House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, decided to highlight President Biden’s failures in Afghanistan since the US withdrawal by inviting former Afghan ambassador Roya Rahmani to be his guest at the State of the Union.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., a Navy veteran, invited Shamsrrahman “Shams” Rahmani, an Afghan national who worked as a site manager for a military contractor in Afghanistan. Rahmani is a special immigrant visa (SIV) holder who finally arrived in the United States in December after fearing for his life.
The veteran group No One Left Behind was instrumental in the evacuation of him and his family.
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Analysts noted that President Biden did not mention Afghanistan or the threat posed by ISIS or al Qaeda in his State of the Union address. He also failed to mention the thousands of evacuated Afghans who remain in limbo in bases abroad. It’s been 18 months since the US military flew them out of Kabul during the chaotic Afghan withdrawal.
New reports from Afghanistan suggest that global terror groups are getting stronger now that the US military is gone.
Tens of thousands of Afghans brought to the US as part of the evacuation still face immigration hurdles and legal risks, including possible deportation due to State Department delays. Some leading Republicans in Congress are refusing to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would give evacuees a legal path to citizenship.
Fox News has learned that 2,000 Afghan evacuees are still awaiting their destination in the United Arab Emirates, where they remain in the Emirates Humanitarian City awaiting their procedures to the US or third countries.
Among those families stuck in Dubai are at least 200 Afghans who are eligible for P1 and P2 humanitarian refugee visas who have cleared most of the checks to come to the US. Their biggest hurdle is the State Department, which has not sealed his papers for the future trip to the US organized by the department. Some of the evacuees threatened a hunger strike this week to raise awareness about their plight.
In an exclusive interview, Fox News spoke with Ali Maisam Nazary, head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF). He represents the remaining US-trained Afghan commandos in Afghanistan who are still fighting the Taliban and want US support.
“Following the takeover of the country by Taliban terrorists, Afghanistan has once again become a hub and haven for international and regional terrorism for jihadists from around the world. And for the past year and a half, it has been these groups that have continued the global war on terror,” Nazary said. He says the world is at a time before 9/11 and cannot afford to look away from the void left in Afghanistan.
“For the last year and a half, they have been fighting international and regional terrorism inside Afghanistan against global jihadism.” Nazari said. He spoke of the strength of the NRF forces.
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“They have been fighting and fighting for the freedom of Afghanistan and to restore democracy in that country. So, the fight has continued. These commandos, which are the best-trained forces in the region, many of them have continued,” Nazary said.
Nazary provided Fox News with photos of US-trained Afghan commandos wearing US-issued equipment fighting under the command of General Ahmad Shah Massoud, the son of the famous Afghan commander known as the Lion of Panshir. He fought bravely against the Soviets and was killed by Al Qaeda on the eve of 9/11. Nazary says the NRF now has a presence in 12 provinces.
“They have shown their competence. They have shown their will and their determination not only to fight for the freedom of their country and to fight for democracy, but also to fight against global jihadism and international terrorism, which today threatens global security,” Nazary said. he told Fox News.
Nazary notes that Russia and Iran are actively trying to recruit these US-trained elite fighters and questions why the US government does not want to continue supporting them or use them to train forces in Ukraine.
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“When they are being abandoned and ignored by those who have trained, financed and mentored them for 20 years, of course there will be other players and other countries that will exploit the situation and recruit them and not just them.” but even terrorist groups. So time is of the essence,” Nazary explained.
