Thread by @Vets4AmerIdeals

Today, @HouseForeign & @HouseForeignGOP's "During and After the Fall of Kabul" hearing will focus on our withdrawal from #Afghanistan.

Veterans know that we have a long way to go to ensure the U.S. keeps our promise & protects our #Afghan allies.

Follow along with us here ⤵️🧵

Background: After 20 years in #Afghanistan, the U.S. ended our military presence in August 2021. The Taliban quickly took over the country & rapidly eroded gains made by the Western-backed #Afghan government in the past twenty years. 82,000 #Afghans were evacuated into the U.S.

Today, we’ll hear from veterans @PeterLucier from @teamamrelief, @FQhoang from @AlliedAirlift21, Aidan Gunderson, Sgt Tyler Vargas-Andrews, and @RooftopLeader from @TForcePineapple, as well as immigration expert @cmackler from @immigrantarc.

And we’re off – watch along with us live here:

Chairman @RepMcCaul begins by reminding us of the horrors we saw in August at HKIA and the heroism of our military members who were present.

Ranking member @RepGregoryMeeks speaks to the family separations that have resulted from our withdrawal.

Our job protecting our Afghan allies is not over and will not be over until families are reunited & those who are still in danger in #Afghanistan are brought to the U.S.

First up is @FQhoang, an Afghanistan Army veteran and Executive Chairman of @AlliedAirlift21, which has enabled the evacuation of over 2,000 #Afghan Allies from #Afghanistan through Kabul Airport.

@FQhoang speaks to the tens of thousands of Afghans who supported our mission in Afghanistan as well as the hundreds of thousands left behind after our withdrawal.

Like France, many of us fought alongside #Afghans, who stood resolute beside us.

The United States has the potential to be a beacon of freedom & opportunity to the world, @FQhoang says.

Pssst @POTUS, @HouseForeign & @HouseForeignGOP... want to know how we can be a beacon, keep our promises, and meet our moral obligations?

🚨 Pass the #AfghanAdjustmentAct 🚨

Read more about the #AfghanAdjustmentAct at our factsheet here:

https://twitter.com/Vets4AmerIdeals/status/1557031736806088705

Next up is Marine Corps Sgt Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who was wounded at HKIA in August. He says that #Afghans turned away from HKIA tried to kill themselves on the razor wire, preferring this to Taliban torture. Countless Afghans were murdered by the Taliban 155 yards away from him.

Next up is immigration attorney @cmackler from @immigrantarc, who speaks to the immigration failures of the U.S. that have exacerbated the journey that 82K Afghans have endured in getting to the U.S.

@cmackler also reminds us that today is #InternationalWomensDay, but today is a day that most women and girls in Afghanistan will spend out of public view and in the dark, having been banned from schools, universities, offices, clinics, and even public parks.

@cmackler speaks to tangible solutions such as passing the #AfghanAdjustmentAct, additional resources for adjudication, codifying an interagency task force within government, a functioning #SIV program, and comprehensive immigration reform.

Next up is @PeterLucier with @teamamrelief, says it's not too late to help #Afghans who supported our mission in Afghanistan for 20 years.

Afghans who have made it to the U.S. face an uncertain legal future, given Congress’s failure to pass an #AfghanAdjustmentAct.

Next up is Aidan Gunderson, an Army medic who served in Afghanistan and was there during the evacuation in August 2021. He details the harrowing scenes at HKIA, the terror Afghans felt, and also to the moral injury that #veterans carry.

Finally, @RooftopLeader with @TForcePineapple, a Green Beret and retired Lt. Col. with 23 years in service and 3 combat tours in #Afghanistan, starts his testimony by asking, "What does an American Promise mean today?"

To #veterans, it means "I have your back."

During the evacuation, our leaders went silent while our #Afghan allies were left behind. @RooftopLeader says that while our gov't abandoned our allies, our #veterans didn't.

"For as long as we've been a nation, our veterans have been a moral compass for doing the right thing."

.@RooftopLeader's comments embody what so many of us know to be true: the United States abandoned our allies in August of 2021.

Afghans worked alongside us for decades. They volunteered for our missions, believed in our democracy, every single day. We love them like family.

@RooftopLeader says we must put politics aside and address the moral injury the evacuation had on our #veterans & military community.

👀We'll say it again for the @HouseForeign & @HouseForeignGOP members in the back - we must #ProtectOurAllies & pass the #AfghanAdjustmentAct.

The witnesses have spoken to the effects the withdrawal from Afghanistan has had on #veterans. The #AfghanAdjustmentAct supports our nation's veterans & warfighters by ensuring that we honor our Afghan allies. Without it, our veterans will suffer grave moral injury. Read more⤵️

#Afghans who were evacuated to the U.S. in the past two years are on the top of Taliban’s target list: women, activists, religious minorities, human rights defenders, SIVs, etc. We MUST provide viable, legal pathways to the United States by passing the #AfghanAdjustmentAct.

