America’s Obligation to Those Left Behind

By Matt Daley

Today’s edition of the Chesapeake Observer coincides with the official end to America’s war in Afghanistan.  The wisdom – or lack thereof – of the decision to end the U.S. military presence, first taken by President Trump and embraced wholeheartedly by President Biden, will be debated for years.  What will not be debated is that the Biden Administration’s implementation of that decision was deeply flawed, in particular by its civilian policy team.   Our NATO allies were not consulted and as a result the alliance has suffered its worse setback and consequent internal discord in its history.

In Afghanistan, America had long promised that it would not abandon either its citizens in Afghanistan or those Afghans who were closely associated with the US and who would face severe retaliation by Taliban.  This is a sacred obligation – and a strategic one as well should at a future date we ask others to put themselves at risk in a common undertaking.  The planning on the civilian side of the Biden Administration to fulfill this obligation was dreadful.  

I say this not in hindsight, but as one who together with others attempted to move the Administration in a positive direction when there was still time.   Thanks to superb efforts by brave professionals of the US military, the Foreign Service and the Intelligence Community, the vast majority of American citizens were saved and tens of thousands of at risk Afghans were rescued.  But tens of thousands were left behind. Some time will elapse before the US and our allies are able to conduct normal consular operations in Afghanistan.  However it is imperative to press for access to vulnerable populations as quickly as possible.  

To that end, the following measures are feasible and will help significantly:

1. Establish the functional equivalent of the Orderly Departure Program in Afghanistan operated by the International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent and the International Organization on Migration to identify and help transport at risk individuals.

• Press the Taliban to allow their exit from the country and press neighboring countries to either offer first asylum or to facilitate transit onwards.  A Humanitarian Corridor could fit under this rubric.

• Encourage international support for resettlement.  This may go down hard with the Europeans who do not want a repeat of the last wave Middle Eastern migrants and who feel betrayed by the US decision to withdraw.  At a minimum, they should take those who are risk because they worked for a NATO country, a national or international NGO, or are especially vulnerable for all the reasons outlined in the 1951 Refugee Convention. 

•  Carefully control the return of funds to Afghanistan to advance our objectives.  A very large portion of the Kabul government’s funding came from international assistance and those funds should be disbursed through UN agencies and not pass through Taliban hands.

• The President should be pressed to appoint a seasoned official to oversee  Executive Branch agencies on the program outlined above and to coordinate with international organizations and NGOs.  

• The Administration should immediately inform the public of the many and rigorous vetting hurdles that Afghans who seek admission to the US must clear before coming here.  (This is quite unlike the situation on our southern border.)