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Almost universally regarded as the most egregious single event of the Biden presidency, the 2021 withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan is, in fact, considered by many to be one of the most disastrous and staggeringly incompetent military actions in modern history.
Indeed, this past May, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued an official statement announcing a special review of the event. Hegseth said:
Three and a half years ago the Biden Administration’s disastrous and embarrassing withdrawal from Afghanistan led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and 170 civilians in a suicide bombing at the Kabul International Airport’s Abbey Gate. President Trump promised accountability for what transpired during that military withdrawal, and I am committed to delivering on that promise. We have an obligation to the American people and to the warfighters who fought in Afghanistan to get the truth – and we will. Today, I am directing the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Senior Advisor Sean Parnell to convene a Special Review Panel for the Department into the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Tens of thousands of Afghans who aided the U.S. military were left behind in the military withdrawal, and while many attempted to flee Taliban rule by leaving the country, others escaped torture and/or death through hiding.
One of them is Abdul (a pseudonym), who spoke to WorldNetDaily on the condition of anonymity due to concerns for his safety. He worked as a security guard for a U.S. company and had previously served in the Afghan National Army for nearly a decade as an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and improvised explosive device disposal (IEDD) technician. Abdul’s last day of service was Aug. 15, 2021, about two weeks prior to the conclusion of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“When Afghanistan collapsed,” he told WND, “it was very difficult to save my life and also my family.” He considers himself “lucky” to have found the Afghan Liberty Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provided “safe housing for hundreds of Afghans at risk of retaliation by the Taliban for working with the U.S.-backed government,” as a 2022 report by The Intercept described it.
Abdul expressed deep appreciation to Ryan Mauro, the organization’s founding director and national security analyst at the Capital Research Center, saying, “Ryan is a very great and kind person, giving a safe house in Kabul and saving my family for one year with financial support and also food packages and medical care.”
Due to a lack of funding after the fall of Kabul, Mauro was unable to continue providing safe houses for those hiding from the Taliban, so Abdul said for the following year he was forced to move from one house to another during the night to keep his wife and children safe.
In 2023, Abdul and his family finally escaped to Islamabad, Pakistan, purchasing visas from that country. “We waited for two years in Islamabad for the humanitarian visa of Brazil,” Abdul said. A few weeks ago, he and his family arrived safely in Brazil.
Unfortunately, Abdul had to leave his parents behind in Kabul, telling WND “they’re still hiding in different houses.” Through it all, though, he remains hopeful: “In Brazil, I just want to work hard for my family.” And “God willing,” he added, he hopes to make it to America one day.
While building a new life for his family is his first priority, Abdul admitted, “I can’t forget the very rough time for people who are left behind in Afghanistan under the brutal regime of Taliban.” He recalls a friend by the name of Ihsanudin Zadran, who served as an Afghan National Army captain, but was subsequently tortured and killed by the Taliban in 2021 in Khost Province.
It’s a fate many former U.S. allies and members of the ANA continue to fear on a daily basis.
One of them is Ahmad Ehsan (a pseudonym), who has received letters of denial for Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) status from the U.S. State Department and remains in hiding in Afghanistan. Ehsan is one of an estimated 62,000 Afghan interpreters and others who have sought a U.S. visa in exchange for having worked alongside U.S. forces prior to Biden’s August 2021 withdrawal.
WND also spoke to Mauro, who explained: “Afghan Liberty Project was a volunteer effort,” saying he “had never done anything close to running humanitarian operations overseas, nor had our volunteers.” Yet, said Mauro, they were able to “provide crucial assistance to hundreds of Afghans in need, from medical aid to emergency rescues to safe shelter.”
“If there’s one thing that I hope people take away from this story,” he said, “it’s to never, ever doubt your ability to significantly help people in any situation – anywhere around the world. It’s a blessing and a burden that everyone needs to understand and take seriously.”
