August 2025 marks the fourth year of the final demoralizing betrayal of the people of Afghanistan by the U.S.-led NATO plus coalition.
While this month has little meaning to the majority of the world, it has a severe impact on those who risked their lives for twenty years to bring Afghanistan into the international fold and start their long journey towards fair governance and safety for the millions of Afghans that suffered under decades of war before September 11th.
Specifically, this month is difficult for veterans, diplomats, intelligence officers, aid and development officers, and the families that supported their mission for two decades. Just look at the suicide rates of this cohort to see how impactful our failed policy in Afghanistan has been.
But the pain of the coalition helping Afghans is very small compared to the people of Afghanistan. Afghans and their allies thought there might be a chance the Trump administration would reverse the failed Biden policies on Afghanistan.
So far that has not been the case, and it makes this anniversary of our collective failure even more challenging.
Afghanistan today is a nation occupied by the Taliban, Haqqani, and AQ terror regime. These terrorists are fully supported by Pakistan, China and Russia. The regime exists to make Afghanistan more pro-Pakistan and pro-China. This allows the two neighbors to loot all the resources of Afghanistan at rock bottom prices. That is trillions of dollars over the next decade going to two nations that hate America and our ideals.
Beyond economics, the Pakistan-China control of Afghanistan provides massive funding to the terrorist regime. No longer are the power holders in Afghanistan trying to help the citizens. The terrorists don’t worry about lack or food, water, medicine, doctors, or fuel and housing. The citizens are left to survive on the crumbs not stolen by the terror regime. That’s millions of aid and humanitarian dollars skimmed into the hands of terrorists. With that money the terror regime is expanding their violent Islamist indoctrination footprint. They turned all schools into terrorist training centers. They allow other terror groups to use Afghanistan for their headquarters and training camps.
Even more horrifying than the return of the global terror threat to pre-September levels is the gender apartheid system that the Taliban, Haqqani, and AQ regime has instituted. This system ensures girls remain under-educated and can easily be married-off before they are teens to terrorists — and then used to create and raise more terrorists. Women and girls in Afghanistan face beatings, kidnapping, detention, rape, torture and death for simply asking to live with all their human rights intact.
Finally, Afghanistan’s refugees and special visa holders/seekers are in danger around the globe. These are civilians that answered our call to fight and bleed beside us in war against terrorists — terrorists who were fully supported by the Pakistani military as they murdered and maimed tens of thousands of westerners and 3 to 4 times as many Afghan allies. Simply put, the U.S. led coalition nations have kept them in limbo for 4 years now. We must keep our promises. If they are sent back to Afghanistan the terrorist regime will murder them.
Summary. Afghanistan is hell on earth and the U.S. needs to be proactive right now if we care about reversing the Biden policy fiasco.
Here are a few simple things that the current American government can do to help change the status quo in Afghanistan.
First, do not recognize the Taliban terrorist regime in any way. Stop directly talking to them diplomatically, stop letting them travel, stop all funding to them. Sanction them as groups and individuals and make their families uncomfortable too. The people of Afghanistan that want to eject the terrorists back to Pakistan are baffled by our actions. They mistakenly think that the U.S. is in support of the Taliban, Haqqani and AQ terror regime.
We need to be clear on our policy and carry out strong actions to support it. Especially when it comes to the backstabbing Pakistan military leaders and politicians that cheered for and helped the terrorists that attacked us on September 11th until we left an Afghanistan in 2021. They are still anti-American and pro-terrorist. They want to use Afghanistan to build a bigger terror army for the future.
Second, rapidly vet the remaining special visa holders and applicants and all vulnerable refugees. Get them on a fast path to citizenship so they can get jobs and contribute to our society by the end of the year. I met many Afghans last year who told me they were voting for Trump and Republicans because they identified with their conservative beliefs and they felt betrayed by the Biden administration.
From a purely political perspective, granting citizenship to Afghans who love America and our soldiers is a smart move for the upcoming midterms. Those who do not have a trusted American vouching for them can be assessed more slowly to ensure we haven’t let any terrorists slip through the borders, or anyone that simply despises our values of equality, justice, and freedom.
Third, support Afghans that want to stand up against the terrorists. That doesn’t mean sending brigades or divisions back to Afghanistan. Afghans just want our diplomatic help and to know we support those people who want human rights for all Afghans and to rid their nation of terrorists. We can do this easily by appointing an American Envoy to the Afghanistan opposition.
Choose someone that Afghans trust. Don't pick someone who is hated by Afghans — Zal was a disaster for Afghanistan and the U.S. Then give the envoy a simple mission and lots of leeway to inexpensively and strategically help Afghans build the solidarity needed to end the terrorist regime’s chokehold on power.
I can give you a list of Americans they trust and many options we can choose to help Afghans successfully chart their own future. They can be our partners in identifying and stopping terrorist attacks.
We must act now. The next September 11th attacks are on their way. We either get ahead of them this time, or prepare for another unthinkable and earth shattering attack.
Major (ret.) Jason Criss Howk served 23 years in the Army and Intelligence Community and was focused on Afghanistan for the majority of that time. He is a cofounder of Global Friends of Afghanistan and is the President of the board of directors. He regularly talks to Afghans around the globe and shares their views with non-Afghans. He was on the 2016-17 Trump Presidential Transition Team at the request of LTG Mike Flynn.