John Howard pans US withdrawal from Afghanistan

John Howard has attacked the US withdrawal from Afghanistan under Joe Biden’s leadership as ‘too hasty’.

John Howard says ‘the Americans were too hasty in winding down to zero their military involvement in Afghanistan’. Picture: Britta Campion

John Howard has attacked the US withdrawal from Afghanistan under Joe Biden’s leadership as “too hasty” and argued the collapse of the opposition to the Taliban should “never have been allowed to occur”.

The former Liberal prime minister — who committed Australia to the conflict following the September 11, 2001, attacks — did not accept the war was a failure, arguing it had helped to prevent further terrorist attacks against the West.

“I don’t totally accept that. I understand the argument. But we’ve got to remember since we went into Afghanistan there is no evidence that a major terrorist attack has been orchestrated out of Afghanistan,” Mr Howard told the ABC program 7.30 on Wednesday night.

“The truth is that the great fear of the United States and Australia and of the West after the eleventh of September that there would be other attacks orchestrated out of Afghanistan — that has not materialised.”

“So on that criteria, the mission, whatever may be said of it, has not been a failure.”

But Mr Howard condemned the US exit strategy, saying the swift military withdrawal was a mistake and that the Taliban should never have been allowed to regain control over the country.

“There’s no doubt that the collapse of the opposition to the Taliban has been very rapid. I’ve got some views about how that should never have been allowed to occur,” he said.

“I think the Americans were too hasty in winding down to zero their military involvement in Afghanistan. I think it could have been possible to have had a more orderly withdrawal. But we had to deal with the situation we faced.”

Mr Howard warned that Afghanistan had always been considered by some to be a failed state and difficult to govern.

“The government of Pakistan, neighbouring Afghanistan, has not been in my view sufficiently accommodating to the legitimate concerns of the West about terrorism inside Afghanistan,” he said. “There are a lot of countries that can qualify for the description of being a failed state.”

Mr Howard said the initial commitment to Afghanistan was supported by Australians and there was an “overwhelming belief” it was the right thing to do.

He also said he had spoken to the families of Australian soldiers “over the years” who had been killed in the conflict.

“They have a variety of emotions. And what I would say to them is that the country is very proud of the sacrifice of their men.

“And that nobody who wears the Australian uniform ever dies in vain. Because Australia is always associated with a noble military objective when it goes into conflict.

“That is a view that I have seen attributed to the parents of some of the men who lost their lives. Now I acknowledge they would be feeling a variety of emotions. I both understand and respect that. And it is a very difficult time for them.”

Mr Howard rejected suggestions the Morrison government had abandoned Afghans who had helped Australians during the two decade conflict, saying “a number of those” people had already come to Australia in previous years.

“You are making just a completely unfair generalisation about the behaviour of the government,” Mr Howard said. “I think it is far too early to make a judgment about how we have fallen short of a goal that may or may not be justified as having been set.”

“The government right at the moment as you have heard from the Prime Minister today is involved in an airlift operation. It’s difficult.”

“We had to deal obviously with the situation that we faced. I think it is quite unfair on the government to suggest we haven’t even bothered to help any of the people that helped us.”