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Afghanistan: Sir Laurie Bristow, UK Ambassador to Afghanistan - There were moments where we didn’t know if we would get out alive.
Manage episode 451116093 series 2813344
Sir Laurie Bristow was central to the military withdrawal in 2021, there’s nobody better placed to give us the inside story than the last British ambassador in Afghanistan. He takes us through the days and hours counting down, “15th August we started the day with President Ghani behind his desk broadcasting to the nation…roughly 2.30pm” He’s “left the country…a few hours later you’ve got the Taliban behind that desk…taking their selfies.”
Laurie shares his views on the Doha Agreement and tries to make sense of what happened and why, “How was it that we invested so many lives, so much money, so much political capital and the results were so lamentable?”
He describes the evacuation “…panic doesn’t even begin to cover it…I struggle to find the words…Miles…of desperate people…” Among them “there are certainly Taliban…extreme violence going on…children, old people trampled in the crush…dead children being pulled out of those crowds…extreme heat…a Covid wave…Somehow…you’ve got to find, identify, pull out the people who qualify for evacuation.”
“We train these young men and women for combat, this is harder…By the 15th there were not enough soldiers to control the airport…It all becomes suddenly very very real, the government has collapsed, the Taliban are back in charge…The next thing you see is people falling off the plane…There were moments where we didn’t know if we would get out alive.”
Sir Laurie recognises the “incredible job that the military…the civilians working alongside them did; and the fact that we got out over 15,000 people…What I saw of the performance of our soldiers and our civilians was really quite humbling…The youngest of our ‘sunburnt young soldiers’ were just 18 years old.”
Did you serve in Afghanistan or Iraq?
In order to better understand the wellbeing of Afghanistan & Iraq Veterans with which we work, we're asking you to answer a few short questions.
If you’re a member of the Armed Forces community and need support with your mental health, Op Courage can help.
Or you could phone the Combat Stress Helpline on: 0800 138 1619
Company of Makers exists to support veterans and their families who are struggling on civvy street no matter how long ago they left the armed forces.
We do this by running a programme of Podcasts | Talks | Workshops.
Company of Makers are trying to reach, and better understand, all members of the armed forces community who are also gamers. We’re especially interested in those that have served in Afganistan & Iraq.
To find out more contact us.
64 episoder
Manage episode 451116093 series 2813344
Sir Laurie Bristow was central to the military withdrawal in 2021, there’s nobody better placed to give us the inside story than the last British ambassador in Afghanistan. He takes us through the days and hours counting down, “15th August we started the day with President Ghani behind his desk broadcasting to the nation…roughly 2.30pm” He’s “left the country…a few hours later you’ve got the Taliban behind that desk…taking their selfies.”
Laurie shares his views on the Doha Agreement and tries to make sense of what happened and why, “How was it that we invested so many lives, so much money, so much political capital and the results were so lamentable?”
He describes the evacuation “…panic doesn’t even begin to cover it…I struggle to find the words…Miles…of desperate people…” Among them “there are certainly Taliban…extreme violence going on…children, old people trampled in the crush…dead children being pulled out of those crowds…extreme heat…a Covid wave…Somehow…you’ve got to find, identify, pull out the people who qualify for evacuation.”
“We train these young men and women for combat, this is harder…By the 15th there were not enough soldiers to control the airport…It all becomes suddenly very very real, the government has collapsed, the Taliban are back in charge…The next thing you see is people falling off the plane…There were moments where we didn’t know if we would get out alive.”
Sir Laurie recognises the “incredible job that the military…the civilians working alongside them did; and the fact that we got out over 15,000 people…What I saw of the performance of our soldiers and our civilians was really quite humbling…The youngest of our ‘sunburnt young soldiers’ were just 18 years old.”
Did you serve in Afghanistan or Iraq?
In order to better understand the wellbeing of Afghanistan & Iraq Veterans with which we work, we're asking you to answer a few short questions.
If you’re a member of the Armed Forces community and need support with your mental health, Op Courage can help.
Or you could phone the Combat Stress Helpline on: 0800 138 1619
Company of Makers exists to support veterans and their families who are struggling on civvy street no matter how long ago they left the armed forces.
We do this by running a programme of Podcasts | Talks | Workshops.
Company of Makers are trying to reach, and better understand, all members of the armed forces community who are also gamers. We’re especially interested in those that have served in Afganistan & Iraq.
To find out more contact us.
64 episoder
Alle episoder
×1 Afghanistan: James Glancy, Royal Marines - Very few people got to actually understand the Afghan people, the real structure of how the tribes work and who they were. 1:11:27
1 Afghanistan: Sir Laurie Bristow, UK Ambassador to Afghanistan - There were moments where we didn’t know if we would get out alive. 1:02:04
1 Afghanistan: Oliver Lee, Royal Marines - Moral Courage, above all, it’s about doing the right thing 1:30:18
1 Afghanistan: Bronwyn Royce, Mother - If We Can Reach One Person Who Needed to Hear this Story, That’s What it’s All About, To Give Somebody Hope. 1:14:09
1 Afghanistan: Frank Ledwidge, Civilian Advisor - In Order to Put Things Right, You Have to Understand Where You Went Wrong. 1:17:32
1 Afghanistan: James Malone, Royal Marines - The Only Thing You Have For Company Is Those Experiences and They’re All Horrific. 1:10:22
1 Afghanistan: Tom Corrigan, Army Air Corps - Have You Got Your Big Boy Pants On? It’s All Kicking Off! 1:07:08
1 Afghanistan: Nick Denning, Royal Anglian Regiment - You want to feel worn-in and seasoned and up-to-speed as quickly as you can 1:24:20
1 Afghanistan: Liz McConaghy, Royal Air Force - There at the Beginning of Op Herrick and There Until the Very End 1:12:52
1 Battle of the Atlantic: Sailing in Convoys through 'No Man's Land' 1:03:01
1 Battle of the Atlantic: Hurricanes Launched by Catapults and Rockets 51:21
1 Battle of the Atlantic: The Worst Journey in the World 1:28:02
1 Battle of the Atlantic: The U-Boat Peril 1:06:46
1 Op Telic: And Then The Nightmare Began 1:21:28
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