A British soldier’s view on Afghanistan’s turmoil: ‘What on earth was it all for’
The Taliban advances in Afghanistan has left seriously injured British veteran Ben Parkinson asking “what on earth was it all for” and as he hopes no more British soldiers are harmed.
Parkinson suffered horrendous injuries when an Army Land Rover hit a mine near Musa Qala in 2006, and is regarded as the most severely injured British soldier to survive in Afghanistan.
The former paratrooper said he feared for the Afghan people and urged the British Government to allow all interpreters and others who helped the British military to enter the UK.
He now feared a “bloodbath”.
“I’m still alive, though,” he said. “For the people who lost their sons, it really is such a shame.”
The former lance bombardier said he was very concerned for the interpreters who have been refused permission to come to Britain.
Speaking at his home in Doncaster, he said: “The Taliban are threatening their lives. They need to be taken to safety
“They helped us so what’s the point of leaving them to die now? We needed their help. They deserve to get to safety now because they are in danger now. t’s not just the interpreters. It’s a lot of people.”
The 37-year-old added: “If we leave, they’re going to get hurt. Our friends are going to get hurt.”
‘Inevitable’
Parkinson’s mother, Diane Dernie, said she did not blame President Joe Biden’s decision to pull American troops out of Afghanistan, saying the current situation was “inevitable”.
She said: “As Ben’s said, our thoughts are with the Afghan people because we went in there with good intentions and all we did was make things a thousand times worse.
“Now there seems to be not a single gain. Nothing.
“All the various missions that there were – controlling the drugs trade, helping the government, education for women, infrastructure – all gone. As if they’d never happened.
“You do ask the obvious question: what on earth was it all for? The grey men at the MoD (Ministry of Defence) make these decisions. They’re not paying the price.
“Politicians, they’ve come and gone, they’re not paying the price.
“The people who are paying the price are the affected families, those who lost their lives, their families and the guys like Ben who are still paying 15, 16, 17 years later.”
Dernie said the immediate concern was for the soldiers of 2 Para who are going back to Kabul to protect British citizens.
She said she feared “mission creep” as nothing would be gained from risking British troops by engaging the Taliban again.
Dernie said: “You do ask constantly, what was it all for, but you have to put that on one side and say, ‘is anything to be gained by going back again?’.
“So what we would really like to see is 2 Para, they go back in, they do this job of getting everybody out safely, and then we leave.
“We don’t want that wonderful phrase mission creep coming back in. We don’t want a little sideline that someone’s thought we should perhaps go and do while we’re there. o in, do what needs to be done, and out without a single drop of blood being spilled, hopefully.”
Parkinson, who left the Army in 2019, released a book earlier this year about his life and his lengthy and ongoing battles after the 2006 blast left him with both his legs amputated, a twisted spine and brain damage.
He was honoured with an MBE in 2013 for his work with veterans and other charities.