Thread by @TrueBoots

I read this yesterday. I keep wanting to scream. This is an important piece. But it is nowhere damning enough. A few thoughts: 1/ theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

First, it is surprising to notice someone who ran relentless cover for the Biden withdrawal last August seems to feel bad about it now & is made out to be someone of conscience here. It's puzzling, but not the point of the piece. 2/

Also, let it be known that Mission Essential Personnel has told more lies about our #AfghanAllies than the Taliban. This was systemic betrayal of loyal Afghans. They fired our friends for "security reasons" time & again. It seems directed at SIV denial.

It also needs to be screamed to any & all who will listen that most of our interpreters--who are the only reason we were able to do anything at all ever in Afghanistan--were left behind in the August evacuation. Countless others we relied on, too. 4/

Our interpreters spent years working thru an impossible SIV process, w/ dubious contractors like L3 & MEP submitting bad papers to wrongfully deny these visas. Some interpreters are still getting denial notices from "US Embassy Kabul" which doesn't exist anymore. 5/

Even in the lead-up to August, US Embassy Kabul refused to grant virtual interviews for family members of US citizens & other visa applicants bc of COVID. The pre-August blockage of visas in Kabul was cruel bureaucracy. A longform piece should be written about this too. 6/

I talked w/ State Dept staffers last August who ended up quitting bc of the enforced cruelty within the agency. This is State's legacy in Afghanistan: "BUREAUCRACY IS KILLING MORE PEOPLE THAN THE TALIBAN." 7/

Also, the cruelty of blaming Afghan security forces for the Taliban takeover has been truly obscene to me. It seems to be nothing more than cover for the abject abandonment of Afghan forces to their Taliban murderers. They fought & died at astonishing rates these last 20 yrs. 8/

I still get daily pleas for help from former Afghan security forces. We turned over brave heroes who fought for unity & democracy to terrorists. I will never not feel enraged about this abandonment also. Our pledge of "shona ba shona" was made into a lie. 9/

This piece points touches on how Canada & other countries did far more for their #AfghanAllies than the US. It has sickened me to write pleas to foreign dignitaries explaining that the government I served has failed & I'm asking their help to save Afghan lives. 10/

I've seen folks commenting on the "no responsibility" comment & the cold cruelty of abandoning millions of Afghans who believed in the structures of governance, defense, education, media & democracy we built w/ them over 20 yrs. But maybe the most outrageous to me is this: 11/

THIS ADMINISTRATION KNEW THAT VETERANS WOULD WATCH OUR FRIENDS DIE. I will never not be outraged that they'd rather give veterans therapy to cope with kidnappings & murders than grant SIVs to our #AfghanAllies. 12/

Again, this is an important piece. Please read all of it. But also know there is more to the story. So many heroes among the Afghan diaspora who mobilized globally to evacuate people. Also media organizations who worked to evacuate their Afghan staff & help many others too. 13/

Plenty of folks working 24/7 ops last August were not veterans. So many caring, compassionate people across the world came together to help Afghans. They are still working. Meanwhile US govt has yet to get through emails they received last August. This is far from over. 14/14