Ben Roberts-Smith reveals his devastation as the Taliban takes Afghanistan

I feel a great sense of sadness that Afghanistan is back in the hands of the Taliban.

I feel for the people of Afghanistan and the horrors they now face; I feel for the families of our fallen who will question the purpose of their sacrifice and I feel for the men and women who served their country with distinction throughout the Afghanistan War.

Only two months ago the current Chief of the Defence Force stated to a senate committee that he ‘did not believe the former Islamist extremist rulers of Afghanistan would overrun the entire country once NATO and its allies leave’.

Such a comment reinforces how far removed the leadership is and was from the realities of the situation in Afghanistan.

It also serves as a reminder of why our senior leadership was unable to provide a successful strategy for Afghanistan or to ever fully understand our enemy.

Australia’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, has revealed his ‘great sense of sadness’ as the Taliban takes Afghanistan where his actions earnt the Victoria Cross.

Members of the Special Operations Task Group take part in a memorial service for SAS Sergeant Blaine Diddams who was killed in Afghanistan in 2012. Sergeant Diddams was a close friend of Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith

What is happening in Afghanistan today is not a surprise to the men and women who served there. It is just one of the reasons why today’s veterans are so disenfranchised with our senior military leadership.

Not because the withdrawal was ordered but for not giving us a chance to win.

The Taliban were never a rag-tag group of bogey men. They were a political entity with vast networks and resources who ruthlessly killed innocent men, women, and children.

It is time for our leaders to stand up and take responsibility for their failure of the Afghanistan people and their continuing failure of those who fought the war on their orders.

Forty one Australians died serving their country in Afghanistan. More than 500 veterans have taken their own life since returning home.

Ben Roberts-Smith says: ‘It is time for our leaders to stand up and take responsibility for their failure of the Afghanistan people and their continuing failure of those who fought the war on their orders.’