represented three or four foreign nationals who served as interpreters and were under threat of imminent death if they stayed in Afghanistan or Iran. They had been denied security clearances, even though they had already been doing the job for years, only because there family members were for a nationals. Each of them had multiple military members vouch for them. DCISA implemented a rule that any one who had been outside the wire with American troops as an interpreter got the benefit of the doubt in determining their eligibility for a clearance.
It bothers me.
I became a friend with a guy who had been a ARVN Lieutenant captured by the Communists when South Vietnam fell in April 1975, and after spending years in the jungle in a “re-education camp”, he managed to escape by stealing a boat and taking it out into the South China Sea.
The first time he was relating his story to me (minus gory details) and at one point, talking about his experiences in that camp, he faltered, his voice caught, and his eyes took on a very far away look.
He said simply, without looking at me: “The things we had to do.”
I didn’t need to know the gory details. They were written on his countenance. Of course, in retrospect, he was a lucky one. He didn’t get lined up and shot outright.
I love my country, but that does not mean I don’t acknowledge we have black marks on our national soul. I look at what we did with Soviet POWs after the war who were within allied (non-Soviet controlled) areas, who we simply handed back to the Soviets, knowing full well what was going to happen to them. To me, things like this treatment of the Afghans who made a choice and fully took sides with us are one of them.
And I do feel shame about how we dealt with it. I also take into account the chaotic situation (both in Vietnam in April 1975 and Afghanistan in 2021, more so in Vietnam. But that in no way excuses what was done in 2021.
In Vietnam, the NVA were driving the process. In 2021, we fully controlled the process and the chaos was being created because the crumbling process and enemy aggression was initiated by scumbag Leftist American politicians in the Biden Administration who, against direct advice that would have prevented the chaos, wanted to make a political splash.
And it blew up in their face.
I also fully understand fully the concern people have for those we let in who may contract “Sudden Jihadi” syndrome. But I still think we should have done more for them.
Eh. Biden’s “team” just handed the Taliban the lists of these people. It is water over the dam now. We just have to deal with the aftermath of this, and these two National Guard personnel are just two of them who have to bear the burden now, if they live.
By the way, thank you for your input on this. It is good to know that at least someone in our government had the “adult” idea (as Lurker opined) of how to approach this issue.