It seems impossible to avoid seeing heartrending stories of Afghanis who worked for us and their families desperately seeking a safe haven. If they pull off a miracle of getting to Kabul through territory controlled by the Taliban, they face a Kafkaesque American bureaucratic barrier. Actually, two.
These people were made promises in our name. The excuse for this final barrier is paperwork. Is paperwork more important than the lives of these victims, their wives and children. They are victims of the dueling bureaucracies of the Pentagon and the Department of State who, reportedly, are not communicating with each other.. They are victims, not of the Taliban but of us.
Forget the paperwork. Just load them on planes and do the paperwork after they have safely arrived in the U.S.
The Air Force has planes scheduled to leave every hour. That appears insufficient. You and I have bought more planes than that. They could also employ domestic and foreign airlines.
We spent more than trillion do9llars doing harm. We can afford the relative pittance to finally do something decent.
Then they say they are trying to find countries to accept them. I would suggest the United States. While the thousands seeking refuge seem overwhelming in Kabul, it’s hardly a stretch for a country of 330 millions to accommodate the number involved.
There are others who seek and need our help. Women in that country have enjoyed a taste of the 21st Century. Those who have entered professions are now targets. The Taliban is camping outside the home a woman who committed the crime of being a musician. There is an agreement for forces of each side to abstain from confrontation and violence. We are sending thousands of troops over there temporarily. They could be put to use escorting such people to the airport. They could also escort refugees to Kabul from the provinces.
The Taliban are basking in their win — more accurately, our loss. They are playing up to the media. It’s all PR. It will not last, once we have made out final exit.
The Taliban is stronger now than they were when we attacked. W and President Cheney didn’t give a crap about Afghanistan. They wanted to use it as a connection to al-Qaeda to leverage that into a war against Iraq. In December of 2001 the Taliban offered to kick al-Qaeda out. Bush and President Cheney ignored their offer. That war crime resulted in the unnecessary deaths of more than 2,000 of our military and at least 100,000 Afghanis.
It’s past time for us to act with honor vis-à-vis that people.
If you found this educational, edifying, interesting or otherwise worth your time, this geezer would appreciate a little supplement to those Social Security checks, They forgot to factor in the cost of publishing a blog. I would like to continue being able to afford my daily cup of coffee and pound of caviar.
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