The Fate of America’s Afghan Partners

The Biden Administration wants Americans to forget about Afghanistan, and a new United Nations report on the fate of the Afghan partners the U.S. left behind is one reason.

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan describes at least 800 human-rights violations committed against U.S. partners since the Taliban’s takeover. Members of the Afghan National Army are at the “greatest risk,” followed by national and local police officers and National Directorate of Security officials. Targets also include prosecutors, judges and national, provincial and district officials who served in the U.S.-backed government.

At least 218 Afghan partners have been murdered, the report says. “Some were taken to detention facilities and killed while in custody,” the report says, while “others were taken to unknown locations and killed, their bodies either dumped or handed over to family members.”

When a family recovered the corpse of one former Ministry of Interior police officer, they found “signs of many bullets,” and “dogs had eaten some part of his body.” Locals found the decapitated corpse of a member of the Afghan National Police who had been arrested less than a month earlier. The U.N. documents 144 instances of torture and maltreatment, including beatings with pipes and cables. It reports at least 14 enforced disappearances and more than 424 arbitrary arrests.

In his speech on the withdrawal two years ago, President Biden said the Taliban had made “public commitments, broadcast on television and radio across Afghanistan, on safe passage for anyone wanting to leave, including those who worked alongside Americans.” He added that “we don’t take them by their word alone but by their actions, and we have leverage to make sure those commitments are met.” What leverage is that?

Washington continues to offer too few visas for Afghans who helped America. Some Afghan partners told the U.N. that they “have gone into hiding” and “live in fear of being arrested or killed by a member of the de facto authorities.” These ugly details add to the disgrace of one of America’s worst betrayals.