America loves its veterans, and policy advocates love to invoke the support of veterans in favor of their various policy agenda items. Such is the case with those advocating for inclusion of the Afghan Adjustment Act in this Congress’ final Omnibus Appropriations Act, who characterize veterans as being the “most ardent supporters” of the Afghan Adjustment Act, with those articles and editorials focusing on the promises made to the specific Afghans who served with U.S. military forces as interpreters, or with other U.S. government agencies in various support roles, those covered by the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program.
But the Afghan Adjustment Act goes far beyond assisting those SIV eligible Afghans, instead providing expedited Green Cards to virtually any Afghan lucky enough to have gotten to the United States, whether they fought with the United States, bided their time on the sidelines to see who would win, or even fought against the United States. Additionally, the Afghan Adjustment Act extends this unwarranted American hospitality far beyond the more than 80,000 Afghans currently in the United States, directing the Department of State to assist in the relocation of the more than 2.6 million additional Afghans hosted as refugees in other countries.
The immigration opportunity commitment the United States made to its true allies in Afghanistan – the Afghan men and women who served in direct service to the United States military and government agencies – through the Special Immigrant Visa program must be honored. But the Association of Wartime Allies estimates 96% of the 81,000 Special Immigrant Visa applicants were left behind during America’s Afghan evacuation in August 2021. But replacing the 76,000 abandoned SIV applicants with 80,000 plus Afghan evacuees currently in the United States with no known connection with the U.S. government’s operations in Afghanistan, will not relieve the United States of the stain of abandoning those true allies.
And as Al Qaeda planned and executed its attacks against the United States under the watchful protection of the Taliban – the bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, the attack on the USS COLE in Yemen in 2000, and the attacks on the World Trade Center of 1992 and 2001 (along with the attack on the Pentagon in 2001) – the vast majority of Afghans stood by docile and silent. Of course, Afghans would have most certainly died had they taken up arms against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, but so too did American Colonials know many of them would die in taking up arms against the tyranny of England in 1776. And when extrapolated to present day American populations, the American Colonials suffered the equivalent of 2.8 million casualties in the American Revolution. But it was a sacrifice those Americans, unlike most of the Afghans, were willing to make. Unlike our American forebears, the Afghans were apparently willing to let Americans bear those burdens and sacrifices for them, rather than oppose such tyranny and malevolence themselves.
The fact is, outside the pages of various newsprint, the Afghan Adjustment Act has not been subjected to any rigorous Congressional review; introduced in the House and Senate August of this year, the bill not been reported out by any Congressional Committee, let alone a hearing or legislative markup held. The concerns of Senators Chuck Grassley, Rob Portman, and Jim Inhofe that more than 50 Afghans allowed into the United States after the August 2021 evacuation were security risks to the United States was answered by the FBI Director that the FBI does not know where those Afghans are located in America. Hardly the example of the rigorous vetting and security protocols the advocates of the Afghan Adjustment Act assure the American public will be exercised.
To slip this legislation into an Omnibus Appropriations Act in the last days before Christmas is an affront not only to the thousands of Americans who lost their lives to the plotting and attacks by Al Qaeda over the last 30 years, but also to the almost 2,500 American service members lost in Afghanistan forced to go in to clean up the mess produced by the inaction of the Afghan people after all those years under Taliban rule and Al Qaeda machinations.
As for the veterans penning this article, while we believe the United States should and must honor its promises to the Special Immigrant Visa eligible Afghans and families, there is no obligation to give widespread permanent residency to any Afghan simply because they find themselves outside their country of citizenship. Protection against the malevolence of the Taliban? Of course. But the full benefits of U.S. residency and citizenship? No. That is just wrong, and it dishonors the sacrifices of the American people and the U.S. military over these last 30-plus years.
Co-authors:
Major General Albert Zapanta, US Army (Ret)
Combat Veteran
Captain Bob Carey, US Navy (Ret)
Combat Veteran
Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Raczkowski, US Army (Ret)
Combat Veteran
Sergeant Chris Neiweem, US Army (Vet)
Combat Veteran
Captain Mike McKenna, US Navy (Ret)
Combat Veteran