For many Americans, the withdrawal of troops stationed on Afghan soil, chaotic as it was, was good news.
Public opinion had almost forgotten the reasons justifying the American presence, only the destiny reserved for the soldiers and the financial gulf that such an operation usually entails were retained.
I was among those at the time who wondered about the implications of the United States’ withdrawal. The American presence in that region of the world allowed them to get first-hand intelligence in the war on terrorism. They would now be dependent on intermediaries.
Another troubling side effect of the withdrawal: what fate awaited Afghans, especially women, who stood in the way of democracy, human rights and freedom?
You risk your life
This was not the aim of the American intervention, but hope for a slightly better world revived many Afghans. Among the latter, several sided with and collaborated with the United States. There are thousands who may be waiting in vain for a comeback.
In a text published on the Washington Post website Sunday, Annie Yu Kleiman, an Air Force officer two years ago, recalled that after two years of waiting, some 152,000 of these collaborators are awaiting special immigrant visas.
After risking their lives, they are somehow trapped. They can easily imagine what fate the Taliban will prepare for them if they manage to identify them.
An inhuman and immoral bureaucratic clumsiness
What shocks me most about this situation is that US officials are not doing this to protect their safety, but because their visa program has long been in need of major reform.
Even if such reform could benefit from bipartisan political support (a rarity!), it is being delayed. After properly completing the paperwork, visa applicants wait a year before proceeding to phase two!
Further steps include waiting several months for an appointment at a US embassy, going through the risky process of obtaining a passport from Afghan authorities (the black market is just as risky and expensive), and almost always having to make a detour to another country before getting one welcomed in the United States.
The whole journey is riddled with pitfalls and you have to support yourself the whole time abroad.
To carry out their operations, American leaders depend on the cooperation of local people.
Unfortunately, the situation of Afghan collaborators is not unique and other communities have paid a heavy price for their support of the “savior”.
If we still present ourselves as leaders of world democracy and defenders of freedom, we should have the decency to support our allies to the end. Protecting those who have risked everything is also in the interest of the United States.