Just a few blocks from the White House on Friday, two West Virginia National Guard soldiers were on duty. 20 year old Sarah Beckstrom and 24 year old Andrew Wolfe were suddenly shot. The attacker laid ambush and opened fire on them. Sarah died during treatment, while Andrew is still struggling with life and death. The attacker was identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan. He once fought shoulder to shoulder with American forces against the Taliban in the CIA’s Kandahar Strike Force. Brought to America in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome. About 77,000 people of Afghan origin reached America.
After the attack, President Donald Trump immediately said that ‘this is the result of Biden’s biggest failure.’ Thousands of people were allowed to enter the country without proper investigation. Now American soldiers are bleeding. We will re-examine every Afghan case. The Trump administration immediately stopped all Afghan immigration applications. He also showed pictures of Afghan people arriving on the plane in droves and said that Biden brought people in large numbers in this way. But questions still arise regarding the manner in which America left Afghanistan. However, the Afghan people whom Trump is raising questions about coming to America were actually America’s responsibility. Because these people helped America by risking their lives. At the same time, it was not easy to get out of Afghanistan.
The situation when America was leaving Afghanistan.
How was the situation when America left Afghanistan?
On 15 August 2021, Taliban entered Kabul. Ashraf Ghani fled in a helicopter with bags full of dollars. The Afghan Army laid down its arms. And the conditions at Kabul airport were like hell. Lakhs of people wanted to run away to save their lives. But only two types of people could board the plane.
First, those who had ‘physical strength’. Who stood outside the airport day and night. Those who pulled barbed wires with their hands, climbed walls, faced Taliban bullets, trampled the crowd. Mothers were throwing their newborn children over the barbed wires. Many children reached the hands of American Marines, many were lost forever.
Secondly, those who had the ‘power of reach’. Big officers, generals, ministers, businessmen. Who had direct numbers of American officials. Those who already owned property in Dubai, Türkiye or America. They left quietly and comfortably.
Afghan people traveling in C17 aircraft.
Were those who helped America left behind?
America could not evacuate everyone from Afghanistan. Many translators who saved the lives of American soldiers, female judges who challenged the Taliban, Hazara activists, former commandos, journalists, girls who wanted to go to school, all remained outside the wall. However, thousands of his helpers were evacuated.
Attack occurred during rescue
An Islamic State suicide attack took place on 26 August 2021. 170 Afghans and 13 American Marines were killed in the explosion at the airport gate. Even today one gets goosebumps watching the video of that day, in which scattered dead bodies, blood-soaked children, and screams are heard.
How many people did America evacuate from Afghanistan?
After the arrival of Taliban, people wanted to run away at any cost. On August 16, a scene unfolded which shook the entire world. America’s C-17 plane was taking off. Hundreds of Afghans were hanging from its wheels and wings. As soon as the plane lifted off, people started falling from the sky like stones. From 14 to 30 August, 1,24,000 people were evacuated. Sounds like a big number. But these were the people who somehow got inside. Most of those who really needed to be saved remained outside.
Major General Chris Donahue is the last American soldier who left Afghanistan.
How many people are trapped in Afghanistan?
Even today, more than one lakh American helpful people are left behind. No One Left Behind has documented 242 cases where the Taliban killed or disappeared former US allies. Hundreds of former Afghan commandos are still in Taliban jails or languishing in refugee camps in Pakistan-Iran. And now people like Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who himself had fought with the CIA, are taking up guns in America itself.
