THE DARKSIDE OF AFGHANISTAN, GERALD FORD'S APRIL 30, 1975 NOW JOE BIDEN'S SEPTEMBER 11, 2021, I GUESS WE HAVEN'T LEARNED.
" With Only Four Months To Withdraw All U.S. Forces From Afghanistan, History Will Inevitably Be Repeated, Biden's September 11, 2021 Plan Will Leave Many In Fear."
Today, with only four months until the complete withdraw of all U.S. Forces from Afghanistan, President Biden seems unaware to the tragic consequences his decision will have for the Afghan people.
If there is a lesson that Biden should have learned from former President Gerald Ford and the Vietnam War, that is applicable today, it is not to abandon people in their darkest hour.
Eleven days ago will mark fifty-one years since President Ford withdrew all U.S. Forces from Vietnam, the carnage from his decision over the next thirty or so years would lead millions of deaths.
some 18,000 people that are in danger of being labeled as traitors and the potential of being massacred by Taliban Forces, for simply helping American Forces in creating a free democracy for the Afghan people.
In 2019, Omid Mahmoodi was working as a linguist for U.S. Forces, In Kabul. Today, Mahmoodi is now among the thousands of Afghans desperately seeking to leave their homeland as the Biden Administration withdraws the last 2,500 American troops by September 11th. These Afghans fear that once U.S. Forces are gone, the Taliban will sweep back into power, and target them as traitors.
" You will see the dead bodies in every street," Mahmoodi said in a phone interview from Afghanistan, where he said he's already being tracked by the Taliban, " They Will Slaughter Us."
But the program is backlogged and limited. It takes an average of nearly three years for Afghans' application to be processed, in part because of the rigorous vetting involved,according to The State Department. Right now there are about 18,000 Afghans waiting approval, and fewer than 11,000 slots.
United States House Representative Michael Waltz ( R-Fla.) said "They're in a panic right now, because there's been such a backlog of these visas, they're going to be left behind and massacred."
The State Department spokesperson said everyone involved in the Afghan visa program is aware of the threats to U.S.-Affiliate Afghans. " The Department constantly seeks ways to improve the SIV process while ensuring the integrity of the program and safeguarding National Security.
Taliban:
Since its ouster in 2001, the Taliban has maintained it's insurgency against the U.S. led mission in Afghanistan and the Afghan Government. A collapse in Intra-Afghan peace negotiations could pave the way for the groups return to power.
The Taliban started its first direct peace negotiations with the Afghan Government in 2020, after signing an agreement with The United States. Little progress has been made.
Many experts say the Taliban is a powerful fighting force that threatens Afghan Democratic Institutions, citizens rights and regional security. The group has withstood counterinsurgency operations from the world's most powerful security alliance, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO), and three U.S. Administrations, in a war that killed more than 6,000 U.S. troops and contractors and over 1,100 NATO troops, some 46,000 civilians have died, and an estimated 73,000 Afghan troops and Police officers killed since 2007.
The Taliban continues to launch deadly attacks on Afghan Security Forces and civilians. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA ) documented 8,820 civilian deaths and injuries in 2020. Though that figure was one thousand fewer than in 2019, the last three months of 2020 saw a 45 percent increase in civilian casualties compared to the same period the previous year.
The Taliban was formed in the early 1990s by Afghan Mujahideen, or Islamic guerilla fighters, who resisted the Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan ( 1979-1989 ) with covert backing of the CIA and its counterpart, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate ( ISI ). They were joined by by younger Pashtun Tribesmen who studied in Pakistan Madrassas, or seminaries, Taliban is Pasto for "students." Pashtuns comprise a plurality in Afghanistan and are the predominant ethnic group in much of the country's south and east. They are also a major ethnic group in Pakistan's north and west.
Although, when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in the mid- 1990s, the Taliban's claim was to purge the Government of corruption and remove and stop opium production.
Today, the Taliban's primary source of revenue are opium poppy cultivation and narcotics, with a UN Report estimating that it earned $400 million in 2018 from the illegal drug trade. It also levies taxes on commercial activities in its territories, such as farming and mining, the Taliban has further supplemented its income with illicit mining, the extortion of local businesses, and donations from abroad, despite UN sanctions.
President Biden may have not order U.S. Troops into Afghanistan, at the start of America's longest war, but he does have a moral obligation to insure the safety of the Afghan people, so that history may not be repeated.
The Biden Administration needs to reexamine The State Department's policies in handling of the Afghan visa program, while allowing thousands of migrants to cross over our southern border everyday, without vetting, but the nearly three year vetting process seems to be acceptable for the Afghans. Why, because we no longer need them.
President Biden, since you are the leader of the most powerful in free nation in the world, remember your words on January 20,2021, "We Must Lead By Example."
With September 11, 2021 right around the corner, Biden shows little concern for the Afghan people, some would assume that the 18,000 or so Afghans seeking political asylum from a potential barbaric government, are not enough to build-up his and democrats voter base.
FILED UNDER MAY 11, 2021: OPINION AFGHANISTAN.