Here is the truth no one will tell you, based on daily dialogue with credible sources, firsthand data from Afghanistan. As a former Assistant Secretary of State, the sources are irrefutable, true.
Hard reality: As of late October, at least 38,000 persons remain in Afghanistan who possess official US-issued documents or have relationships that entitle their immediate exit.
Hard reality: The 38,000 credentialed individuals are US citizens, green-card holders, former US embassy personnel, and holders of SIV (Special Immigrant Visas). Breakdowns vary.
Hard reality: These individuals want out, were promised they would not be left behind, are in mortal danger, hiding from he Taliban. Asked what percentage is at risk of death, the answer was “100 percent.”
Hard reality: Horrific human rights abuses, a euphemism for the most egregious acts of violating human dignity and life, are being committed daily, attributable to US abandonment.
Hard reality: These events will continue, with US humiliation growing, until the Biden Administration acknowledges the horror, takes responsibility and gets them out.
Hard reality: Denial, deflection, and trivializing this human catastrophe will not make it go away. Continued cowardice, half-truths, and dodging will not put this right.
Hard reality: The Biden State Department is failing – with White House and Pentagon – by not being proactive at a time when being proactive, creative, and responsible is critical.
What can State do? What must they do? What is not being done – to save lives? Six things.
First, State must negotiate immediate landing rights for planes with any of the 38,000 (fully vetted) individuals, assuring the US will accept asylum applications from any not American citizens or green-card holders. These are vetted, evacuees. The State can do this.
Second, State must put pressure (diplomatic, economic, finance, security) on Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan – to allow overland evacuees entry, with proper credentials or clearance from State based on past US employment, SIV, or US citizen sponsorship. Pakistan just closed Torkham Gate, and that must reopen. The State can do this.
Third, getting these 38,000 out requires the Taliban, who are sucking air. They are daily in firefights with ISIS-K. They have minimal access to financial markets, humanitarian aid, or technical assistance. They will soon have no air commerce, as deicing equipment is broken.
Since they need technical assistance, food, medicine – we have leverage. We must say: We are coming in to secure the airport, need your help to get all 38,000 out – or you will be stranded.
Working together, White House, State, and Defense can do this.
Fourth, Pakistan and the entire civilized world – with pressure put on NATO, Far East, Russia (which fears Islamic radicalism), and China (who wants future global relations) – must say with one voice, let this happen. If in harmony, the Taliban will hear them. The State can do this.
Fifth, for an orderly evacuation, US airframes must be allowed into Afghan airspace. As a result, the US should support subsequent efforts by Afghanistan to secure aviation accords for revenue. The State can do this.
Sixth, to retrieve others with US affiliation, a final round of SIV applications should be permitted and expedited by State, followed by final evacuations. The State can do this.
Better than denying this horrific miscarriage of justice and human tragedy, be proactive. Better than claiming success for failure, or spinning failure, own it and fix it.
Bottom line: Terror is afoot in Afghanistan, putting 38,000 American-affiliated persons at risk. The moral failing is Biden’s. It is not going away. It is not over. To get this right is hard. That is why leadership – moral and political – is imperative. If not now, when?
I generally liked this article, because it outlines the reality on the ground instead of the political spin that is constantly being put forth by the Biden administration and its propaganda arm, the MSM, that everything is just fine related to Afghanistan. “No problem to see here…move on…move on.” The standard response that has now become all too common with all man-made crisis situations that the Biden administration has created in its brief time in power.
As for your solutions, you do realize that virtually none of them will be considered or implemented under the Biden administration correct? I’m not saying that some of your solutions don’t have merit, but rather none of the proposed solutions sync up with how any of the current major players in the White House or the State Department think. The people running the show 1) don’t particularly care about either the remaining U.S. citizens still trapped in country or the 38,000 American-affiliated Afghani people stuck there as well and 2) from the Biden administration perspective, it is clear their only concern is how fast Afghanistan can be swept under the rug and erased from the public’s memory. As such, I honestly can’t envision the Biden administration doing a 180 degree about face and suddenly showing either real concern for those abandoned or the competence to actually do any of your proposed solutions properly.
As for the Taliban, their chief concern, beyond the constant in-fighting that always occurs with various competing factions within Islam, is for imposing strict Islamic law over the population. Look at how they have been putting Mullahs (religious clerics), as provincial Mayors in a number of their larger population centers. The rest of the country is being ruled by various high-ranking members of the Taliban in accordance with Sharia Law. They are pushing the country back to the 7th century as fast as they can. So the last thing on most of the Taliban’s minds is the humane care and treatment of the people now back under their control. China and Pakistan both seem to be willing to provide whatever financial assistance the Taliban might require in exchange for the Bagram Air Base and the trillions of dollars worth of rare earths and other precious minerals Afghanistan has. Russia also seems to be negotiating for a piece of the pie. So what is our leverage under these current conditions? Biden has already sent a clear signal to NATO countries earlier this year, that it is back to business as usual. So he isn’t going to pressure NATO to do anything. He actually handed Russia a big financial and political win with his approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany.
Finally to the other surrounding countries you mentioned, that might be of assistance, the Biden administration has burned all diplomatic bridges with most of these countries after the disastrous way in which Biden orchestrated our withdrawal from Afghanistan. They no longer either fear us or respect us, so getting any assistance from the likes of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan is pretty much a non-starter. Yes, I agree all three would be logical allies for helping to rescue our people, but again the Biden administration has burned all those relationships.
That leaves us with the current all volunteer groups trying to smuggle out individuals and small groups, with little to no support from the Biden administration State Department. All as they try to evade the Taliban fighters hunting down those still trapped in country, thanks to the Biden State Department handing the Taliban comprehensive lists of names of American citizens and Afghanis that worked with us. Pretty sad for the world’s supposed lone superpower to act huh? Yet here we are. For your proposed solutions to have even a small chance of succeeding, the first thing we would need is a completely different administration in charge and a whole different attitude in place. That isn’t even potentially on the table for another 3 long years. By then, I doubt many of the people you write about will still be alive.
This is very well reasoned and persuasive. (NOTE: Someone typed “airframes” where airplanes was intended.)
Joey will do nothing. Those people are screwed. Afghanistan is a political promise made that the US would be out of there. We are out, mission completed. Out of sight, out of mind. As for State and the press,,just keep people in the dark and feed them crap and wonderful things will grow!
The Commies, err Democrats, learned a long time ago that “talk is cheap” and most of their talk IS worthless! They’ve ALWAYS bent, err flowed, with the dominant opinion of the moment. That’s why you can’t believe anything anymore from what any so-called Democratic Party Leaders say, nevermind promise!
Bullcrap reigns Supreme with Joe Biden!
Excellent advice! Unfortunately, the usurper in the White House who pretends to be president and his master, Obama, do not have the moral quality or leadership skills to do the good things outlined by Mr. Charles. Our national sin must indeed be very great for Almighty God to have abandoned us to such miserable, wicked leaders.
We have 38K in Afganistan, heard it was 348?
Whose lying now
GET Them OUT
Block funds to Taliban.
RBC, are your numbers correct here sir? I don’t have the slightest how many actual Americans are still in Afghanistan…( 1 ) American left behind is ( 1 ) to many…
PaulE below has summed it up quite well here, this administration will NOT act on any of these ( 6 ) proposals as that is a sad truth…The WH & the State Department & the WOKE generals have swept Afghanistan under the rug, including those that desperately tried to break through to the Kabul Airport…
Bill on the Hill…
The acts carried out by biden and his generals in Afghanistan will never go away and will remembered as just one more crime for this group of enemy traitors.