In his first year of the presidency, President Joe Biden has weathered multiple national crises. Many were inherited and unavoidable, such as an ongoing pandemic and fraught race relations. But despite being dealt a bad hand, President Biden had control of the outcome of these issues, and no outcome was more disastrous than the withdrawal of our troops from Afghanistan.
As the fifth President to oversee the ongoing war against terrorism, President Biden decided to be the final leader at its helm. Unfortunately, his administration’s decisive action left tens of thousands of Americans and allies trapped inside the borders of a country now ruled by terror and barbarity. Any number of analyses of the withdrawal will find its flaws and deficiencies, but now, months later, we must shift our focus to the evacuations that are still ongoing despite the lack of international media coverage.
When the last uniformed personnel departed Afghanistan on August 31st, 2021, the Secretary of State stated that there were between 100-200 Americans left behind. However, Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma noted that the State Department tally is confusing, at best, clarifying that “the administration, by its own account, left 600 Americans behind — over 400 of whom want to leave — not the 100 to 200 that has been referred to several times.” The true number, however, is irrelevant. Americans should not leave their own behind: Not even one.
In an interview with ABC News, President Biden stated that “if there are American citizens left, we are going to stay to get them out.” Sadly, the actions of the current administration have proven otherwise, and the mission has not been accomplished. Luckily, many American citizens have taken matters into their own hands and have mobilized to save Americans and our allies.
Our organization, Save Our Allies, has worked tirelessly with other NGOs to evacuate vulnerable populations from Afghanistan consisting of Americans, American allies, female journalists, and other religiously persecuted individuals through overland movements. We are constantly connecting with Americans left behind, including receiving the documentation of dozens of American citizens along with family members of 57 active-duty U.S. service members, and 27,000 Afghans in need of evacuation. In December alone, Save Our Allies facilitated the evacuation of 55 Americans from Afghanistan nearly 3 months following the withdrawal.
Since December 17, no flights have left Afghanistan despite the thousands that remain stranded and fearing for their lives. If our own government cannot evacuate all American citizens, we know it will not exhaust resources to also rescue the allies who fought courageously alongside our soldiers.
To honor the lives of the 13 US Service Members who were lost during our hasty and improperly executed withdrawal, we must sustain our evacuation efforts. Our government has abandoned these individuals in their time of need, but Save Our Allies and countless other Americans will not. We will continue our mission until we bring them home.
If you are pressed to act, we invite you to take a step of action with us. Please go to SaveOurAllies.org to join the fight.
Chad Robichaux
Chad is a former Force Recon Marine and DoD Contractor with eight deployments to Afghanistan. Chad founded the Mighty Oaks Foundation, a leading non-profit, serving the active duty and military successful faith-based combat trauma and resiliency programs.
In addition to Chad’s military service, he has served our nation as a Special Agent with the US Federal Air Marshal Service and the US State Department as a Surveillance Detection Senior Program Manager. Chad is a Medal of Valor recipient for his bravery beyond the call of duty in law enforcement.
