Anyone who served in Afghanistan feels a pain in their heart as we witness the collapse of that nation. All that Americans sacrificed and fought for appears to be lost. The sadness is palpable and real. Yet, this pales in comparison to the grief of the families of the 2,312 Americans who lost their lives there and the anguish of the 20,066 who were wounded in action.
During my 30-year career in the U.S Army, I had the honor of serving in Afghanistan for several tours. I feel the pain of loss as I reflect on those three deployments. While stationed in Afghanistan, I was appointed as the Director of NATO’s Joint Intelligence Center in Kabul where I led 80 people from 18 nations.
There is no other way to put it, the Biden Administration has completely botched the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
One of my most rewarding and memorable tasks in Afghanistan was the opportunity to lead seven relief operations to help Afghan orphans. Today, I am thinking of those orphans (most who are now adults) caught amidst the chaos and horror of the Taliban takeover.
The end of the mission in Afghanistan should not have ended this way. There was a better way. There is little doubt that the cut and run strategy of the Biden Administration in Afghanistan will prove to be the greatest failure of American foreign policy since the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Once American support was removed, the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces was predictable even to novices and was not unlike what occurred in South Vietnam. Both outcomes were caused by the abrupt end of American support, airpower, and logistics.
Sadly, the worst is yet to come as the Taliban victory will trigger bloodshed and atrocities across that war-torn nation not seen since their bloody rule ended in 2001. Reports and videos are already coming out that show retribution, summary executions, and Afghan females being treated as trophies of conquest. Additionally, thousands of Afghans who supported the Americans will be singled out by the Taliban for vengeance and execution. This is not unlike what happened in 1975 South Vietnam to those who supported the U.S. mission there.
Worse yet, Afghanistan will spiral into a chaotic “gray zone” where radical groups will once again take up residence in the remote mountains and rise as a threat to the United States. Thousands of prisoners that include high-value Taliban and Al-Qaida operatives have already been released by conquering Taliban forces.
The difficult thing to understand is that Joe Biden lived through the Vietnam experience and saw the long shadow that the end of that war cast. The deaths of 58,220 of our citizens in Vietnam, who “gave the last full measure of devotion” in a war that was mismanaged and bungled by the Johnson Administration, left a scar that remains in the hearts of so many of our countrymen.
In the aftermath of that war, a new generation of leaders rose up and vowed to never repeat those failures. These ideals were applied in my first combat experience in Desert Storm in 1991 where our forces dealt a decisive victory in the liberation of Kuwait. Yet, those lessons were rapidly forgotten and many of the mistakes were repeated in both Afghanistan and Iraq only a decade later.
While serving as Vice President, Joe Biden participated in the decision to rapidly withdraw American forces from Iraq. That decision created a security vacuum that was filled by the bloodthirsty ISIS. As this so-called “JV Team” (as President Obama labeled them) swept across Iraq and Syria, they left behind atrocities and genocide not witnessed in the region for decades.
The Obama administration turned its back on the Assyrians, Chaldeans and countless other minorities who were butchered or enslaved by ISIS. We can only hope that this will not be repeated by the Biden Administration in Afghanistan. But there is little hope of that, as the precipitous retreat ordered by Biden did not even consider protecting the Afghans who physically served alongside our forces and whose fate is now sealed. Has the administration not learned anything?
After two decades of fighting in Afghanistan, it was time to bring that mission to a close. However, it needed to be a phased approach that considered the situation on the ground as well as the reality that the Afghan National Security Forces would continue to need basic support for some months to come. Ordering the retreat of American forces from Afghanistan during the height of the annual fighting season is the epitome of madness. The timing could not be worse, and the results were once again predictable to even casual observers.
This entire situation is hard to come to terms with. After so much sacrifice and loss, it all seems to be in vain. Yet, fleeting hope remains. Even in the darkest hours, America was not alone in Afghanistan.
Our NATO Allies, as well as so many other nations from around the world, stood with us in that long war. We will need those same nations to stand with us once again as we face this new tragic reality.
To the veterans of Afghanistan, I thank you for your commitment and sacrifice. You answered the call after our nation was attacked on 9/11 when so few were willing. I could not be prouder of the men and women who wore the uniform of our armed forces in that remote foreign land. You held back the forces of darkness and gave a generation of Afghans hope.
Jesus said in the Gospel of John chapter 15, verse 13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one should lay down his life for his friends.” You were willing to give your all for our nation and our people. There is no greater love than this.
State Sen. Doug Mastriano is a Republican who represents Pennsylvania’s 33rd Senate District, which includes all of Adams County, and portions of Franklin, Cumberland and York counties. A retired U.S Army colonel, Mastriano was deployed to Afghanistan for three tours.
