US Vets May Doubt Afghan War Was Worth Fighting After Chaotic Evacuation

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Barrington M. Salmon - US troops who served in Afghanistan might start doubting the war was worth fighting amid the ongoing chaotic and poorly planned evacuation process, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) advocacy group told Sputnik.

The Biden administration came under fire this week as scenes went viral of chaos and desperation at Kabul airport amid a rushed US evacuation, including images of Afghans falling off aircraft and refugees packed like sardines in a transport plane. On Friday, the Pentagon confirmed nearly 170 Americans were ferried to the Kabul airport in military helicopters.

"We’ve surveyed our members, the last time a year ago, and vets thought that their service [in Afghanistan] was worth it," IAVA Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Tom Porter said. "My chief concern is that vets and some families will doubt it."

Porter, a Captain in the US Navy Reserve with service since 1996, said most people he has talked to are surprised at the speed at which the Taliban* took over.

"Whenever you withdraw from a country it’s not going to be pretty but the level of chaos was avoidable. They could have planned much better. The Pentagon is a planning agency. Planning is its forte," Porter said. "I’ve talked to so many people and no one thought it was going to play out the way it did. We got rid of the bases, withdrew from Bagram and then evacuated. It’s unfortunate."

Hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at a perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.

© AP Photo / Shekib Rahmani

While he said it is disappointing that some veterans and their families may think otherwise, Gold Star wives, Gold Star parents and service members enabled a generation of Afghans to go to school.

"In 2001, 3,000 men were in college. A few months ago, we found that 330,000 men and women were in college. Millions of Afghans were allowed to get an education," Porter noted. "People who graduated from university ended up in countries around the world."

Porter, who served in Afghanistan for a year, said he saw people join because they wanted to fight back - they wanted to do something after the 9/11 attacks.

"It’s very important to me. I trained people over there. I believe the service was worth it. I thought it was worth it because of my friends who were service members who were there. I had their backs," Porter said.

The Taliban seized control of Kabul on Sunday, August 15, after overrunning the rest of the country in 11 days as the majority of American forces withdrew and dispirited and disheartened police and military melted away. With the collapse and the ongoing evacuation by the US military, questions are swirling about whether 20 years of war, the deployment of 775,000 troops, 2,300 deaths, 20,589 wounded in action and a $2.4 trillion price tag was worth it.

*A terrorist organization banned in Russia