Withdrawal from Afghanistan a shameful end to noble fight

America’s mismanaged withdrawal from Afghanistan dishonours all of those who fought for freedom and leaves a nation in the hands of its worst enemies, writes Heston Russell.

I first deployed to Afghanistan in November 2011 as personal security officer for our then-prime minister Julia Gillard.

During that trip we visited Australian bases in Tarin Kowt, International Security Assistance Force headquarters and the presidential palace in Kabul.

I would deploy to Afghanistan three more times, including in 2012 with the Australian Special Operations Task Group and in 2015 when I was embedded within a classified US Special Operations Task Group.

Taliban fighters stand guard along a street near the Zanbaq Square in Kabul on Monday. Picture: Kohsar / AFP

My last deployment within the military was in 2016-17 as the Special Operations Joint planner to the Special Operations Joint Task Force in Iraq, combating ISIS.

I worked within US headquarters and alongside US military personnel, intelligence agencies, department of state and other government departments on plans to draw down operations, forces and equipment, while supporting the transition of control and security to the Iraqi government.

There are deliberate planning and execution processes that have been developed over countless other examples and experiences to do exactly this.

Retired Special Forces Officer Heston Russell. Picture: Steve Pohlner

What is currently unfolding in Afghanistan should be unbelievable. But there it is right before our eyes as the Taliban not only retake Afghanistan, causing its President to flee, but do so now better armed and equipped by the stockpiles of military equipment and munitions left by the Afghan army and US forces.

This shameful conclusion dishonours the cause.

We took the fight to those who would otherwise oppress the people of Afghanistan and persecute those who were simply born of different gender or race.

We targeted and destroyed those who were planning to attack innocent civilians in cities and countries all over the world.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan leaves the country's governance at the mercy of the Taliban. Illustration: Terry Pontikos

We targeted and destroyed those that sought to finance such actions around the world through the manufacturing of narcotics and trafficking of weapons and munitions.

We achieved amazing successes that saved more lives that can be calculated and achieved freedoms that all of us willingly faced dangers to achieve.

We served our nation and its people the only way we knew how – to the very best of our abilities and supporting all of those on the ground, always.

The debacle in Afghanistan now is hard to watch.

To now be able to stand up and say that it was worth it is no longer something that I am capable of doing.

It was worth it then, absolutely; but what has been undone through our lack of ability to plan and implement an effective drawdown of coalition forces from Afghanistan is incomprehensible and unforgivable.

What we are seeing now is the receipt, the total sum of our political inability to protect those who we dedicated more than 30,000 Australian defence personnel and their families who supported us at home.

Billions of taxpayer dollars and nearly 20 years of our lives dedicated to a cause that we now are left to watch as nothing more than what I can describe as the greatest embarrassment we deserve.

We deserve this because we have allowed ourselves to be led by politicians who prioritise political parties, profit, personal progression and press conferences over people – over those on the ground.

Lame actions now accompanying limp words.

Afghans crowd at Kabul airport in an effort to flee the country. Picture: AFP

I appreciate this is an emotive message and that’s exactly what this is – emotion at a situation that I personally know we could and should have handled better.

We are seeing families fleeing to Kabul airport and throwing their children onto already-overloaded military aircraft sent to extract those who risked their lives and families supporting us on the ground.

But what’s worse is we have had all of the time since we withdrew our combat forces from Afghanistan at the end of 2013 to plan this and save those who risked all for us, let alone their families and loved ones some have already had to leave behind.

Instead we have our military forces dedicated to containing and controlling Australian citizens in lockdown and picking up the slack in a vaccine rollout because all the bureaucrats in our system can’t manage it themselves.

While we talk of establishing a “ring of steel” around Australian cities, those who risked their lives to support us await certain death or lives of renewed oppression and violence.

Now we wait to see where all of the weapons and military hardware left to the Taliban re-emerges around the world in the hands of those who wish evil upon us and our allies.

We’re also handing back the keys to one of the biggest manufacturing lands of narcotics production, capable of funding terrorist and insurgent activities the world over.

We have to be better than this. This is shameful to say the least, and I am so embarrassed this is where we are at.

Many reading these words and watching this unfold are having flashbacks to the end of our involvement in the Vietnam conflict.

Veterans tell me they are reliving what happened in Saigon. They ask how we have got it so wrong again.

I don’t have the answers, but we must never let this be the case from this point on.