Chris Brooks, Retired Army Major (L:) Yasin Ahmady, Former Inerpreter in Afghanistan and Jake Myrick, Vet from the War in Iraq in 2003, US Army.
A Close up of Chris Brooks, Retired Army Major, at Portland Rally today.
A Rally in Support of the Afghan People This Afternoon at Monument Square, Portland.
Many Afghanistan Flags Were on Display at a Rally at Monument Square, Portland, This Afternoon.
Ed Thelander, a Retired Navy Seal, Addressed the Crowd at the Monument Square Rally Today. He is Running for US Congress in District 1.
“The Joint Chiefs of Staff failed. I’m not happy with the senior military commanders who allowed this to take place,” said Chris Brooks, Retired Army Major who served at Bagram Air Base, Security Zone Command, from 2010 – 2011. He was in charge of 100 villages outside of Bagram.
“The Joint Chiefs of Staff job is to secure strategic operations for preparing to evacuate,” Books said. There should have been a “phased” evacuation. Rather, the US has left military gear, Americans and many of our allies in Afghanistan. “When I was there in 2010 there were members of the Talibans who kidnapped and killed villages for supporting us. There will be much more of that now. There is a sense of urgency now. The female culture will be obliterated.” Brooks said.
Brooks said he has no “good faith” in the situation in Afghanistan. But he does have faith in “former soldiers who really care and know what is really going on.” He’s been writing letters to the US Embassy in Kabul on behalf of Afghan allies that need to be rescued before the Taliban gets them.
Yasin Ahmady, 65, who is from Kabul, Afghanistan, came to the US in 1982. But he returned to his home following the 9/11 attack on this country with his good English. There he served as interpreter alongside the US Special Forces and Navy Seals for nine years – that was from 2002 to 2011. Ahmady attended the Rally at Monument Square this afternoon to support Afghans in this time of increasing tensions as the time for evacuations dwindle. (See above left photo of Yasin Ahmady).
“I stand here with my friends, colleagues and my son, Tommy, and I am sorry, but we have to finish the job we started. We need to take care of those we left behind. It’s hard …… to imagine the violence in Afghanistan unless you have lived there,” said Ed Thelander, a retired Navy Seal, who also announced today that he is running for the US Congress in District 1. He will be running against incumbent US Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) Thelander served in Afghanistan in 2009. (See below photo of Thelander)
Jake Myrick, who served in the US Army in Iraq in 2003, agreed that the Joint Chiefs of Staff have failed Afghanistan. “Vets have to support the Afghan people,” he said.
“We support the Afghan people. We want to make sure that when they come to the US they will stay safe and find good employment and that their children thrive,” said Merle Parise, with the US Department of Agriculture, serving in Afghanistan for 3 l/2 years.
For more background information on the subject, please see post herein dated August 20, 2021 on an earlier Rally for the Afghan nation. also at Monument Square, Portland.