A former US soldier expressed fears that the Taliban will execute his Afghan interpreter before he can escape from Kabul under the Special Immigrant Visa program.
James Garafalo served in Afghanistan alongside his interpreter, nicknamed Rambo, in 2017 and 2018, but the hasty exit of US personnel from the country puts the interpreter’s life and the lives of other Afghan allies in danger.
‘He slept with us, climbed with us, ate with us and fought the war against ISIS with us,’ said Garafalo.
‘I think the last few days has been a failure in leadership, a failure of planning, a failure of intelligence and just a failure, or a failure of doing the right thing.
‘When the US left Afghanistan, they left him to fend for himself. If the Taliban or ISIS find out that he has been working for Americans, he’s dead.’
James Garafalo served in Afghanistan alongside his interpreter, nicknamed Rambo, in 2017 and 2018, but the hasty exit of US personnel puts his life and the lives of thousands of Afghan allies in danger (image courtesy of James Garafalo)
‘I think the last few days has been a failure in leadership, a failure of planning, a failure of intelligence and just a failure, or a failure of doing the right thing,’ said Garafalo of the US pull out from Afghanistan (picture courtesy of James Garafalo)
The Taliban’s new ‘moderate’ front has already been betrayed by pictures of civilians shot dead or beaten with whips and sticks, while the so-called ‘Angels of Salvation’ are going from door-to-door to drag political opponents from their homes at gunpoint
Taliban fighters have already been photographed beating and shooting civilians in recent days despite their claims they have moderated in comparison to the Taliban of 20 years ago
Though Taliban representatives are claiming they will grant ‘amnesty’ for Afghans who worked with American forces and those attempting to flee, there is evidence Taliban soldiers committing atrocities as they roll through the country.
The Taliban’s new ‘moderate’ front has already been betrayed by pictures of civilians shot dead or beaten with whips and sticks, while the so-called ‘Angels of Salvation’ are going from door-to-door to drag political opponents from their homes at gunpoint.
A young woman was shot dead for allegedly refusing to wear a burqa by marauding jihadists when they captured the northern town of Taloqan in Takhar province last week, according to a post widely shared on social media.
Other footage shows Taliban fighters outside Kabul airport on Tuesday wielding AK-47s and rocket launchers, marching towards the terrified crowds and firing warning shots into the air.
The jihadists have been dubbed ‘Taliban 2.0’ for their media charm offensive in trying to persuade the world that they have moderated compared to the Taliban of 20 years ago.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby disclosed on Tuesday that US officers were speaking with Taliban commanders ‘multiple times a day’ about avoiding conflict at the airport, but several Afghans have been killed or injured outside the airstrip by advancing Taliban forces.
A young woman was shot dead for allegedly refusing to wear a burqa by marauding jihadists when they captured the northern town of Taloqan in Takhar province last week
The Taliban turned on the crowd at Kabul airport on Tuesday, driving the hundreds back from the airport perimeter as they pushed to flee the country
A fighter canes a boy who cowers with women and young children
An Afghan woman is seen lying on the ground after the Taliban used whips and sharp objects to drive people from the airport
Though Taliban representatives are claiming they will grant ‘amnesty’ for Afghans who worked with American forces and those attempting to flee, there are fears that the brutality of the Taliban from 20 years ago will return
Evacuation flights out of Kabul are taking off almost empty despite tens of thousands of Afghans trying to flee the country after the Taliban formed a ring of steel around the airport and barred most people from reaching it.
One Australian Hercules C-130 aircraft with room for 120 people took off with just 26 on board today, the government has confirmed, while a German Airbus A-400M with room for 150 was carrying just seven people when it departed on Tuesday.
That is despite there being around 50,000 Afghans gathered at the airport who have been promised sanctuary by western nations.
US President Joe Biden has defended his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, despite harsh criticism over the botched execution and claims that he ignored intelligence community warnings that Kabul could quickly fall to the Taliban.
Biden has long been a vocal critic of the US presence in Afghanistan and is known to have voiced his desire to pull out more more than a decade ago.
In 2010, Biden reportedly told Richard Holbrooke, then Obama’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, that the US had to leave Afghanistan regardless of the cost for the Afghan people.
According to Holbrooke, when Biden was asked about America’s obligation to maintain their presence in Afghanistan to protect vulnerable civilians, he scornfully replied by referencing the US exit from southeast Asia in 1973.
‘F*** that, we don’t have to worry about that. We did it in Vietnam, Nixon and Kissinger got away with it.’