Afghanistan withdrawal ‘bittersweet’ for rescued US allies one year later
U.S. Army combat veteran Alex Plitsas shares his role in operation ‘Digital Dunkirk’ saving Americans, allies like former interpreter for U.S. forces Abdul Wali Sidiqui following the Taliban takeover.
What makes a year? Depends on who you ask. If you ask a Brit, they’ll tell you about their political turmoil, inflation and energy prices. If you ask an American, many will echo the same remarks.
If you ask an Afghan, though, they’ll tell you it's the difference between 2022 and the dark ages. Somewhere between the expanse of technology into every member of a household and the literal Middle Ages.
One year ago, I was lying on my couch when I got a call from a U.S. Navy buddy who needed help getting his interpreter out of Afghanistan as Kabul was falling. That was a seminal moment, and I had no idea it would likely shape the rest of my life.
BIDEN'S AFGHANISTAN DEBACLE BEGAN WITH THE FALL OF KABUL A YEAR AGO AND AMERICANS DESERVE ANSWERS
From that moment on, I was in. For my friends. For their guys. For their families. For strangers that saw my flag and believed in its colors the same way I do. That they bestow the very best of what the world has to offer and are the fiercest defenders of those who need a friend.
Passengers line up to board a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 24, 2021. (U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/Handout via Reuters/File Photo)
The American flag is hope and friendship. In color.
Very quickly after that first call, I realized this wasn’t a war to wage alone. In the hours and days that followed, my network and the veterans' community in New York joined forces with countless other veterans groups and organizations, mission-focused on one thing – getting as many Afghan friends, allies and colleagues and their families out of Afghanistan as we could.
WE CANNOT FORGET OUR AFGHAN HEROES AND OUR PROMISE TO HELP THEM
We saved a lot of lives over those next few weeks and months. We spent hours on the phones calming them. Hours overlaying Google maps over maps of Taliban checkpoint maps, so that we could guide them on a clean path to the airport or to safe houses. Hours telling them that the promise America made to them … matters. That we’re still here. That we’re still with them. Hours and days moving them from safe house to safe house.
Crowds of people show their documents to U.S. troops outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan Aug. 26, 2021. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Then after the allied pullout, hours and days working around the clock to source planes and crew to charter them out of harm's way. Never conceding or abandoning that promise made over the two preceding decades. The promise from Marine to Marine. Soldier to soldier. Corpsman to corpsman. Journalist to soldier. That standing beside us matters.
Those leading this fight were the men and women, journalists, educators and clergy who fought over the last two decades for a free Afghanistan.
REMEMBERING BIDEN'S AFGHANISTAN FAILURE ONE YEAR LATER
We were only marginally successful.
Still to this day, every day, my phone is inundated with messages on every platform, from interpreters and those who served alongside the U.S. and our allies, asking for help. For rescue. For evacuation. Asking if the U.S. has forgotten about them.
Still to this day, every day, my phone is inundated with messages on every platform, from interpreters and those who served alongside the U.S. and our allies, asking for help. For rescue. For evacuation. Asking if the U.S. has forgotten about them. All outlining their resumes and just how long they fought alongside us, as if I am personally the arbiter of entry.
Hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at a perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 17, 2021. (AP)
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There is no lonelier position than that of the one sleeping under a blanket of freedom telling the one begging for passage that you have no control over the diplomatic process. Except, of course, if you’re the one begging for entry. An asinine comparison.
One year later, I wish our nation had done more to assist and save our brothers and sisters that gave 20 years to our democracy project. But I stand here in awe of what the veterans community has built and continues to fight for every single day for their friends. The men and women who stood shoulder to shoulder with them during years of deployments to ensure they came home. The men and women of Human First Coalition and Afghan Evac and so many more who have fought every minute of every day to ensure their friends and families were safe and had a place to come home to.
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That’s what the American flag means to me – a fierce and unwavering fight for our own and our friends.
We are a better country every day for the men and women who stand in the breach for that fight.