Last night I watched Rachel Maddow tell a very emotional story about former US Major Thomas Schueman who worked desperately and tirelessly behind the scenes to extract his interpreter Zak and his family from Afghanistan. In the final frame, Zak, his wife, and their 4 kids were finally on a plane leaving the Kabul airport. It was an emotional and inspirational story, but I couldn’t help but notice that Rachel missed the most important lesson in her own story: Zak’s story arc proves that Biden could not have prevented the chaos in Kabul.
Let’s focus on the key words in my headline.
- VISA — this is a document issued by the US State Department that allows a foreign national to leave their country and travel to the US. Processing visas requires American staffers and infrastructure in the foreign embassy and in the US - their time, effort, and motivation. Does anyone remember who was in charge of staffing (i.e., decimating, kneecapping, eviscerating) the State Department and the Executive Branch of our government during our recent history?
- SIX YEARS — Zak, like so many other Afghan interpreters and drivers and others in similar situations, has been trying for years to surmount the intricacies of the US visa application process in order to qualify. Can anyone guess who created the rules for visa applications?
- AFGHANISTAN — this is not a Western European country. It is not populated by white, Christian, English-speaking men. Does anyone remember what our former guy called countries like that? Does anyone remember that there have been long waits for visas out of Middle Eastern countries for like forever?
Anyone who is blaming the Biden administration for the chaotic extraction of the Afghan citizens who committed their lives to helping our military just hasn’t been paying attention. Stephen Miller, Mike Pompeo, and TFG have their filthy fingerprints all over this story. Chickens are coming home to roost. Why aren’t we hearing about that?
Jen Psaki — feel free to quote me in your next presser. (“Some people are saying . . . “)