Georgia Vet Says He’s ‘Not Surprised’ Over Taliban Takeover, Trained Afghan Security Forces In Height Of War
A demonstrator walks holding an Afghanistan flag, during a protest at Parliament Square in London, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021.
Alberto Pezzali / AP Photo
Hundreds of thousands of American soldiers served in Afghanistan during the two-decade war in the region. Those who came home are grappling with the final pullout of U-S troops. That led to a swift collapse of the Afghan government, and scenes of terror from the capital city of Kabul over the weekend.
Tony Kimbrough spent a year in Afghanistan in 2007 with U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division training Afghan security forces.
Now, he’s the CEO of the Veterans Empowerment Organization, an Atlanta non-profit that provides housing, health care, and workforce support to veterans. He joined WABE’s “All Things Considered,” and started by discussing how he and other vets are processing the moment.
This comes as Gov. Brian Kemp joins GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill in blaming President Joe Biden’s Administration for the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan.
Kemp wrote, “Joe Biden’s failure to protect American citizens and our allies in Afghanistan is a stain on our nation.”
Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee has removed a page praising former President Donald Trump‘s so-called “Peace Deal” with the repressive Taliban regime in February 2020. That preliminary agreement included withdrawing US forces from the country.
That’s as international aid groups report a backlog of more than 18,000 Afghans seeking a US Special Immigrant Visa. The U.S. Department of State reports it has granted more than 10,000 of those SIV visas for Afghans who have worked with the American government since 2020.
The International Rescue Committee says more than 300,000 Afghan civilians are eligible for the SIV visa.
KEMP’S FULL STATEMENT
“Joe Biden’s failure to protect American citizens and our allies in Afghanistan is a stain on our nation. His administration’s lack of preparation and disastrous evacuation is now putting countless lives in serious danger from the Taliban. It is vitally important to keep those who partnered with American armed forces over the last 20 years safe from harm. Joe Biden has broken his word to the nation, the Afghans, and the world, but we as Americans cannot break our word to those who lent aid to us in our mission to defend freedom and bring justice to those who attacked our country on September 11, 2001.”
“It is impossible for those of us who did not serve overseas to know what our servicemen and women are experiencing as they see our embassy evacuated, Afghans falling from planes, and America weakened on the world stage. Georgians who served in Afghanistan over the last twenty years should know their selfless service provided safety and security for Americans here at home for two decades, and provided millions of Afghans the opportunity to experience a previously unknown level of freedom and opportunity. These brave men and women have been – and always will be – the very best of our state and nation. They answered the call of duty and we will forever owe them an unpayable debt of gratitude.”
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