The cold war was never cold. The United States and Russia just used the heat of other countries as their own. That fact is undeniable.

After America’s loss in Vietnam, one would think our leaders would have learned their lesson, but instead, they moved us into the Middle East. After the Soviet Union fell and we abandoned Afghanistan ─ a country we so eagerly used for our own purposes ─ of course a group like the Taliban swooped in and took advantage of the situation.

Then things escalated so quickly that we found bloodshed on our own soil in 2001, and once again, went into Afghanistan. Proxy wars are never won. They create more conflict and more suffering. The fall of Afghanistan, after 20 years of being occupied by America, has displayed that in broad daylight.

Since Kabul fell the sentiment that, “The Afghani people need to fight their own civil war,” has surfaced everywhere. It is true that the United States cannot remain a constant police presence in other countries forever, but overnight so many women and children lost all of their rights. They have been forced into hiding and subjected to more violence and oppression than any American has ever known here in the States.

Like an abused child, Afghanistan grew too old to be of any use and was cut off from its predatorial guardian. Biden sent it to wander through dangerous territory alone, and now the U.S. is pretending that Afghanistan created its own problems despite the fact that the country never had the opportunity to heal and grow and truly become its own entity in the modern age.  

So when does a proxy war become a civil war?

Is it when our leaders have too many of their own problems to deal with? Is it when the country our leaders manipulated for our own gain matures enough to host elections and instill a “President” who abandons them at the first sign of danger? Or is it when it’s most convenient for the U.S.?

The Afghan people are not like Americans. They are simpler. Their culture is nothing like ours and yet our government instilled democracy for them and then stepped back and wondered why they cannot handle it.

There was no civil war in Afghanistan. The Afghan soldiers our American troops attempted to train with Western tactics didn’t quite grasp the philosophy and foundation of everything we worked so desperately to teach them ─ mainly because the U.S. was doing it to win, to look good. I’m sure plenty of our troops cared, but very few of our leaders displayed a genuine concern for the people we took advantage of.

So the Afghan army that the U.S. trained didn’t put up a fight. They were led by a country they didn’t fully grasp after being used by them, and when the Taliban started conquering cities, they didn’t know what to do.

Afghanistan fell into despair when it was abandoned. The United States can shift blame, call the takeover a civil war, but it was always a proxy war, and we aren’t the ones who feel the greatest loss. The Afghan people are the true casualties.

But there is hope. Now that the Taliban has moved in and the people are desperate, a resistance is forming. Not a U.S. global police force or military industrial complex, but a real movement of people within their specific culture, working for the betterment of their own future.

It is odd to sit here in the west and see it unfold. American leaders may have instigated political issues and manipulated the Afghan people for their own purposes, but now that our troops have pulled out, the real fight begins. America’s proxy war finally shifted. It morphed into the civil war we pretended was happening, proving that self-fulfilling prophecies come true when those in power push enough.

The Taliban has renamed Afghanistan and are claiming themselves the victors. But when the President of Afghanistan fled ─ abandoning his people and proving his cowardice ─ someone remained. The Vice President, Amrullah Saleh, took responsibility. He has declared himself the leader and is fighting back.

Saleh is leading a resistance. He and his people are truly the underdogs in this situation. Female Afghan Governor Salim Mazari, remained as well but has been captured. She acknowledged that the Taliban will probably kill her and many fear for her safety.

So why does this matter to Americans?

Other than the fact that Biden pulled our troops out before our civilians, equipment, and weapons, he also committed to taking in 30,000 refugees.

Leaving arms and equipment to terrorists while stranding our own people is enough to be considered treason, but importing a war because pro-immigration policies look good for democrat images does nothing to solve the issue. Our country is already dealing with mass inflation, the border crisis, and a culture war.

We need to support Amrullah Saleh and his fighters. The American people may not be able to control our leaders directly, but we can influence and change policy if we push hard enough. If we become desperate enough… like the people of Afghanistan.

The United States may be on the brink of civil war itself. What we’re witnessing in Afghanistan right now is akin to our own issues combating extremism. But as long as people like Saleh remain, there is hope.

He is the survivor who refuses to back down. He is a true leader ─ one that directly contrasts with our current administration’s weak policy and frail leadership. He embodies the American values of bravery and freedom more than most of our own politicians. His struggle, and that of his people, should be a lesson to us who are ready to fight for our own values here at home.