Afghanistan - Three Years Later

I’m angry and I am not pulling any punches here on the three-year anniversary of our withdrawal from Afghanistan. I and everyone at Joint Operation Task Force North Star, have been pulling off the impossible: evacuating thousands of brave souls—former special operators and American citizens—who were shamefully abandoned in Afghanistan. We provided safe houses, food, medical care, travel documents, and a sliver of hope in a world that had betrayed them.

Let’s be clear: this operation wasn’t funded by some government grant. It wasn’t backed by the deep pockets of Uncle Sam. No. This was a massive worldwide operation funded by the checking accounts of veterans and generous donors. We were trying to solve an Uncle Sam-sized catastrophe with the retirement checks of men and women who had already given everything to this country. And why? Because our government, in its infinite wisdom, decided to leave these heroes—who fought side by side with our U.S. Green Berets—to be slaughtered, tortured, and erased from existence. They were promised safety. They were promised they would not be forgotten. But they were. And that is unforgivable.

I am not sure the average American knows this but the Taliban would go house to house looking for our guys. When they found them, they would brutally kill them and sometimes their families, which would include small children and pregnant women, and then post the videos online for us to watch. All of us working at Operation North Star carry this heavy burden and we always take great care in planning everything we do so this doesn’t happen, but it does; it's Afghanistan. ?

When the U.S. pulled out, we didn’t just leave people behind. We left behind $90 BILLION in weapons, vehicles, and cutting-edge technology. We armed the very terrorists we spent two decades trying to eliminate. And what’s happening now? Over 20 terrorist groups are operating freely in Afghanistan, doing God knows what, because we have zero intelligence on the ground. None. Zilch. This is a ticking time bomb, and our government is sending the Taliban over $100 million a week. Let that sink in. The current administration is funding terrorism. How is this not treasonous? How is this not the biggest betrayal of everything we stand for? You have to know the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, ISIS-K, and the Haqqani network are plotting to kill Americans right? Well, we are seemingly doing nothing to stop it, quite the opposite. Political parties aside, this is extremely reckless.

Meanwhile, I hear Democrats yammering on about gun control, preaching that law-abiding American citizens should be disarmed. The Democrat party funded terrorists, armed them, and gave them their wet dream – their own caliphate! Bin Laden is dancing in his grave. The hypocrisy is nauseating. How do you reconcile that? How is that okay? Two days ago the Taliban had a parade with all of the US vehicles and equipment, declaring it a holiday. They are essentially using US-made vehicles and weapons to en-mass terror upon its population.

Afghanistan has devolved into a human rights catastrophe. Under U.S. protection, women had rights. Children went to school. People worked and lived with a modicum of dignity. Now? The economy is crushed. Women are being forced back into the shadows, stripped of every right. Children are being sold into sex slavery. This should have every person who claims to care about human rights enraged. But where is the outrage? Where is the media coverage? Silence.

And what about the men and women who served in the Global War on Terror? Two decades of blood, sweat, tears, and unimaginable loss—for what? The moral injury our service members are grappling with is beyond words. They see the futility and the betrayal, and it’s crushing them. Is it any wonder recruitment numbers are down across the board? Who wants to fight for a country that turns its back on its allies and its own people?

And let’s not forget the 13 brave souls we lost at Abbey Gate. How did the Biden administration respond? By blowing up a USAID worker and his family in a botched drone strike. Marine Colonel Stuart Scheller dared to call out this insanity, and for that, he was thrown in jail. This man should not have been jailed. He is a hero for standing up for accountability.

Then there’s the image that will haunt me forever: Biden glancing at his watch as the coffins of our fallen were unloaded. Disrespect doesn’t even begin to cover it. He must have had somewhere more important to be.

We are reaping the consequences of this debacle. Russia felt emboldened enough to invade Ukraine. Hamas and Hezbollah are launching relentless attacks on Israel. Our economy is teetering on the edge of collapse. Our nation is tearing itself apart at the seams. The tension, both here and abroad, is palpable, and it’s terrifying.

With an election on the horizon, we desperately need stronger leadership. Our men and women deserve better. The American people deserve better. And the world needs America to step up and be a leader again—not the weak, rudderless entity we’ve become. I pray our country can find a way to unite. We are so tragically divided. The world needs us.

Let me leave you with this: The photo attached to this article is from one of our large-scale medical clinics, where we treated hundreds of people. These clinics were often the targets of bombings where they killed everyone, including our doctors. It’s a powerful image—a little girl in a red dress, standing among older women cloaked in burkas. This picture encapsulates both hope and despair in a single frame. I often stare at this picture, it sucks me in. I don’t know this girl, and I wonder what happened to her. What I do know is she probably has no future. I tear up thinking what life she probably has or if she is even alive. It’s a reminder that, no matter the cost, doing the right thing matters. And let me tell you, the men and women of Operation North Star get that. They rose to the challenge. They’re the best of us. I love them, and I’m damn proud to work alongside them.