For many who served in Afghanistan over the last two decades, the scene of collapse and chaos was a heartbreaking sight.
The U.S. originally occupied Afghanistan following 9/11 in order to protect the country from terrorists, specifically Al Qaeda. The Taliban, an Islamic movement and military presence that was in power across most of the country in 2001, and sheltered Al Qaeda, was eventually pushed back by U.S. and NATO forces while a new government was installed.
In May, when the U.S. withdrew most of the troops stationed in Afghanistan, the Taliban once again took power across most of the country, eventually resulting in the Fall of Kabul on August 15th.
It's a shockingly fast end to the longest duration war in United States history, one that many military experts have said is "inevitable" despite the money spent, the lives spent, and a failed foreign policy under four presidential administrations. President Joe Biden said as much in his national address Monday.
For the people that have dedicated portions of their lives to America's mission abroad, the feelings associated with the U.S. withdrawal can be difficult.
Former Navy Seal Caleb Schmidt grew up in Prior Lake, MN and spent six years as a SEAL. He was stationed in Afghanistan for 9 months in 2012 before an initial drawdown of troops. Schmidt then left the Navy and coming back to study at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
Schmidt, talking to WCCO Radio's Paul and Jordana Show, says his feelings towards the end of the conflict in Afghanistan are complicated.
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"It's a difficult situation," Schmidt says. "We've been in for the last 20 years. And I mean, it's president after president that has been faced with challenging decisions and saying, hey we're getting out of Afghanistan for a long time now. I think obviously the way that it's going down is a real tragedy. I don't think there's any other way to look at it. I think it's a complicated set of emotions."
For Schmidt, the cause of being in Afghanistan and trying to support Democratic principals is a noble one. He also says the U.S. tends to over-promise and under-deliver in these situations and that has led to a lack of trust from Afghani people.
"I think that the U.S, a lot of times, takes the position that we're going to ride in on our horse and we are going to save these people," Schmidt tells Douglas. "And I think that to actually create a stable Democracy is just so much of a bigger lift every single time then we appreciate."
Schmidt was stationed in rural parts of Afghanistan where much of the mission involved getting local citizens to buy-in on the new government, and help create a culture that embraced Democracy. Schmidt says it was a very difficult proposition for people trying to live simple lives.
“My takeaway is that these people were trying to live their lives the way that they had done for thousands of years," Schmidt explains. "So I think some of the ideas around democracy were almost like too high level for them to totally appreciate. I think one of the biggest challenges we had was that this is a culture that exists, and we're trying to sort of exert our perspective on it. It was almost and they wanted to live their lives in the way that they had always done in a safe environment.”
Ryan Crocker served as United States Ambassador to Afghanistan in 2011-12 at the same time Schmidt was in country. He also served in Iraq, Pakistan and Kuwait and is no stranger to the Middle East.
Crocker was extremely critical of President Joe Biden, calling the images seen over the past few days "appalling" and "frightening" for Americans.
From a diplomat's perspective, his view of the situation in Afghanistan is not different from that of a Navy S.E.A.L. with former Ambassador Crocker saying, "This is all very painful for all of us of course."
Crocker, speaking to WCCO's Chad Hartman on Monday, also talked about the dangers of what happens next in Afghanistan. The Taliban is again firmly in control of the country and Crocker says Al Qaeda "won't be far behind."
“We are most definitely unsafe,” Crocker said. “Again, this is not speculation. We have seen this movie, it's called 9/11 where Al Qaeda had the security and the space to plan long range attacks with the Taliban cover over them. And they did just that. Well, they're coming back. The Taliban is back.”
Former Ambassador Crocker is clear on his warning that Al Qaeda has been sitting in wait for this opportunity as well.
“Let me you, these are not kinder, gentler people,” warns Crocker. “They have been in the wilderness for 20 years rather than give up Al Qaeda and now they're back. Al Qaeda will be back too. Again, not a theoretical threat. They've done this, these groups. These people brought us 9/11.”
Leaving Afghanistan means the U.S. will also not have near the same intelligence on threats coming from that country, something Crocker says will create more threats here at home.
“At the same time, by our precipitous withdrawal pulling out of everything we’ve got, our intelligence is now badly degraded,” Crocker tells WCCO. “We are not going to have the eyes on it that we used to have. We are not going to have anywhere to it. The return to the clear and present danger and the absence of good intelligence is a witch's brew of threat for all Americans.”
For a Navy S.E.A.L. like Schmidt, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that Afghanistan is ready to move back to the way it was over two decades ago. He saw firsthand that many Afghans were not interested in what the U.S. was selling because they would eventually just leave.
“Some of the Afghan soldiers were really dedicated to our mission there,” Schmidt says. “Others weren't as dedicated. It was a paycheck. But I think the real challenge is the whole time that we've been there, we've been communicating, hey, we're going to leave. From the perspective of the Afghan people, why work with someone or why invest with someone who has a short timeframe that they're looking at when you're in it for the long haul. I wouldn't say that we necessarily align the incentives appropriately while we were in-country."
"Now, when we're pulling out, Afghan soldiers weren’t completely bought in and looking around like, is this worth me risking my life for?”
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