The Private Citizens Working to Rescue Our Afghan Partners

Most are driven by their personal connections to those who have helped us the last two decades.

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On the day of the United States’ self-imposed deadline to pull troops from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden took the podium in the White House’s State Dining Room to declare an end to a two-decade war. 

“We completed one of the biggest airlifts in history, with more than 120,000 people evacuated to safety,” the president said. “Only the United States had the capacity and the will and the ability to do it, and we did it today.”

The previous day, CENTCOM Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie had the less desirable task of informing Americans of the withdrawal’s logistics—what the mission did and did not achieve. When the final manned aircraft departed Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) just after midnight Kabul time, McKenzie said, it brought with it the remnants of Afghanistan’s U.S. military presence. 

But “hundreds” of Americans, many more green card holders, and tens of thousands of the U.S.’s Afghan partners seeking to leave the country remain, with a scantily articulated plan for getting them out. 

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  1. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    Thank you, Charlotte. I’ll have to donate to No One Left Behind. They’re doing good work - a better job than our federal government. And you’ve done some good work investigating and reporting on this issue.


    By coincidence I’m actually reading a book co-written by Ackerman at the moment. I read the article he wrote in Time recently on Afghanistan and veterans too. The guy certainly has some interesting things to say about these subjects.

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  2. Will

    Thank you for bringing No One Left Behind to my attention.

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    Anne W (Raw5254)

    I wanted to add that I went ahead and donated through No One Left Behind, posted it on Facebook, and got someone else to donate. That felt good!

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  4. Avatar photo
    Anne W (Raw5254)

    I’d like to support the efforts to get these people out. Is No One Left Behind my best option or are there others?

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    1. Avatar photo
      Anne W (Raw5254)

      I should say my husband and I.

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      1. Avatar photo
        Ben Connelly

        https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thebulwark.com/refugee/%3famp

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        1. Avatar photo
          Ben Connelly

          This might help answer that question.

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            Anne W (Raw5254)

            Thank you!

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  5. RaoD

    Very nice work Charlotte. I hope these efforts will succeed.

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    Steve Gordon

    Nice work covering this important story Charlotte. The State Dept. seems a little put out by these private efforts and have been all but oppositional in their efforts. Secondly, because of their lack of action/cooperation, nearly all Senators and Congress people are getting pleas from constituents for help. That's caused a flood of calls from Legislators to State, which they're either not staffed for or are largely ignoring. It is yet another example, with terrible consequences of this administration's lack of planning and inability to execute.

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    Paul Reichardt

    Great article. We should be moving heaven-and-earth to assist. I'm glad to see continued pressure on the Biden administration on the issue of Afghan SIVs and US green-card holders.

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