We Have Not lost in Afghanistan

The head of the British Armed Forces has said that although Britain is withdrawing most of its troops from Afghanistan, it has not been defeated on the battlefield.

This was said at a time when the mother of a young British soldier who was killed there questioned what had happened.

Chief of Defense Staff General Sir Nick Carter said attacks like the 9\/11 attacks had been prevented "from happening in Afghanistan" during this period.

He added that not a day goes by without remembering the 457  British people who lost their lives.

Confirming the withdrawal of most British troops from Afghanistan, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the moment of withdrawal could never be the best, as Britain never intended to have a permanent presence there.



William Aldridge died in Afghanistan in 2009 at the age of 18. His mother, Lucy Aldridge, told the BBC: "I want to see with my own eyes what we have achieved there. What was the sacrifice for? Because we have paid a very high price.

Asked about Lucy Eldridge's question on the BBC's Today program, Carter said he could "clearly understand why the mourners were saying this."


We will take them out of Afghanistan


"The British army has not been defeated on the battlefield," he brought. He adapted himself to the situation against a very cunning and unholy opponent and he showed extraordinary courage under extreme pressure.

"In the end, we stopped the 9\/11 attacks by al Qaeda and I do not think there is any justification for that," he said.



At the height of the war, NATO had more than 140,000 troops from 50 countries in Afghanistan. Helmand province alone had 9,500 British troops and 137 bases.

But violence in the country has escalated since both the United States and Britain withdrew their troops from Afghanistan, and the Taliban are now believed to control three-quarters of the country's 400 districts.

The Taliban have seized a key border between Afghanistan and Iran, Afghan officials said Friday.