Editor’s Note: Today’s editorial continues from “This is Biden’s Kobayshi Maru,” which ran yesterday, Aug. 19.
We could cast blame for the mess in Afghanistan all the way back to President George W. Bush for starting this war. To all the past Congresses that didn’t put a foot down and say, “You do not have Congressional approval. Stop this now.” To President Barrack Obama for not ending the war during his eight years in office. To President Donald Trump for intentionally excluding Afghanistan’s government from withdrawal negotiations and for not demanding more concessions from the Taliban, such as the assurance that women’s rights would not be rolled back. To Afghanistan’s government for not even trying. To Biden for botching the withdrawal’s execution.
They all share responsibility for this debacle. All of them.
But we can’t change what has already happened.
Placing blame is the least productive thing the U.S. and the world can do right now. What’s happening in Afghanistan at this moment is a disaster, and leaders should not waste time asking, “Whose fault?” and “What should have been done?”
The question is “What can be done now?” — to evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghan allies, to protect and maintain women’s rights, to help Afghan citizens trying to flee Taliban rule. Even then, leaders cannot spend months or years debating an answer. The problem is happening now, and it will only get worse as the Taliban strengthens its grip on Afghanistan, locks down borders to escaping refugees and begins stripping away human rights.
One concrete step we, as a nation, can take now is to clear away the red tape preventing Afghans who helped the U.S. military from receiving visas and allowing them to relocate. Congress has already passed legislation to expand the visa cap for Afghan immigrants by 8,000 — though that number will likely need to increase — as well as to funnel over $1 billion toward evacuating allies and getting them visas.
It will be up to the State Department for refugee and migration assistance and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement to waive some of the stricter rules that bog down the process. Our allies should not be forced to wait in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan while their paperwork makes its way through our notoriously slow system.
For our part, as ordinary citizens, we can encourage our members of Congress to increase the visa cap again. More importantly, we must welcome Afghan refugees into our communities. All the condemnations about abandoning interpreters are nothing but lip service if we don’t greet Afghan immigrants with open arms.
The purpose of the Kobayashi Maru in Star Trek is to force young leaders to make the best of a horrible situation, with an eye on future repercussions. This is where Biden, the U.S. and our allies stand now: There is no winning in Afghanistan; there is only minimizing the losses.
