By Daniel Kraemer
BBC News
The UK has warned the US decision to leave Afghanistan on 31 August will mean an end to evacuations from Kabul airport.
It is calling for “safe passage” to continue after that date.
Why can’t the UK hold Kabul airport without the US?
The US is providing the bulk of the troops to keep the airport secure and is running many of its facilities – including air traffic control.
The US is also providing intelligence and surveillance for the operation – which would take significant time and resources to replace.
General Sir Richard Barrons, commander Joint Forces Command from 2013 until 2016, said carrying out evacuations without US support would be extremely difficult.
“We would have to be prepared to leave the airport, and fight the Taliban to go and get these people. I just don’t see that as a credible proposition.
“And secondly, if the Taliban don’t want our aeroplanes to use the airport, one mortar round, one missile, one burst of machine gun fire, and the evacuation is over.”
Protection from fighter jets or helicopters is vital, according to Nick Reynolds of the Royal United Services Institute think tank. The US is currently providing this.
And the RAF’s limited number of transport aircraft, means the UK does not have the capability “to conduct an effective evacuation by itself, especially not under time pressure”, he said.
Who has troops at Kabul airport?
American troops are currently the largest presence at Hamid Karzai International Airport, with around 6,000 present.
There have been American jets patrolling the skies, as well as attack helicopters present.
The UK has more than 1,000 at the airport, including the Army’s 16 Air Assault Brigade.
Smaller contingents from Nato members including France, Germany and Turkey are also present.
Norway has also been playing a role, with a hospital at the airbase.
Nato has said it had around 800 civilian contractors on the ground – most of them at the airport.
What does the UK want?
The UK has urged the US to postpone the planned 31 August withdrawal.
On Monday, armed forces minister James Heappey said about 1,800 “eligible people” or UK passport holders remained in Afghanistan.
He said there were also 2,275 Afghans who can be resettled having worked for the UK government, and more people from “wider Afghan civil society who we would like to get out if we’re able”.
IMAGE SOURCE MODMore than 9,000 people have been evacuated by the UK in the past week and further flights are planned.
But Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has made clear that when American forces leave Kabul, “we will have to leave as well”.
After an emergency meeting of G7 world leaders on Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “The number one condition that we’re insisting on is safe passage beyond the 31st, so beyond the initial phase for those who want to leave Afghanistan.”
What has the US said?
US President Joe Biden will stick with the 31 August withdrawal deadline, an administration official has said.
President Biden has previously said the US was doing “everything that we can to provide safe evacuation for our Afghan allies, partners and Afghans who might be targeted because of their association with the United States.”
The positions of the UK and US reflect their different priorities, according to Nick Reynolds.
He said the UK wants to “evacuate as many people as possible”, with the timetable “a secondary concern”. Sticking to the 31 August deadline was a “higher priority” for the US, he said.
What is the Taliban doing?
On Tuesday, the Taliban said there was enough time to get foreign nationals out before the deadline, but it was “not in favour” of allowing Afghans to leave.
It has described the 31 August deadline as a”red line” and said staying longer would mean extending Afghanistan’s occupation. The Taliban warned of consequences if that were to happen.