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Twenty-five years after the deadliest terror attack in history set the wheels in motion for the war in Afghanistan, British veterans have said their sacrifices were a 'pointless waste of time'.
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sacrifices → see → time
Western allies spent two decades fighting the 'war on terror' after Al Qaeda orchestrated the 9/11 suicide attacks that killed 3,000 people.
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that → spend → people
However, it took the Taliban just ten days to seize power after Nato hurriedly abandoned Afghanistan in August 2021, ushering in a new tyrannical regime which outlaws women and girls from going to school, bans the free press – while critics are subject to torture and executions – and the right to a fair trial is non-existent.
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right → take → trial
By the end of the war, 457 British soldiers had been killed fighting the Taliban, a further 2,000 were wounded – and many more diagnosed with PTSD or left homeless.
Despite the horror of watching their friends be killed in combat or blown up by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 25 years on from the devastating events of September 11, 2001, British war heroes have now said their sacrifice 'wasn't worth it' and that the country is in a 'worse state than before' the conflict.
Ex-Royal Marine Commando Ben McBean was just 20 years old when he lost his right leg and left arm in an IED explosion in Kajaki, southern Afghanistan, in 2008.
His unit was approaching a suspected Taliban compound and he ran towards a wall when the bomb exploded, throwing him 20ft in the air.
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bomb → kill → air
The Royal Marine, now 39, also lost two friends on tour and has been left with PTSD.
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Marine → lose → PTSD
Mr McBean, who is raising money for a bionic arm, told the Daily Mail: 'I'm proud of what we did on the ground but the whole thing was an absolute waste of time because we have nothing to show for it.
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we → raise → it
Ben McBean, 39, lost his his right leg and left arm in an IED explosion while serving with the Royal Marines in 2008
More than 450 British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan in addition to 2,000 that were wounded (File image)
Today marks 25 years since Al-Qaeda hijacked two planes and flew them into the Twin Towers in New York in 2001, sparking the West's 'war on terror'
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Qaeda → lose → terror
Whilst we were there, the Afghans had freedom and their girls went to school - but not anymore.
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girls → have → school
The country has gone back to how it was before we went in.
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we → go → ?
We spent 20 years wasting money on the war only for the Taliban to take Afghanistan back to the way it was before.
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it → spend → way
'What annoys me is that whatever we did has been reversed.
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did → annoy → whatever
I feel a natural rage about the way we left Afghanistan, I thought it was a joke.
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it → feel → Afghanistan
'Go and ask any Afghan veteran whether what we did has had a positive impact and they'll say "no".
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they → go → impact
I fought for my country, saw friends get killed and I lost two of my limbs.
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I → fight → limbs
But the war has been forgotten about and veterans have been forgotten about.
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veterans → forget → ?
I try my hardest to say "thank you" because I'm still alive but I'm grafting to stay on my feet.
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I → try → feet
Anyone like me who was injured or has PTSD knows how hard it is.
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it → injure → PTSD
The people who were killed can't see the b*****t of how we left Afghanistan and how veterans are treated at home.
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veterans → kill → home
I don't regret my service, I achieved my dream by joining the Marines.
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I → regret → Marines
But if I was asked to join up now, I'd fight for the British people but not for the Government, or for politicians who would send us to a random war [far from home] just to walk away from it years later and chase us down for war crimes and treat us sh*t.
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who → ask → sh*t
It wasn't worth it because after 20 years of war, all those who died, including my friends and colleagues, and guys like me who were injured, if we carried on it would have resulted in more deaths, more PTSD, more double or triple amputees.'
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it → die → deaths
Gemma Gardner, 45, who deployed to Lashkar Gah in southern Afghanistan in 2009, described how she saw troops being rushed into the medical tent opposite her room on stretchers 'with everything falling off them' after they were hit by IEDs.
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they → deploy → IEDs
Gemma Gardner, 45, who served in the Adjutant General's Corps, said she 'feels hurt and pain over the war' after she deployed in 2009
Ms
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she → serve → 2009
Gardner she saw British soldiers being repatriated in coffins on a daily basis when she was stationed at Camp Bastion (File image)
And when she was stationed at Camp Bastion, a former airbase to the north-west of the city, the former sergeant would see British soldiers 'going home in a box' every day, which she said 'takes its toll.'
Ms Gardner told the Daily Mail: 'I feel that unfortunately we at the time had signed up to serve "Queen and Country" and were paid to do a job, not question why.
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we → see → job
But a lot of us are now out of the Armed Forces and we have opinions.
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we → have → opinions
'A lot of us are angry and frustrated in the aftermath when we think about what we had to do with no way to then process it afterwards.
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we → frustrate → it
I didn't grasp what we were trying to achieve in 2009 in terms of what was expected of us.
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what → grasp → us
There was no understanding of why we were there except for what you saw on the news.
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you → be → news
It wasn't worth it when you think about the amount of lives that were lost and the families who lost husbands, fathers, wives and mothers.
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who → think → husbands
I was posted to the forward operating base (FOB) in Lashkar Gah and my room was directly opposite the medical tent.
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room → post → tent
I would come out of my room at 5am and see soldiers being brought in with everything falling off them.
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everything → come → them
'When I was at Camp Bastion I was constantly seeing bodies being repatriated and it took its toll, being stood on parade watching British soldiers going home in a box.
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soldiers → see → box
We saw our friends die and lose limbs - but for what?
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friends → see → what
Not only were all those lives lost and all those bodies to bring home but sometimes only part of them - and then how many more were medically discharged as a result?'
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many → lose → result
Ms Gardner now works as an independent researcher and is the founder of the AURIS Institute, which helps veterans transition back to civilian life
Pictured: The chaos in Kabul as British troops rushed to evacuate civilians before the Taliban reached the gates of the capital city in August 2021
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Taliban → work → August
I don't agree with why we were there but I don't regret going… but so many people died and we didn't need to go in the first place.
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we → agree → place
I feel hurt and pain over the war, but not anger like some other veterans.'
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I → feel → veterans
Former Royal Engineers sapper Jack Cummings, 38, lost both his legs above the knee during his second tour of Afghanistan – at the age of only 22.
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Cummings → lose → 22
They were blown off while searching for bombs in Babaji, Lashkar Gah, in 2010.
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They → blow → 2010
Mr Cummings, whose job was to search for IEDs with a metal detector, landed 'face down' after being hit.
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face → search → detector
…and 35 more, not listed.
The Aporia
