- Whittles Publishing

Kabul: Final Call

The inside story of the withdrawal from Afghanistan August 2021

Laurie Bristow

A dramatic day-by-day account of the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021, the events that led to it, and the chaotic evacuation
Recounted by the last British Ambassador to Afghanistan and one of the last civilians to leave in August 2021

'A gripping and gruelling read. Sir Laurie is a natural raconteur. He brings to life the harrowing personal drama of his months in Kabul… … is an extraordinary work of contemporary history and invaluable for all who wish to understand how the summer of 2021 felt to those who lived it. … It should be required reading for aspiring diplomats.

Despite my knowing many of the people, places and activities Sir Laurie describes so vividly, I still find it impossible to imagine the stress and trauma experienced by all in the summer of 2021. … is a human story – a fitting testament to the courage of diplomats, civil servants and military who risked their lives to save thousands'. Sir Nicholas Kay, former ambassador to Afghanistan and NATO senior civilian representative to the Islamic republic of Afghanistan

'…this truly extra-ordinary eyewitness account of an historic tragedy unfolding… … clear-sighted but compassionate analysis of the faults and failures… … It is also very well written, in beautiful clear prose. A must-read for any student of history, great power politics, and politico-military relations'. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, British Ambassador to Afghanistan and Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, 2007-10.

Print edition: £18.99
978-184995-581-2
234 x 156mm
224 pages
illustrated with 60 colour photos and 3 maps
Hardback

Description
Readership

On 15 August 2021, the world watched in horror as Kabul fell to the Taliban, almost exactly 20 years after western-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban government in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. During those 20 years the United States, the United Kingdom and their allies tried to build a modern democratic society in Afghanistan, alongside fighting a counter-insurgency war and eradicating al-Qaeda terrorism. The campaign cost the lives of 457 British soldiers, 2402 United States soldiers, and countless Afghan soldiers and civilians. For years Afghanistan was at the top of the UK’s defence and foreign policy priorities. The UK spent tens of billions of pounds on the military campaign and on aid. The United States spent trillions of dollars.

How did all this come to nothing, in just a few short weeks?

This book tells the shocking and troubling inside story of the last days of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Told by the last British Ambassador to Afghanistan, it offers a no-holds-barred insight into the looming collapse of Afghanistan as western military forces pulled out. It catalogues the political intrigues among the Afghan elite and the indifference of western politicians for whom Afghanistan was a no-win quagmire. It describes the horror of the chaotic evacuation from Kabul. And it pays tribute to the quiet heroism of the British soldiers and civilians on the ground, who brought over 15,000 vulnerable Afghans to safety, against impossible odds, in under two weeks.

Afghanistan is no longer top of the news. But the people of Afghanistan continue to pay the price of failure – particularly Afghan women and girls. So too do the families of the soldiers – Afghan as well as British and American – who gave their lives, and those whose bodies and minds were broken by the war. This book offers an unblinking assessment of the causes, the meaning and the human cost of the disaster in Afghanistan.