WASHINGTON – Stop the War welcomes the announcement that Britain is to finally retreat from Afghanistan as part of the broader US plan to withdraw its troops by Sept 11th.

The arguments we put forward twenty years ago—that this was a war of revenge with no exit strategy which would lead to death, destruction and a humiliating defeat—have been proved accurate.

But lessons have not been learned—the end of the war in Afghanistan unfortunately does not indicate an end to military intervention as the Western powers are merely redirecting their artillery towards other sections of the globe, namely Russia and China. Recent hikes in military budgets on both sides of the Atlantic suggest further aggression is on the cards.

Stop the War Convenor, Lindsey German, said:

The end of this war should serve as a reminder to all the politicians who supported it that they have a huge responsibility to bear for two decades of tragedy. It must never happen again.”

This post was originally published on Radio Free.