Afghanistan: Time for Accountability

On Saturday, September 11th, the twentieth anniversary of the deadliest terror attack in human history, our nation’s leaders gathered in Manhattan, at the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania during solemn ceremonies for the 2,977 who died that terrible day. Similar ceremonies were held in communities across America.

One such event was held in Lebanon, Tennessee. Sponsored by Tennessee State Senator, Mark Pody, it was billed as “9/11, 20th Anniversary, Restoring Hope: Faith, Family & Freedom.” The ceremony was packed with active-duty personnel and dependents from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, veterans, and numerous Gold Star families. During question and answer sessions, those in attendance wanted to know: “Given the way the war ended, was our sacrifice wasted? The terrorists we fought in Afghanistan are now ruling the county we fought to liberate. Who will be held accountable, and when?”

More than 2,450 U.S. military personnel and 3,840 U.S. contractors lost their lives in Afghanistan. Nearly 21,000 were seriously wounded. For two decades the “NATO Coalition” won all the battles against Taliban, al Qaeda, ISIS and the Haqqanni network, yet these terrorist organizations are now “governing” Afghanistan. No one has yet been held accountable.

That might change. One of the speakers at the ceremony in Lebanon was an American hero—Congressman Mark Green who represents Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District. Green is a 1986 West Point graduate, decorated for heroism for his service as a Flight Surgeon in Afghanistan and Iraq. He now serves on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees. On Saturday, he reminded his constituents, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is addressing the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday, September 13th and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, September 14. Here are some relevant questions the Secretary must answer:

· Who authorized abandoning Bagram Air Base on July 8th? Who was assigned the mission of removing or destroying weapons, equipment, aircraft, sensitive military materiel, and tens of millions in cash at Bagram? Why did they fail to do so?

· In July and August, POTUS promised to “leave no Americans or allies behind.” Yet, hundreds of American citizens, NATO allies, and tens of thousands of Afghan allies and their families were left behind. Who is responsible for failing to carry out the president’s promise?

· Why has the State Department failed to negotiate agreements with other nations to grant asylum to Afghan nationals fleeing in fear of being murdered by death squads?

· Who authorized the firing of a Hellfire missile from a U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV] that killed a U.S. Agency for International Development [AID] contractor and seven children on August 29th ?

· Who was responsible for failing to notify our NATO allies of the decision to have all “friendlies” out of Afghanistan by the Taliban’s August 31 “deadline?” How many of these “third country nationals” are still in harm’s way?

· Did you advise President Biden to ask Ashraf Ghani, the Obama-Biden administration’s hand-picked president of Afghanistan, to lie about the Taliban’s rapid advance on Kabul?

· When Ghani fled to UAE, Amrullah Seleh, the democratically elected vice president of Afghanistan, went to the Panjshir Valley to form a National Resistance Front (NRF). He publicly begged for humanitarian support for the NRF. Why didn’t you respond?

· President Biden and Xi Jinping spoke for 90 minutes on Thursday September 9th. Did they discuss Communist China’s plan to negotiate a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to use Baghram airbase for basing PRC “personnel?” Provide a transcript of their conversation.

· Why won’t the State Department cooperate with private organizations to evacuate Afghan allies attempting to escape from brutal Taliban death squads?

We The People deserve answers to these questions. That’s accountability.

Oliver L. North is a combat-decorated U.S. Marine, No.1 bestselling author, founder and CEO of Fidelis Publishing LLC and Fidelis Media LLC. Find out more about him at www.olivernorth.com. David Goetsch is a Marine Corps veteran, member of the Florida Veteran’s Hall of Fame, professor of business, Christian counselor, and author of 77 books. Find out more about him at www.david-goetsch.com. Order their new book, We Didn’t Fight for Socialism at Unisonbooks.com or Amazon.com.

David ValinskiSeptember 14, 2021