Rep. Andy Kim on the crisis in Afghanistan

OPINION

I continue to struggle finding the words to describe the tragedy in Afghanistan. I’ve spent most of the last few days trying to get Afghans that I know out of the country. Their pleas are raw and cannot be ignored. I know full well that some might not make it.

The immediate question on many of our minds is how did we get here? I have many thoughts on that, but first let’s focus on saving as many lives as possible in the next few days and weeks. Let’s remember that those most in harm’s way are Afghans fighting for their lives.

Thousands of Afghans who worked alongside Americans for the last 20 years are at great risk. We can help them. We can set aside the bureaucracy that has backlogged their visa applications for years and just get them out of danger. We have to prioritize them.

I cannot name them for fear of reprisal but their pleas for help are heartbreaking. I worked there 10 years ago, and I know firsthand how much these Afghans risked their lives and their families to work with us. We should help them because it is the right thing to do.

We should also help them because how will anyone in dangerous areas choose to work with America if we don’t fulfill our promises to help those that help us. It is unprecedented to evacuate at this speed, but the times call upon us to do so. That is the American handshake.

If money and resources are needed, I will work tooth and nail to urgently provide. Otherwise, it’s just bureaucracy, and that cannot be an excuse for inaction. We cannot respond to these urgent pleas I and others are receiving and just say we can’t move that fast.

We are getting people on planes, and I know the State Dept is prioritizing local staff, spouses, and their kids. That is the right thing to do. It’s another story to get them to the airport. I heard some say “we have Talibs in Kabul.” Something we never wanted to hear.

While we are helping with flights out, we must try to guarantee safe passage to the airport. There are also people who worked in the Afghan gov/security forces/civil society that will likely be targeted for reprisal. Humanitarian parole or something else must occur.

To take a step back, this is all very hard to accept. Part of me wanted to believe that Afghanistan would hold. But someone just reminded me, “No one wants this to be real.” We don’t want to accept that this crisis is happening, but we must.

I worked in Afghanistan 10 years ago. It was clear that the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) didn’t have deep roots. I saw that again when I visited in 2019 on a bipartisan Congressional delegation. A failure by both parties over the years.

But let’s at least unite and commit as a nation to save as many people as we can. Right now. No excuses. Let’s do everything we can. Put aside partisanship and help those who helped us.

Andy Kim is a Democratic congressman from New Jersey’s 3rd district and member of the House Armed Services Committee.  He worked in Afghanistan as an advisor to Generals David Petraeus and John Allen, and was the Iraq Director for the National Security Council in the Obama White House.