9/11 anniversary: UK misjudged influence and Afghan history after atrocity, concedes David Blunkett

David Blunkett was travelling by train to London when his son, Hugh, telephoned him to say a plane had crashed into New York’s World Trade Centre before Downing Street chiefs had time to alert him to the unfolding catastrophe that was to claim nearly 3,000 lives.

How West misread Afghanistan after 9/11 terror attacks – David Blunkett

Now Lord Blunkett, the former Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough MP recalls the historic day and the reaction of Tony Blair in an exclusive essay for The Yorkshire Post to coincide with the anniversary.

Mr Blair, the then Prime Minister, has travelled to the United States for today’s poignant commemorations which will be led by President Joe Biden at the site of Ground Zero in New York.

They take on added sensitivity following the hasty withdrawal of UK and US military forces from Afghanistan after the Taliban regained control for the first time since it lost its grip on power after the September 11 atrocities.

“I do not believe that the 457 UK service men and women who died did so in vain,” writes Lord Blunkett with respect to the British military personnel killed in Afghanistan over the past two decades.

“It was a mistake, however, not to understand that nation-building must done by the nation you have freed. If you are seen by a significant proportion as an invading or occupying force, then there will always be an ambiguous relationship at best, and a dangerous one at worst.

“Frankly, we slipped into believing that commencing nation-building, cutting off the supplies of heroin which funded the Taliban, and well-trained and well-equipped Afghan forces would see off the Taliban. That clearly was not the case.”

He adds: “Our exaggerated view of the influence we exercised over the United States was always a problem, but a failure to understand Afghan history was, in retrospect, extraordinarily short-sighted.”

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