LONDON/BRUSSELS -- Domestic support for military intervention has "fallen away" in the U.S., said British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Wednesday.
There was some "wishful thinking" in some quarters internationally that the Biden administration would change their policy around Afghanistan, the top diplomat said.
Raab was facing questions on the British government's planning and response to the crisis in Afghanistan from the parliament's House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which scrutinizes the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Asked if the U.K. could have shaped U.S. thinking more or if U.S. can still be trusted as a global partner, he responded, "We've got to recognize that the support domestically in the U.S. for those kinds of interventions has clearly fallen away."
It was a notable admission from one of America's top allies. Since assuming office in January, U.S. President Joe Biden has made a point of strengthening the trans-Atlantic alliance, so as to forge a united front against the world's challenges, headlined by China and Russia.
Raab did add he had "absolutely no doubt" that despite the criticism around Afghanistan, the U.S. will bounce back, calling it "indispensable." He emphasized there was close work throughout the withdrawal process, bilaterally and through NATO and the Group of Seven.
It was a grueling session for Raab, with even members of his own party throwing punches.
"Why did we get it so badly wrong?" asked Bob Seeley, a fellow Conservative Party politician who served in Afghanistan.
Raab responded saying there was "optimism bias" about the U.S. stance, somehow expecting the White House to change course over the drawdown. He said there was also a miscalculation over the intent of the Taliban. Collectively across allies, "clearly the assessment that they would not be able to advance at that speed was not correct," he said.
On being asked why "global Britain is so isolated," pointing to the fact that the U.S. did not talk to or take in U.K. views, Raab countered that the U.K. was not alone in pressing the U.S.. The U.S. public consensus had shifted, he said.
Referring to a large-scale review of British defense and foreign policy in March, Raab pointed out, "As we've set out in the IR [Integrated Review], America is our closest ally, but we are also looking, as we have been for some time, about the agile clusters of countries that we can operate with, whether it is diplomatically or in other contexts."
With the U.S. decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, allies were faced with an uncomfortable realization of the problems that can arise from an overreliance on the U.S.
"I don't think there was any viable alternative coalition once the U.S. decision had been taken," Raab said.
During the evidence session, Raab also disclosed that the central assessment of intelligence was that Kabul was not likely to fall this year, which he says was a view widely shared among NATO allies.
Meanwhile in continental Europe, countries scrambled to adjust to the new reality: That the U.S. was out of Afghanistan, the Central Asian country is run by the Taliban, and there is a risk of refugees flooding across Europe's borders.
Interior ministers from European Union countries discuss the situation in Afghanistan on Aug. 31. The bloc plans to financially assist Afghan neighbors so they can take in more refugees. © AP "The EU will engage and strengthen its support to third countries, in particular the neighboring and transit countries, hosting large numbers of migrants and refugees," EU ministers of home affairs said in a Tuesday statement. Afghanistan shares a border with Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and China.
The EU will be drawing from its 79.5 billion euro ($93.9 billion) Global Europe fund, which was greenlighted as part of the bloc's 2021-2027 budget to promote development and international cooperation in its neighbors. The exact size of this assistance has yet to be decided, though the Financial Times reports the EU is preparing a 600 million euro package .
The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Friday estimated that up to 500,000 Afghan refugees could arrive at neighboring countries by the end of the year.
"Europe has its limits and nothing can be done without strong cooperation," EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said in an interview published Monday by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. He said the EU will provide financial assistance to help countries close to Afghanistan take in more refugees.
Still, many Afghan neighbors are frustrated by the current situation. Pakistan has hosted over 3 million Afghan refugees over the last decades and cannot take in any more, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told German counterpart Heiko Maas during the latter's trip to Islamabad, Agence France-Presse reports.
Roughly 1.45 million Afghans fled to Pakistan in 2020, according to UNHCR.
Turkey also worries about an influx of Afghan refugees via Iran and other countries. The country cannot take in any more refugees, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters Tuesday during a trip to Serbia.
Turkey currently hosts roughly 300,000 Afghan refugees, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The country in July deployed military forces to its Iranian border to keep out migrants.
Additional reporting by Momoko Kidera in Istanbul.