Afghanistan: Trump calls for Biden to resign, as Dominic Raab accused of ‘going AWOL’ with week-long holiday

The rapid collapse of Afghanistan’s government means American officials are increasingly concerned about the potential for a rise in terrorist threats against the US.

The UK and the US are facing criticism over their handling of the deepening crisis in Afghanistan.

Donald Trump has called for Joe Biden to resign in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover – describing the current situation as a “disgrace”.

In a statement, the former president wrote:-

“What Joe Biden has done with Afghanistan is legendary. It will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history!”

Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been accused of “going AWOL” after spending the past week on holiday abroad as the situation was unravelling.

Tom Tugendhat, a veteran and Conservative MP who now chairs the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, told the BBC that he does not know how the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will respond – adding this is “the biggest single policy disaster since Suez”.

Government officials have said that Mr Raab is personally overseeing the Foreign Office’s response, has engaged with international partners, and returned to the UK yesterday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the Taliban should not be recognised as the government of Afghanistan, but added it was clear there will be a new administration in the country very soon.