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Iraq War veteran Paul Rieckhoff has torn apart President Biden’s recent move to speed up the withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan because of what it might mean for heroes on the ground.
Biden aims to get troops home by the end of August, but Rieckhoff is among those affected by the thousands of Afghans who have helped the US military as translators, drivers and other capacities and who now fear being targeted by the Taliban, which appeared to be making headway in the northern districts controlled by the Afghan government. Rieckhoff said it was a “moral imperative” for the United States to take care of these people who would now be vulnerable.
“This is the soul of who we are,” said Rieckhoff, who is also the founder and executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, on MSNBC’s “Stephanie Ruhle Reports” Friday. “And it’s not just about Afghanistan. It’s about sending a message to the world that if you stay with America for 20 years you are risking your life, you are putting your family in danger, that when the end comes, we won’t leave you dragged to dry, we won’t let you be slaughtered. “
BIDEN CHANGES THE END OF THE AMERICAN COMBAT MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN FROM SEPT. 11 TO AUGUST 31
“There is precedent for moving people to American territories like Guam,” he continued. “And let’s break that down to a simpler level. It’s the United States. We just put a robot on Mars. And the White House is telling us it can’t get our friends out of Afghanistan? That’s too much. apologies, these are not enough details.and the reality is that this is an evolving situation where heroes, people who have stood by my side and countless others in places like Iraq and Afghanistan and around the Middle East, which are dying.
Rieckhoff said he was personally concerned about one of his former performers as he was unaware of his fate.
“One of my interpreters is still in Iraq or may have died. I don’t know what happened to him,” he said. “This is happening now all over Afghanistan and to military and active service families who are very concerned about these heroic people who have stood with America and are being left to die.”
MSNBC correspondent Courtney Kube admitted in the same segment that it was “only a little bit true” for Biden to say that Afghan security forces will be able to push back the Taliban. In some cases, Kube noted, the forces lay down their arms. So the idea that they can actually defend more than capitals is “really contested with some defense officials I speak with,” she noted.
Biden previously told Fox News that interpreters would be welcome in the United States, but due to congressional law, Afghan translators cannot be evacuated to the United States to wait for their visas to be processed.
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Biden defended his foreign policy decision, saying it was “the responsibility of the Afghan people alone” for how he wants to run his country.
As the troops continue to withdraw, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby admitted the Taliban advance was “worrying”.
“What we have seen is a deterioration of the security situation on the ground – there is no doubt – as the Taliban continue to take over the district centers,” Kirby told CNN on Friday. “We see them continuing to make progress in district centers across the country, and that is concerning.”
Pressed by CNN, Kirby was unable to “validate” the Taliban’s claim that they now control 85% of Afghan territory, noting only that “claiming territory or claiming land does not mean you can maintain or hold it. keep over time “.
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