Trump’s actions leave in limbo Afghans who aided US airstrikes against Taliban

Tirana: They helped the US military order airstrikes against Taliban and Islamic State fighters and worked as drivers and translators during America’s longest war. They were set to start new lives in the United States. Then President Donald Trump issued executive orders that put an end to programmes used to help Afghans get to safety in America. Now those same Afghans, who underwent a yearslong background check, find themselves in a state of limbo.

“I was shocked. I am still in shock because I have already waited four years for this process, to get out of this hell and to get to a safe place and live in peace and have a new beginning,” said Roshangar, one of the Afghans whose life was upended by Trump’s action.

Roshangar requested that The Associated Press only use his first name because he was afraid of Taliban reprisals.

He spoke in an interview from Afghanistan where he, his wife and son live in hiding, fearing punishment or even execution by the Taliban for his more than a decade-long partnership with American forces.

Roshangar served as a legal adviser to the Afghan Air Force, helping US officials review and eventually approve airstrike packages that were used against the Taliban and the Islamic State group from 2007 until the fall of Kabul, the Afghan capital, in 2021.

“This was an unexpected move from Mr. Trump and everything went wrong and against us and leave us in severe danger under the Taliban regime,” he said.

His family’s experience is just one aspect of the fallout from Trump’s orders, many of which were implemented without broad consultation with experts in the areas affected.

“It’s an absolute stain on our national honour that we’ve pulled the rug out from under people who have patiently been awaiting relocation and those here in the US who have recently arrived,” said Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran and head of #AfghanEvac, a coalition supporting Afghan resettlement efforts. “This is an imminently solvable issue and our national security demands we fix it.” During the US evacuation from Kabul in August 2021, American military planes airlifted tens of thousands of Afghans from the main airport.

But many more Afghans did not make it onto the planes. Since then, the US has had various ways to help Afghans emigrate to the US depending on what their role was in helping the US-led mission in Afghanistan. Those path have been halted at this point.

It is the latest in a series of setbacks for the group of American allies who, despite strong backing from Republican and Democratic lawmakers along with veterans groups, continue to face hurdles in relocating and rebuilding their lives after the abrupt US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Many are now stranded in Albania, Pakistan and Qatar where they were awaiting transfer to the US. Others are in hiding from the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Afghans who eventually make it to the US have to undergo an extensive process that usually involves a referral from someone they worked with, background checks, a medical screening and an interview with US officials.

Rashengar had his interview last August and was set to finish the final part of the process — a medical exam — this month when Trump announced he was halting all refugee resettlement.

One of the Americans he worked with, Lt. Col. Steve Loertscher, referred him to the refugee programme in October 2021. Afghans like Alam and Khalid, who aided the US, were cleared for relocation but are now stranded after Trump’s order halted the refugee programme. Many, fearing Taliban retribution, remain in limbo after risking their lives to support US missions. With families to protect and no way back, they hope for exemptions or a reversal to secure safety, a future in America, and the chance to help loved

ones left behind.