The fiasco in Khartoum is being widely interpreted as a tragic failure of intelligence. James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, is facing questions about how and why the government was caught unawares as Sudan descended into bloody chaos. There are bodies on the streets of Khartoum, foreigners have fled the city, and those who remain are braced for a resumption of war. A United Nations-brokered truce turned out to be illusory.
It is tempting to think of diplomats as an unnecessary luxury in the 21st century, but they are vital
The British military managed to evacuate about 100 diplomatic staff but most of the estimated 4,000 British nationals remain in a place that evokes the mayhem of the panicked evacuation of Kabul. The first RAF flights that arrived in Cyprus carried only a few dozen civilians.
The US state department was also caught by surprise. The army has evacuated diplomatic staff but left 16,000 US citizens in Khartoum.
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