Afghan data leak: one part of a great betrayal

The Afghans who served with western forces have been let down by ignorant politicians with no idea who the Taliban truly are

July 17, 2025 (The New World) — Taliban death squads have been hunting down Afghanistan’s former soldiers, Special Forces, and police who fought for 20 years to build a free and democratic country since the day they came back to power four years ago. Anyone who thinks otherwise hasn’t been paying attention.

And now British government and military leaders are wringing their hands over being caught out in a massive data breach, and subsequent cover up, that has reportedly affected up to 100,000 Afghans. Forced to confront the debacle, they now claim that there is no longer any danger of Taliban retribution to those left behind.

The minister of defence, John Healey, betrayed his own ignorance – or, more likely, his lack of care – about how the Taliban deals with their former enemies, when he stood up in Parliament on July 15 to say: “There is little evidence of intent by the Taliban to conduct a campaign of retribution against former officials.”