Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM SEPTEMBER 1-7, 2021 UCW 5 JIM JONES, Contributing Writer. Comments? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910- 484-6200. After the killing of Bin Laden, many thought that the authority under the AUMF was complete. Still, every president has used it to continue to neutralize bad people around the globe to keep terrorist groups from growing and bringing their terror here. President Biden left an estimated 10,000 – 50,000 Americans in that country to fend for themselves and the embassy. Didn't he learn anything about Benghazi (he was V.P. at the time)? Somewhere in the military, some Spe- cialist is getting an Article 15 for losing a pocket watch, and we left C-130s, A-29s attack aircraft, UH-60 Black Hawks, and other helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. We left thousands of ar- mored vehicles, HMMWVs, MRAPs, night vision goggles, and yes, we left drones. e State Department left their helicopter, for crying out loud. It appears that the only pub- lished report of any guidance came from a Washington Post article which reported that a leaked memo to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul read "destroy items which could be misused in propaganda ef- forts, which included American flags." I heard the President's speech about how they did not think the Taliban could take Kabul so quickly, but it did come out that they knew it would happen within a month or more. To be honest, it is hard to put a date on something when it is evi- dent that people are just trying to spin a bad decision. Or was it a bad decision? If you knew the Taliban were already on the move, then why would you leave all the goodies unless you intended to give the Taliban a modernized army and air force. ey knew the Taliban was going to be in power. ose reports came out under Trump's administration. We watched the Taliban leaders do a press conference an- nouncing their place on the world stage as the new government of Afghanistan. We knew some of them because President Barack Obama released five of those lead- ers because they were Taliban command- ers from the Guantanamo Bay prison in exchange for American deserter Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in 2014. At the time, Presi- dent Obama assured the public that the dangerous enemy combatants would be transferred to Qatar and kept from caus- ing any trouble in Afghanistan. ey didn't know that much of the Taliban was hang- ing out in Pakistan. It has been the back door the whole time we have been in Af- ghanistan. With all of the intelligence ser- vices we have out there, yet no one knew that there was an offensive coming? It has been tough to comprehend this mess. I know that a lot of military and their families are mad as hell. I know a lot of civil service people are mad as hell. I know the families of their fallen soldiers and the contractors who have died there are mad as hell. As of April this year, 2,448 Ameri- can service members have been killed in Afghanistan, and an additional 3,846 U.S. contractors also lost their lives." at is a total of 6,294 lost. It is hard to find out how many U.S. personnel have been wounded in Afghanistan, but it appears to be over a million when you count the post-war physical and mental issues, and sadly, the suicides. We do not account for the hardships on the families. e lonely nights. e single parent who is trying to keep things to- gether. e joys, difficulties and emotional roller coaster ride when they return from war. For the fallen, the nightmare of the parents, spouses and children cannot be measured. Nothing can fill that void. So how do we comprehend this? For ev- eryone mad as hell, you have every right to be mad as hell. For all of those who have friends or family left behind over there, you have every right to be mad as hell. You may question. Why? What was this for? What about all of those precious years wasted? What about all the lives and destruction? You have every right to ask those questions. But I would like to remind you of a few things. It was not you that threw the first punch. You joined the military and did your job. For 20 years, Americans and other countries provided a generation of people freedom from a tyranni- cal regime. You gave little kids a chance to grow up. You gave some people a chance to see a better life. You have let them see a different way of life. You gave them medi- cine and healed their sick. ey heard the music they would have never heard. ey have read books they would have never seen. You will be in their minds for their lifetime, and you gave them a vision of a better life. at is a lot to be proud of! For those still in the military, continue whatever your orders are and do it well. e American people still need you. We are proud of your service, your sacrifices and for always being on guard for us. Although it is tempting to be mad as hell, try to focus on your well-being, enjoy your family, your friends and your freedom. Please do not let this be an excuse to mess up your life. Be the best you can be, have a good time and enjoy every moment you can. From all of us, to all of you: thank you again for all that you do every day, and may God keep watch over you. U.S. Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, provide assistance at an Evacuation Control Checkpoint during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug. 21. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla) An Airman comforts an infant during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug. 20. U.S. service members are assisting the Department of State with the non-combatant evacuation operation, or NEO. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Isaiah Campbell) For 20 years Americans ... provided a generation of people freedom from a tyrannical regime ... and you gave them a vision of a better life. at is a lot to be proud of!