‘How Can You Abandon Us Like This?’ Afghan Special Ops Pilot, Left Behind After U.S. Withdrawal, Says ‘We Are Running Out Of Time’

 KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 13: A member of the Afghan Air Force 777 Special Mission Wing looks out of an Mi-17 helicopter during a training mission on September 13, 2017 outside of Kabul, Afghanistan. Currently the United States has about 11,000 troops in the deployed in Afghanistan, with a reported 4,000 more expected to arrive in the coming weeks. Last month, President Donald Trump announced his plan for Afghanistan which called for an increase in troop numbers and a new conditions-based approach to the war, getting rid of a timetable for the withdrawal of American forces in the country.

Earlier in September, Travis Dale Peterson spoke with The Daily Wire’s “Morning Wire” about the awe-inspiring effort by a group of former U.S. Special Forces personnel who organized a massive rescue effort of Afghan allies from Afghanistan.

This week, Peterson shared a letter with The Daily Wire from Colonel Belal Kohistani, one of the Special Mission Wing pilots effectively abandoned by the Biden administration and other Western allies in the days following the U.S. withdrawal.Special Mission Wing, also known as “the triple seven” are elite special operations Afghan pilots tasked with supporting counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism missions.

“My name is Colonel Belal Kohistani and I am currently in the UAE with my fellow 777 Special Mission Wing team awaiting evacuation orders for our families out of Afghanistan. We are deeply concerned as we feel we are not being listened [to],” the translated letter begins. “As a people stricken with unending grief, some of us have aged decades in a few years and have grown old at a young age without ever seeing the world or anything beyond our four walls. Amidst all of this, when terrorized by an extremist force, those of us who have spent years working for foreign presence in Afghanistan deserve to be saved. It is the least that can be done when our uneventful, but equally precious lives are at stake.”

Colonel Kohistani then posed a question for the military forces who had withdrawn.“Our question for NATO and Special Operations Units for US, UK, Australia and Italy is this: How can you abandon us like this? Your allies and your comrades. We fought and countered terrorism together. We upheld the same beliefs against the terrorists. Our motto was one and our mission inclusive of both foreign and local efforts. In particular, SMW 777 was one of the best units in Afghanistan,” Colonel Kohistani wrote. “We gathered around the same meeting tables with you, drafted thousands of operational plans together, our mission was one: to counter terrorism: to destroy the enemy, their bases, and the drug trafficking pipelines that funded their operations.”

Colonel Kohistani continued to say that despite the quality of training the “best fighters in Afghanistan” had received, those left behind felt forgotten.

“The best of NATO and the United States trained the best fighters in Afghanistan; we felt valued, appreciated, and vital to the mission.  In the end, it turns out, that was not the case. The reality is that when push came to shove, when the same terrorists we fought together conquered this land, we feel as if we the fighters have been forgotten so easily and unbelievably,” the letter noted. “Today, we face the threat of death and destitution alone. Our families are begging us to beg of you: will anything be done to save us? Are they justified in this despair? Do we continue waiting on you to do the right thing and honor your commitments to your allies? Or should we relinquish our hopes of any rescue?”

“Our question to our US counterparts is this: how were you able to publicize and rescue other vulnerable members of Afghanistan while SMW warriors who fought day and night to kill or capture terrorists, remained unimportant?” Colonel Kohistani asked. “We fought and got our hands dirty so that the rest of these people could have a peaceful life.”

“We have fought since 2008 against terrorists and other people are being prioritized for evacuation but SMW pilots and their families are still in Afghanistan and the US government and those in power are doing nothing about this,” the letter concluded. “We feel left behind, our families feel left behind and most importantly our faith and trust with our allies feels broken.  We trust you as you trust us and we need your honesty and action now to save our families and to continue peace and prosperity for generations to come.”

“Please respond most promptly and accordingly as we are running out of time,” Colonel Kohistani added.

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