After the anniversary of 9/11, many Americans feel conflicted about our role in Afghanistan. Whatever we each feel should be tempered by the realization that our fight against the extremists who attacked us 20 years ago is ongoing. We have forces deployed to dozens of nations in a conflict that will extend through the remainder of this century.
The choices we now face are how, when, and, at times, where to fight. Having spent almost a third of my adult life training, fighting and planning for war, I can assure you there are no easy choices. There are none without risk; none possessed of certainty; none that do not cost us treasure and youth. It is easy to cast blame for the collapse of Afghanistan’s government because there’s plenty to go around.
I suggest we instead be concerned with drawing lessons from this experience. We must do better in this fight. We must also find ways to honor the unfinished work of those men and women, living and dead, who sacrificed in Afghanistan.
If there is something beautiful and noble to be taken from our experience, we need to look no further than to the work now being done with Afghan refugees.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve received several texts from three men participating in the relocation of refugees. I was best man at the weddings of two; the other was a college roommate. All three are retired military officers, one of whom fought in Afghanistan. These are hard, competent men with big hearts and a deep love for our great nation.
The work they now do should usher in the most popular immigrant group to ever come to our shores. American cities, particularly in the people-starved Midwest, should be lobbying hard to receive these Afghan immigrants. This population is mostly educated and is largely composed of families whose men fought alongside us against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
This is a small group. Fewer Afghans will come to America than the number of people who crossed our southern border illegally in any single month of the Trump or Biden presidencies. Still, these immigrants are enough to help resurrect several struggling cities around the nation. Let me offer a simple example from the city where I live and work.
Suppose Muncie were to invite 500 families to relocate to the city. This number seems large, but it is really only two or three families for each church. An excess of 5,000 vacant homes dot our city, many of which are owned by the county. Surely the citizens of a great city could clean up and furnish 500 homes, provide clothing and basic appliances, and set up that many households. Our county’s employers, who complain of a deep shortage of workers, should be anxious for an influx of talent.
A successful embrace of these Afghan refugees would help restore our damaged reputation. This is another moment when the decency and goodness of the American people must shine.
We can honor the sacrifices of our service members who fought in Afghanistan by simply doing what is right. In the months after 9/11, the world flocked to assist us, with many recalling the generosity Americans have shown the world for a century. This is an opportune moment to prove our allies right in their judgment of us.
Michael J. Hicks, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and the George and Frances Ball distinguished professor of economics in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University. His column appears in Indiana newspapers. Send comments to [email protected].
