The stain of dishonor

But in our hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan – perhaps the most cynical display of national treachery I have witnessed in my lifetime – we left behind multitudes of innocent Afghans who trusted America, who worked with Americans, who risked their lives as interpreters assigned to U.S. rifle companies, who braved the Taliban by teaching little girls how to read, and who were betrayed.

We gave them our word and we broke it. To this day, no one has apologized to them. Few have offered to help. The president still claims his evacuation was a success, if and when he talks about Afghanistan at all.

There is one small way that we can salvage a shred of the national honor that America lost when we so hastily jettisoned this country and deserted those poor people. Multiple attempts have been made by Congress to pass new visa authorities, along with rigorous vetting regimens, for those left behind and stranded. There is a gridlock, but gridlock is a common characteristic of deliberative bodies. The problem is a solvable one, and the task before Congress is not complicated.