When America withdrew from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, chaos quickly ensued. In a particularly harrowing scene at Kabul Airport that was broadcast around the world, desperate Afghans fleeing the Taliban were seen placing their children in the hands of American soldiers. As Jazz Cannon, the Afghan-American spokeswoman for Vets4NRF, points out, this incident demonstrated an incredible level of trust by the Afghan people in the U.S. military. What exactly did America represent to the Afghans that elicited this extraordinary faith?
Today in the United States, we are facing an increasing deficit of national pride in our younger generation, an unprecedented military recruitment crisis, and a lack of coherence in our strategic communications with our foreign audiences. In order to more effectively communicate with these audiences, we have to know the value system that America stands for. We can start by asking what America represents to the Afghans who trusted our military as well as the refugees from across the globe seeking safe haven in our country.
I sat down with Jazz Cannon to discuss these values from the perspective of a woman who escaped the Taliban regime with her family. We also discussed the intersection between Christians, Muslims, and Jews and why it’s more important than ever to join forces against the jihadist terrorist networks proliferating across the Middle East.
About Vets4NRF: https://www.vets4nrf.org/ Vets4NRF is an organization comprised of Afghans and U.S. military veterans committed to the freedom of Afghanistan from the Taliban. Its members are active on Capitol Hill encouraging the U.S. government to enact national security policies that are beneficial to both countries.
* * *
About Jessica Lauren Walton: Jessica is a communications strategist, video producer, and writer in the U.S. defense sector. She has written articles on a range of security and mental health topics and conducted interviews with military leadership, CIA officers, law enforcement, psychologists, filmmakers, and more. Jessica recently completed her memoir about her experience as an American woman struggling with mental illness while trying to get into Israeli intelligence.
Sign up to receive regular blog pieces to your inbox and notification of the memoir release here.