We Lost Our Honor in Afghanistan

by Alan Bergstein, ©2021

(Aug. 31, 2021) — It’s fitting to begin this piece with a request for our readers to offer a silent prayer for the souls of our 13 military heroes murdered in Kabul last week. May their souls rest in peace. These men and women, from all walks of life, embodied what America once stood for:  honor, loyalty and devotion to country. We fear these traits have been ripped from our legacy. 

By the time you read this column, the August 31st deadline for the removal of all Americans, military and civilian, together with the thousands of those Afghans who were loyal to our forces, will have passed. And there is no doubt that an unknown number of the above have been left behind amid the confusion and panic caused by the incompetence of our brainless and spineless military and political leaders who have insulted us by calmly repeating, over and over, that they did as well as they could in that primitive land.

These brazen liars who all read from the same script — White House truth fabricators Jen Psaki, Anthony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, John Kirby and their counterpart cowardly military midgets, Mark Milley and Lloyd Austin — should all be whisked out of their cozy offices and dropped into the Taliban cesspool of hell to get their just desserts for their involvement in pushing the acts of criminal disloyalty to this country that borders on treason. What are the odds that a Congressional investigation will ever be mounted to discover who was behind the pathetic panicked retreat from Afghanistan? No way! They’re too busy digging into the “January 6th Conspiracy.” 

We’ll sadly say, with all honesty, that although President Biden is obviously suffering from some mental/judgment impairment, he calls the shots. He is the Commander-in-Chief of all of our armed forces and the orders he gives must be carried out. As he told us last week, “The buck stops here!” But that’s not the best of news for us to hear at this time. Former Secretary of Defense under Obama/Biden, Robert Gates, has voiced repeatedly, “I think he (Biden) has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” This statement has so far hit a home run for accuracy. Look at the Biden-caused chaos at our southern border, his re-entry into the Paris Climate Accord, cozying up to Hamas and making us once again energy-dependent on our enemies. And with nearly three and a half years left in his term to look forward to, that’s indeed scary.  Joe, as VP, was against the assassination of Osama bin Laden. He’s not a man of character. He has lied about his achievements and plagiarized the words of others in his speeches. But now he sits as leader of the free world. How was that made possible? 

And he’s criminally crashed in Afghanistan. Biden robotically read to us that he has extracted a promise from the Taliban that this group of primitive savages will guarantee the safe exodus of left-behind Americans and those Afghans who formerly worked with us who wish to leave that war-ravaged land. He believes them. Is he familiar with the term, “Taqqiya,” a Koranic order that requires Muslims to lie to infidels when dealing with them? Evidently not. Arafat used that with President Clinton when signing the Oslo Accords, and the Mullahs of Iran pulled he same stunt with Obama with the Iran Nuclear Deal. Biden has bought another bridge over the East River.

A massive human disaster looms. No one in authority, not even Biden himself, has addressed the major concern of many that the women of Afghanistan under the Taliban will once again be treated as less-thans. When we took over in 2001, women were given the freedom to doff their burkas, go to school and learn to read and write, to become professionals, to have human rights. But now they will be forcibly returned to the Islamic dark ages. Where is the American women’s movement on this? Where is Linda Sarsour, herself an American Muslim, who led marches against President Trump, accusing him of being a woman abuser? Where are the voices of Congresswomen Omar, Tlaib, AOC and Pressley, the Gang of Four, to warn the Taliban not to revert to the rape, beating and humiliation of their women? Not a word. Should they not know better? 

We’ve always believed in the superiority of the American military leadership. Our generals and admirals were the bravest and finest. So why did none of them speak up publicly to oppose the order to first pull out our troops from Afghanistan and then, without military protection, follow up by evacuating our own (defenseless) civilians and Afghan allies? What buck private would simply hand over $83 billion of our most modern weapons to our enemy?  And who among our military leaders nodded in approval when the highly fortified and secure Bagram airbase was turned over to the Taliban, leaving us the use of the single-runway, indefensible civilian airport located smack in the middle of Kabul? Have our be-medaled military leaders suddenly become “yes men” for Biden? Have they sacrificed their honor and loyalty and pledges to their country in order to gain future promotions or jobs in the military-industrial complex? Are they too busy transforming our warriors into a “woke” fighting force? Are not our enemies in Russia, China, Iran and North Korea licking their lips, not fearing our ability to ward off any of their aggressions in the future? Israel, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan will now feel the heat. Their futures are bleak. 

A dark cloud has formed over our country with this fiasco unfolding in Afghanistan. Sadly, our nation has sunk to a near low. We’re leaderless. Nationally we are at one another’s throats. Blacks against whites, have-nots versus haves, our school systems in shambles, the Chinese Virus crippling every industry, no longer energy-independent, Congress bankrupting the nation and our southern border wide open to one and all. But, nevertheless, we pray that the New Year will bring us all a glimmer of hope for the future. So, to one and all, take a deep breath, with or without a mask.  

Alan Bergstein is the current President of The Judeo/Christian Republican Club of Palm Beach County. He is a lecturer, columnist and editorial writer for The New York Jewish Voice, a retired New York City school principal, father of four and Korean War veteran.