The Afghans Are Ready to Fight
And Take Their Country Back
August 15th is a difficult anniversary for the co-founders of GCV+F. It marks the day that Kabul fell to the Taliban. The day that Afghans truly lost their beloved country to a violent terrorist regime. The day that U.S. servicemembers and veterans watched in dismay as their trusted allies fled in abject fear for their own survival.
And the day that very much changed the course of our own lives. For the past three years, Will and Kate have been committed to protecting and advocating for their Afghan brothers and sisters in every possible way, including by founding GCV+F.
This year, we marked the solemn anniversary with a touch of hope. In concert with our partners at the Afghan United Front (AUF), we co-hosted the inaugural Afghan-U.S. Summit (we’ll work on the name for next year 😉), featuring incredible panel discussions on Afghanistan’s past, present, and future. With contributions from such incredible panelists as Bill Roggio, Sara Harmouch, and Lt. Gen. Sami Sadat (lead of the AUF), here are our five key takeaways from this year’s event.
(1) Afghans are ready to fight.
This whole notion that the Afghans didn’t fight is pure unadulterated malarkey. To paraphrase Ambassador Ryan Crocker’s recent testimony at the Afghan War Commission, “It is morally obscene to say that the Afghans didn’t fight.” Seventy thousand of them were killed over twenty years.
While many incredible Afghans were in attendance, Major Naqib Mirzada’s role greatly stirred us. His speech was heartfelt. It wasn’t just Naqib; there were fiery speeches from Afghan commanders. And, of course, Lt General Sami Sadat closed us out in style.
Yet, the will to fight was apparent in everyone who attended. Will’s old friend, General Yazdani, a valiant Corps Commander in northern Afghanistan, was there. And there were others who were willing to fight with every last strength for one thing: a free Afghanistan.
(2) Younger Afghans are needed in leadership roles.
We had conversations with many Afghans, and they shared one overwhelming message: the future is with today’s generation of Afghans.
While the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is dormant, the seeds of its future have been planted. For nearly 20 years, America and its Western allies sent thousands of Afghans across the world in the hopes of changing the course of Afghanistan.
These Afghans are now doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and tomorrow’s political leaders. The Afghan American movement is in its infancy, but it’s time for it to harness its political power. The diaspora will produce something powerful and ready to topple Pakistan’s lap dogs, the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
While everyone is grateful to be here, they’re ready to return to their country. It is only a matter of time before Afghanistan’s youth raises their mighty fist in unison to defeat the Taliban once and for all.
At the end of the day, this is the Afghan’s fight against Pakistan’s monster. How they fight this modern-day Frankenstein is up to them. I’m sure it will be far better than the Taliban’s gender apartheid regime.
(3) Delegitimization of the Taliban is key.
In many ways, the Doha Agreement–negotiated by President Trump and effectuated by President Biden–was the beginning of the end for Afghanistan. (Kate offers a primer on the Agreement here.) Not only did it offer legitimacy to the Taliban as a political party with negotiating power over Afghanistan, but it also emboldened the Taliban in its subsequent takeover of the country and its internal governmental structure. In the years that have followed, several nations have further validated the Taliban as Afghanistan’s sitting government by engaging in diplomatic relations (both formal and informal) and agreements that suggest that a known terrorist organization has now been recognized as a formal government entity, with all related rights and protections.
Last week’s panelists were unequivocal on this point: foreign nations must refrain from recognizing or engaging with the Taliban to ensure that they do not legitimize or support a regime that undermines human rights, regional stability, and international security. Instead, nation-states should prioritize diplomatic pressure, support for humanitarian aid, and backing inclusive Afghan-led peace and resistance processes to foster stability and respect for human rights in the region. These priorities not only eliminate the need to coordinate with the Taliban but also enable more flexible and targeted assistance, demonstrating to the Afghan people our enduring commitment to their survival and prosperity and allowing them a stronger platform for their own resistance work. Further, by adhering to these principles, the international community can more effectively champion the values of democracy and human dignity while fostering a more secure and equitable future for Afghanistan without abandoning the allies who so desperately require our ongoing assistance.
(4) Afghan women and girls are central to resistance efforts.
“Bread, work, freedom.”
This is the battle cry of the Afghan girls and women who have relentlessly taken to the streets over the past three years to champion their very right to exist under Taliban rule. These women are undeniably at the forefront of their own resistance movement, organizing under this one simple phrase to defend “what they knew the Taliban would attack: their independence, agency, mobility, and freedom. These women were asserting their rights to social and financial independence. They were also demanding dignity and risking their lives for a better future for all Afghan people.” Given their work, these women face brute violence, indefinite detention, and torture; nevertheless, they persist.
Despite their proven commitment to a better Afghanistan, national resistance groups have yet to truly leverage the power of the female protesters. Last week’s panelists emphasized the imperative to collaborate more directly with these women in advocating for their cause.
This focus is not just strategic; it’s essential. The female protesters have shown remarkable resilience amidst profound personal risk and possess a unique capacity to mobilize international support in ways that surpass traditional political and military strategies. They have a demonstrated ability to organize both national and international grassroots movements and have access to marginalized communities and resources often absent from more male-dominated efforts. More than that, these women courageously leverage their own gender in ways that are quite threatening to the Taliban. Take our girl Helai, who—at just 16 years old—defied Taliban prohibitions by organizing an underground school for women and refusing to shut down under direct threat of reprisal.
She and her sisters are the future of Afghanistan, and any resistance efforts that disregard the power and expertise of the female protesters are likely to fail.
(Interested in supporting the female protesters? Check out Task Force Nyx, a leading non-profit in defending at-risk activists and allies on their journey to safety.)
(5) The time for unity is now.
This is the million-dollar question. The Taliban do not constitute anywhere near a majority of the Afghan population. However, they’re incredibly unified. Don’t get it twisted. There are factions, for sure. Mullah Yaqoob, Sirajuddin Haqqani, and Haibitullah Akhunzada are not each other’s BFFs. But you know what unites them: their hatred for us.
Perhaps it’s time we return the favor.
It’s hard to lose a war, especially when your own government won’t acknowledge the defeat. It’s understandable that all the anti-Taliban groups and players have some bad blood. Do you know what creates bad blood? Lost wars. So, this isn’t unusual. Nevertheless, all the mistakes that we all made are behind us. We should learn from them and move forward together.
We will need warriors but also diplomats. We will need lawyers, and also registered nurses. We will need the voices of fearless Afghan women and of those brave religious minorities who Al Qaeda is persecuting.
We need everyone in this together. It does not matter if you’re a liberal or a Republican. It does not matter if you liked Ghani or Karzai or whatever. The only thing that matters is this: are you anti-Taliban?
There are more anti-Taliban voices and fighters than the Taliban.
We must unite. The longer it takes for us to unite, the longer our Afghan brothers-and-sister will remain trapped behind enemy lines.
#FreeAfghanistan.
(If you’d like to learn more about the AUF’s resistance efforts, Bill Roggio, Will Selber, and Lt. Gen. Sami Sadat recently discussed the situation in Afghanistan on this recent podcast episode.)
