what troops achieved on the ground but called the overall war an absolute waste of time with nothing to show for it.
"Whilst we were there, the Afghans had freedom and their girls went to school, but not anymore," Mr McBean said. "The country has gone back to how it was before we went in. We spent 20 years wasting money on the war only for the Taliban to take Afghanistan back to the way it was before."
He described feeling a natural rage over the chaotic withdrawal of Western forces in August 2021. "I fought for my country, saw friends get killed and I lost two of my limbs. But the war has been forgotten about and veterans have been forgotten about," he said, adding that while he is grafting to stay on his feet, those who were killed cannot see how veterans are treated at home.
Mr McBean stated that while he does not regret his service and achieved his dream by joining the Marines, he would no longer fight for politicians who send troops to a random war far from home only to walk away years later and pursue them for alleged war crimes.
Evacuations and Repatriations at Camp Bastion
Former Sergeant Gemma Gardner, 45, deployed in 2009 to Lashkar Gah in southern Afghanistan with the Adjutant General's Corps. Her living quarters at the forward operating base sat directly opposite the medical tent, where she saw wounded troops rushed in on stretchers at 5am with severe blast injuries.
When stationed at Camp Bastion, a major former airbase northwest of Lashkar Gah, Ms Gardner regularly witnessed British soldiers being repatriated in coffins. She explained that standing on parade watching coffins shipped home took a heavy emotional toll on service personnel.
"We saw our friends die and lose limbs, but for what?" Ms Gardner said. "It was not worth it when you think about the amount of lives that were lost and the families who lost husbands, fathers, wives and mothers." She noted that many troops were medically discharged after returning home with partial body parts or severe trauma.
Ms Gardner now works as an independent researcher and founded the AURIS Institute, an organisation that assists veterans transitioning back to civilian life. She explained that many former soldiers feel anger and frustration over being required to follow orders without understanding what the mission was meant to achieve.
The hasty evacuation of Kabul in August 2021 saw British and Allied forces struggle to evacuate civilians before Taliban fighters captured the Afghan capital, ending two decades of Western involvement.
Bomb Disposal Sapper Jack Cummings
Former Royal Engineers sapper Jack Cummings, 38, lost both legs above the knee during his second tour of Afghanistan in 2010 at age 22. While searching for improvised explosive devices with a metal detector in Babaji, near Lashkar Gah, a bomb blast knocked him face down, leading his commander to initially believe he was dead.
Mr Cummings spent 30 days in a coma, six months in intensive care, and three and a half years at a military rehabilitation centre. He had previously completed his first tour in 2007 at age 19, when he felt naive and invincible, before taking out personal insurance ahead of his second deployment at age 21.
Despite his life-changing injuries, Mr Cummings went on to win a bronze medal at the Invictus Games and completed the London Marathon wheelchair race. However, he described seeing Afghanistan fall back into Taliban hands as heartbreaking and expressed pure frustration over how the West abandoned the country.
"Considering where Afghanistan was before the war and where it has got to, the amount of money, effort and training spent on the Afghan National Army just to see the country collapse in days, and now it is in a worse state than before, of course, it hurts," Mr Cummings said. He added that after his medical discharge, support was limited and he had to rely on military charities.
Financial Costs and Taliban Oppression
Britain spent £22.2 billion funding the war in Afghanistan, while the United States invested more than $2 trillion, equivalent to £1.48 trillion. During their rapid retreat in August 2021, NATO armies were forced to abandon millions of pounds worth of military equipment, including armoured vehicles, helicopters and weapons.
Taliban fighters in Kabul have since been photographed wearing Western military uniforms and carrying American-issued M4 rifles. This captured military hardware is now used to enforce the regime's control across the country.
Under the new regime, human rights in Afghanistan have severely declined. Despite initial promises regarding education, the Taliban ordered a total ban on women and girls attending school. Media monitoring group Reporters Without Borders reported that press freedom has been destroyed, with broadcasters restricted to state-approved information.
Rights organization Amnesty International reported that Taliban critics face routine torture and execution, citizens have no right to peaceful protest, and access to a fair trial is essentially impossible as the country experiences deepening religious persecution and a humanitarian crisis.
