We’re Giving Up On Afghanistan—and the Americans Still There

Nemo resideo is a Latin phrase that means, “Leave no one behind.” It is such a fundamental American value that this commitment is embedded in the creed of several branches of the U.S. military. Yet some American citizens are being left behind now that the last plane has left Kabul on Monday. “We believe there are still a small number of Americans—under 200 and likely closer to 100–who remain in Afghanistan, and want to leave,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Monday. This contradicts Joe Biden’s previous comments. During an August 18 interview with George Stephanopoulos, Biden said, "If there's American citizens left, we're gonna stay to get them all out."

The decision to break that promise is wildly unpopular. According to a new ABC/Ipsos poll, 84% of Americans “think U.S. troops should remain in the country until all Americans are evacuated,” and 71% “think they should stay until all Afghans who helped the United States are evacuated as well.” These numbers exist in a world where abandoned Americans have not yet been taken hostage (except for the one that the Taliban already had) and where videos have not yet surfaced of Afghan interpreters being rounded up and summarily executed. The former is a legitimate fear; the latter is a guarantee.