US no longer superpower after Afghanistan withdrawal, suggests UK Defence Secy Ben Wallace

Indicating the hasty retreat of the US from Afghanistan, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace lashed out at the United States saying that it is "no longer a superpower." During an interview with The Spectator, Wallace was asked whether Britain's exit from Afghanistan bared the limitations of the British power on the world stage. "It is obvious that Britain is not a superpower," he began, and quickly shifted to the US. "But a superpower that is also not prepared to stick at something isn't probably a superpower either," he added while speaking to The Spectator.

The US "imposed" evacuation decision on the UK

Earlier, Wallace also condemned the Donald Trump-administered 2020 peace deal with the Taliban as a 'big mistake.' He publicly criticised the US government under Joe Biden to have "strategically...caused a lot of problems," as the US began to withdraw military forces in mid-August. The evacuation of foreign forces highly disappointed the United Kingdom, which he wanted to remain in Afghanistan. Former foreign secretary of UK Jeremy Hunt called incumbent President Joe Biden's decision "catastrophic" and claimed that it was "forced" on the UK. Additionally, he also asserted that the US decision on Afghanistan has created a "fault-line" between the UK-US relationship, the Guardian reported.

The UK blames Ex-US President Donald Trump for the mayhem

The US exit from Afghanistan has caused widespread violence in the nation killing thousands of innocent civilians. Wallace had remained critical of the withdrawal of Foreign Forces stating that it would give "momentum" to the Taliban, which would have grim consequences in later times. "The die was cast when the deal was done by Donald Trump, if you want my observation," Wallace told BBC Breakfast last month.

Talking about Joe Biden's role in the same, Wallace said, "President Biden inherited a momentum, [a] momentum that had been given to Taliban because they felt they had won. He had also inherited a momentum of troop withdrawal from the international community, the US." Referring to the deal as "rotten," Wallace told that the "seeds" were planned much "before Biden tool office," Business Insider reported.

Afghanistan updates on Sept 4

The Taliban announced on Saturday that it has delayed the government formation in Afghanistan. It was earlier scheduled to be formed on Friday. This delay in government formation has been announced on a day when Pakistan's ISI chief Faiz Hameed has landed in Kabul to oversee the government formation. 

Meanwhile, echoing 'Caretaker' President Amrullah Saleh, Northern Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA) leader Ahmad Massoud on Saturday, took to Facebook to assert 'We will never give up the fight for God, freedom and justice." Lauding the women protesting against the Taliban in Herat, he had said that Afghans have not given up their demands for rights. He also promised to address the Afghan people publically. The NRFA has rubbished claims of the Taliban capturing Panjshir.

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