All witnesses have also said action needed spans political parties.

Supporting the #Afghans that worked shoulder to shoulder with us is too important to continue to wrap in partisanship and rancor. This Congress has an opportunity to do right by our allies, and it must.

As Members begin their questions, they too call for accountability, action, and solutions.

@HouseForeign & @HouseForeignGOP, if you want solutions, we’ve listed them out here:
justsecurity.org/85399/as-afgha…

@GerryConnolly speaks to the national security risks of the withdrawal. We know that our troops are in danger in future conflicts from our actions. If the U.S. does not act to support its current allies by passing the #AfghanAdjustmentAct, it will affect our future ones.

Without clear and safe pathways for noncombatants, future allies are going to be less likely to support the U.S. mission if they see that our partners are abandoned in their time of need.

Our reputation is at stake.

#AAA #ISupportAAA

@USRepKeating, we are proud of your commitment to the #AfghanAdjustmentAct. Veterans, national security experts, and immigration organizations all agree passing the #AAA is vital.

It’s not too late to move forward with and assist our Afghan allies.

@RepCicilline talks about the failures of the #SIV program and U.S. immigration process that led to a catastrophic withdrawal.

@cmackler says that solutions extend beyond one administration and we must, first and foremost, fix these immigration systems.

Even in early 2021, wait times for an #SIV were over 2 years and tens of thousands were in the backlog. This broken system must be fixed.

Read more at a joint report DHS and State on status of the Afghan SIV system here:
travel.state.gov/content/dam/vi…

@repdinatitus talks about not wanting to abandon Afghans again. Want to know how we can solve this?

Pass the #AfghanAdjustmentAct and improve the #SIV program.

Improvements to the Special Immigrant Visa program will not only provide avenues to honor the promise we made to our Afghan allies, but will be an important foundation & road map for how we support U.S. allies and collaborators in future conflicts.

We owe it to our partners.🇺🇸

Like @RepSusanWild, we can all be critical yet solutions-driven regarding the Afghanistan withdrawal.

This should be a lesson against forever wars, as well as a lesson in how we can treat our American allies during and after conflict.

@RepSusanWild @RepColinAllred talks about the Afghans who have resettled in his community, while thanking the witnesses for the humanity they showed during and after the withdrawal.

As advocates, we must continue the fight.

The 82,000 #Afghans now in the U.S. are familiar faces in our communities & are already part of the American fabric. They are allies who stood alongside us for years and have deep connections with our American veterans, the Afghan American community, and now their new homes.

Our team in the crowd after Members and witnesses shout out #AAA and why we need to pass it this Congress:

.@RepSaraJacobs calls upon her fellow Congressmembers to take action, not just place blame. Rep Jacobs, we agree 👏 – it is incumbent upon this Congress to take action to fix our immigration system and pass legislation that will help Afghans in the U.S. and those left behind.

We cannot forget that today is #InternationalWomensDay, yet the situation for women in #Afghanistan is horrific & devastating.

The systematic violation of the rights of women and girls from the hands of the Taliban as a result of our withdrawal should horrify us all.

Many members speak to the strength of our #veterans and how we can make sure all service is honored.

For veterans, the moral injury that stems from #Afghanistan is all-encompassing. For many of us, our service will not end until we #KeepOurPromise we made to our allies.

We must not fall into partisan differences & place blame on one Administration. Thousands of our partners & their families remain in danger in Afghanistan or here in legal limbo. We must find solutions that align with our American ideals, starting with the #AfghanAdjustmentAct.

Waiting seems to be the theme of today’s #Afghanistan hearing.

Waiting for #SIV applications to be processed.
Waiting for a humane immigration system.
Waiting for Congress to pass #AAA.

This is not how we repay our allies.

To those servicemembers, veterans, allies, and thousands of U.S. citizens who assisted in the resettlement of thousands of Afghans to the U.S., your service to help Afghans will not be forgotten.

We can’t rewrite the past, but we can take steps forward together.

“What started in August 2021 is far from finished and the test of our commitment to our Afghan partners is not just about what happened just over those two weeks, but the way we continue to support them in the months and years ahead.”

Thank you, @RepKamlagerDove, we agree.

We owe the deepest gratitude to the witnesses: @PeterLucier & @teamamrelief, @FQhoang & @AlliedAirlift21, Aidan Gunderson, Sgt Tyler Vargas-Andrews, @RooftopLeader & @TForcePineapple, and @cmackler & @immigrantarc.

Thank you for detailing the accountability & solutions needed.

@PeterLucier @teamamrelief @FQhoang @AlliedAirlift21 @RooftopLeader @TForcePineapple @cmackler @immigrantarc And with that, @HouseForeign & @HouseForeignGOP hearing ends. The promise we made to Afghans for 20 years will be fulfilled when we:

➡️Pass the #AfghanAdjustmentAct
➡️Codify interagency coordination on relocation efforts with civil society
➡️Ensure that this never happens again