UK did not expect Kabul to fall to Taliban this year, says foreign minister Dominic Raab

Britain, like the United States, failed to predict how swiftly the Afghan government would fall, so it had not made sufficient preparation for the chaos that would follow when the Taliban seized the capital on Aug. 15.

London: Britain’s intelligence assessment was that it was unlikely Kabul would fall this year, foreign minister Dominic Raab said as he defended Britain`s withdrawal from Afghanistan after the Taliban swept across the country much more quickly than expected. Britain, like the United States, failed to predict how swiftly the Afghan government would fall, so it had not made sufficient preparation for the chaos that would follow when the Taliban seized the capital on Aug. 15. In an emergency session of parliament`s foreign affairs committee to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan, Raab said Britain`s intelligence service had assessed that the Taliban would only consolidate its control of Afghanistan in the months after western countries had evacuated their troops.