“Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards.”
― Lois McMaster Bujold

Recently, I came across a political cartoon that showed two men, one wearing a pin on his jacket that said Vietnam Vet and the other with a pin that read Afghanistan Vet. Between them was a newspaper box with a paper bearing the headline, “Troops Pulling Out of Afghanistan.” The Vietnam Vet, looking at the other sad faced vet, was saying, “I know just how you feel.”

The history of the treaty developments with the Taliban begins with calls for peace by some of the Afghani people, who are understandably tired of war. However, the process was primarily done without the participation of Afghanistan's government and, interestingly enough, endorsed by Russia, Pakistan, and China, with whom the Taliban share a warming relationship. Since the treaty was signed in February 2020, Taliban attacks on the Afghani people have increased. So much for peace.

The United States does not recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) as a “state.” For nearly twenty years we have have helped the Afghani government in their efforts to prevent the Taliban from taking over their country. Contrary to what many think, many of our veterans of the conflict insist that the Afghans fought alongside them. They did not sit back and let us fight their war for them. We gave them hope for democracy and improved human rights. Now they are watching as their efforts fail as we withdraw, leaving them vulnerable as their country falls before the Taliban insurgence. Indeed, many lives are in danger for fighting against them.

With respect to the peace movements, I submit that it is a case of the squeaky wheel getting the grease. From what I've read in numerous sources, the bulk of the Afghani people were more terrified of what a Taliban regime would mean than they were of a peace that benefited the Taliban more than them. Now, the human rights that many have struggled for, particularly those of women, are sure to disappear all together.

We have let the Afghani people down. They trusted us to help keep them safe from a regime that would imprison and oppress them. Instead, as we did in Vietnam, we have admitted defeat. We have proven once again that we can be outlasted. We are running. And all of our servicemembers who perished did so in vain.

I am not a warmonger. I detest war and would never endorse it for its sake. However, I recognize that sometimes it is inevitable and necessary. I do not believe the Taliban will keep their promises as put forth in the treaty. We have said we would honor it as long as they did. Already we are seeing they have no intention of doing so. So what are we going to do about it? Will we keep our promise to return if they reneged?

We, too, are tired of war. We are tired of seeing members of our brave military returning home broken or in flag-draped boxes. But what price do we put on our honor? On our being a symbol of hope to a world that has little? Surely there must be a way we can continue to prove we can be trusted by those we vow to aid in their fights for freedom. Surely we can prove we are not a country to turn tail when we are needed.

True allies do not surrender one another to defeat.