Troops are now completely out of Afghanistan, months ahead of the September deadline initially issued by resident Joe Biden. One aspect of the withdrawal plan that may be forgotten is what will happen to the interpreters and the citizens that helped out the allied forces.
Many believe that the Taliban and other extremist groups will quickly exterminate those who helped their opposition, and some, including a former NATO commander, saying the total withdrawal would result in a “collapse” of Afghanistan. That article can be found by clicking here.
We spoke with Manitowoc County Veteran Service Officer Todd Brehmer about the issue, and he said if history is anything to go by, those who helped the U.S. will likely be left high and dry.
He said, “If we look back at history, and we look at the Vietnam War, when the CIA either directly or indirectly through the Special Forces, were recruiting Hmong and Laotians to fight against the Communist North Vietnamese for us, my understanding, and I’ve been told this multiple times…by people in the know…promises were being made, that ‘If things go south, don’t worry we will pull you out.’ Unfortunately, it took outside, third-party organizations…to bring the Hmong over here to fulfill our promises.”
Brehmer, who has served in the Middle East as a member of the U.S. Army, said that it is likely that the interpreters and their families already have prices on their heads, and if the U.S. were to simply remove all troops, their lives would be in danger.
“Whether they are just trying to support their family, whether they believe what America stands for, or maybe they don’t believe what America stands for but they don’t support the Taliban or Al Qaeda, no matter what it is, they are helping us,” Brehmer said. “By them helping us their lives are in danger. Not only their lives, but their family’s lives. I think we owe it to them.”
We also asked if the interpreters were to be brought back to the states, would they be eligible for benefits through the VA or other veteran service organizations. Again Brehmer looked to the way the Hmong soldiers were treated saying “the precedent has been set…It took the Hmong about 30 years to get benefits through the VA. Even then they have to have some sort of document from the United States, acknowledging and recognizing that they were guerrilla fighters fighting communism on behalf of and for the United States.”
In fact, Representative Shae Sortwell and Senator Andre Jacque have a bill just now going through the State branches that will expand the eligibility for Hmong and Laotian soldiers to have veteran status listed on their Drivers Licenses and identification cards. You can click here to learn more about that.
Therefore, it is very easy to believe that a similar situation could befall the Afghan people who have aided the US in the war on terror.
We have also reached out to an Afghan-born American citizen, who served as an interpreter and is now living in Texas. We will have that story tomorrow with Abadul Jamail over the next two days.
Then on Friday, we will hear from Congressmen Glen Grothman, a Republican who represents Eastern Wisconsin, and Ron Kind, a Democrat from the Western side of the state.
