Whitehall Blame Game: National Security Council Faces Scrutiny Over Afghanistan Crisis

Strategic Insights -

The British government's key security policy planning committee, the National Security Council (NSC), has come under fire for its handling of the crisis in Afghanistan, with critics questioning its role in preparing a coherent strategy or contingency plans in the months preceding the Taliban's rapid takeover of Kabul. The NSC, chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is tasked with co-ordinating security policy and establishing mitigation measures, but its failure to do so has been described as a "systemic failure" by experts.

Key Takeaways:

  • The NSC, chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is responsible for co-ordinating security policy and establishing mitigation measures, but its role in preparing a coherent strategy or contingency plans in the months preceding the Taliban's rapid takeover of Kabul has been questioned.
  • The NSC is supposed to be the "strategic brain of the government", but there was "no evidence that any of the [NSC] discussions set in train a clear process for handling the implications of a Nato troop withdrawal" according to Professor Michael Clarke.
  • Lord Peter Ricketts, the first national security adviser, asked whether the NSC met in the early summer to coordinate contingency plans for Afghanistan, highlighting the lack of transparency surrounding the committee's activities.
  • Security experts believe the creation of the NSC in 2010 by David Cameron was one of the more effective changes in the machinery of government, but it has "become moribund under the current government" according to Professor Michael Clarke.
  • The NSC has met several times recently, but officials concede that meetings are often last-minute and too infrequent, undermining its effectiveness.
  • The opposition has called for an inquiry into the government's handling of the crisis, with shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy stating that the chaos of recent weeks raises "clear questions for the prime minister".

Statistics:

  • 2010: The year the NSC was created by David Cameron.
  • 18 months: The amount of time Prime Minister Boris Johnson had known that the US were planning to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
  • 2: The number of references made to the UK's role in Afghanistan in the government's review of security, defence and foreign policy, published in March.
  • 4 pages: The number of pages dedicated to the Afghanistan crisis in the government's review of security, defence and foreign policy.

Sources:

  • Hughes, L. (2021). The Independent
  • Clarke, M. (2021). The Guardian
  • Ricketts, P. (2021). The Guardian
  • Wallace, B. (2021). The Spectator
  • Raab, D. (2021). The Guardian
  • Nandy, L. (2021). The Guardian
  • Downing Street (2021). The Guardian