The last UK Ambassador to Afghanistan in 2021.
Author of “Kabul: Final Call”, a first-hand account of the collapse of Afghanistan in August 2021.
UK Ambassador to Russia, 2016-2020.
Writes and speaks on Russia, Afghanistan, politics and international security, leadership.
Kabul: Final Call
On 15 August 2021, the world watched in horror as Kabul fell to the Taliban, almost exactly 20 years after the Taliban were ousted in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The United States, the United Kingdom and their Afghan allies tried for 20 years to build a modern society in Afghanistan, while fighting a counter-insurgency war and eradicating terrorism.
How did all this come to nothing, in just a few short weeks?
This book tells the shocking story of the last days of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It offers a no-holds-barred insight into the looming collapse of Afghanistan as western military forces pulled out, the political intrigues among the Afghan elite and the indifference of western politicians. It describes the horror of the evacuation from Kabul, and the quiet heroism of the British soldiers and civilians who brought over 15,000 people to safety, against impossible odds.
The people of Afghanistan continue to pay the price of failure – particularly Afghan women and girls. So do the families of the soldiers who gave their lives, and those whose bodies and minds were broken by the war. This book offers an unblinking assessment of the causes, the meaning and the human cost of the disaster in Afghanistan.