The 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the world trade center has just passed and still sits heavy in the hearts of our nation. Although some citizens are angrier about this remembrance than they typically would be, not because of what occurred in America 20 years ago, but because of what occurred in Afghanistan recently. In late August, the Taliban, a religious military group in Afghanistan, overtook the US-trained Afghanistan Armed Forces and had forced President Biden to pull out American troops, Diplomats, and Afghani Citizens wishing to flee the Taliban control. 

This isn’t the first time the Taliban has taken control of Afghanistan. They originally held the nation from 1996-2001, but after the September 11th attacks in 2001, the Taliban refused to hand over the man responsible and President Bush declared war on the Taliban. After many years, the Taliban backed down and America built Afghanistan a new government. Now, the Taliban has returned and many Americans are disappointed with President Biden’s sudden evacuation of Kabul. Many are drawing similarities between Gerald Ford’s rushed evacuation of Saigon, with quotes stating “‘This is not Saigon… This is worse than Saigon.’” (Krish O’Mara Vignarajah) and the current situation. 

As of right now, President Biden has no plan to return troops to Afghanistan, and some veterans are very disappointed in his decisions. I spoke to a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom who says,  “Thousands of men and women have died and more have laid their lives on the line for it to all be undone in a day, it seems asinine that something like this can occur in times like this especially since we know what the Taliban do to their people, thousands of people are going to die, especially women who are educated, and we have to sit by and watch it unfold I suppose.” (Air Force sergeant of Operation Enduring Freedom). The situation has almost faded from the eyes of the media entirely, but the threat of what the Taliban could do still remains real.