‘Demand action’: Idaho veteran urges Idahoans to care about tragedy in Afghanistan

The truth is there are few Americans who ever truly had “skin in the game” during the global war on terror. The nature of an all-volunteer military force allowed us, the American people, to tacitly ignore the burden being carried by less than 1% of our population — a minority that includes warfighters and their families.

I find it disturbing how so many who gave so little are now cheering the abrupt abandonment of the people of Afghanistan.

I find it distasteful to hear people invoke the “forever war” sentiment at a time when American citizens are trapped in a brutal, Taliban-held state.

I find it immoral to see freedom-enjoying Americans, who have never served so much as coffee in the name of this great nation, express apathetic shrugs when confronting the topic of rescuing thousands of Afghans who assisted American forces, sometimes fighting alongside them against fanatical enemies like the Taliban and ISIS-K.

I encourage Idahoans to contact the offices of our elected officials — Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and Reps. Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher — and ask how many U.S. citizens are still in Afghanistan? How many Idahoans?

Why is it that civilians in Boise are coordinating efforts for desperate Afghans to escape the Taliban? What is the State Department doing? What is the Department of Defense plan for rescuing these people? These questions will remain unanswered if the public does not pressure our leaders to act.

Among the many costs associated with the disconnect between the civilian populace and the 20-year warfighting minority is the lack of perspective on the ground truths of the war being fought. Anyone who has interacted with or fought against the Taliban can bear witness to their utter brutality. Shame on those who, despite never wearing a uniform, disparage Afghan Special Operations Forces for “running away” in the face of the enemy.

It is embarrassing for me to see my fellow citizens discount Taliban threats of burning Afghan families alive as extraneous “tough talk.”

As sure as we float the Boise River and enjoy the fruits of Idaho, the Taliban is brutalizing and executing people who voluntarily helped Americans. It is true that the United States cannot be the savior of every person living under a tyrannical regime, but those being tortured and killed in Afghanistan at this very moment are in that position because of our nation’s direct and persistent intervention into their lives.

For many of those who fought in Afghanistan, the past week has been fraught with grief, anger and rage. Veterans of the war in Afghanistan do not need or want a pat on the back.

We need the people of this country to give a damn about the war that is still ongoing, and about the Afghans who fought alongside us, whom our nation abandoned. We collectively caused this, and now we are collectively letting it happen. Demand action.

De Oppresso Liber.