By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-11-01 21:54:34 | Updated at 2024-11-02 06:24:07
8 hours ago
CV NEWS FEED // Prince Wafa, a former Afghan interpreter for U.S. forces and now a U.S. citizen, has endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. He cited the former president’s approach to foreign policy and commitment to U.S. allies as a stark contrast to the Biden administration.
Wafa, who risked his life alongside American troops during the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, expressed frustration with the “failed leadership” of the Biden administration, The Stream reported.
Wafa noted that during Trump’s four years in office, Afghanistan saw fewer American casualties and relative stability. According to Wafa, Trump’s policies maintained peace and offered support to allies in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Israel.
“In the preceding four years, under the administration of Donald Trump, our country experienced a period of relative peace and prosperity,” Wafa said, according to The Stream. He cited Trump’s dedication to American values, free speech, and the rule of law, despite opposition and challenges.
Addressing the critical choice voters must make in just a few days, Wafa stated:
[A]s we stand on the precipice of change, it is imperative to remember the sacrifices made by our servicemen and allies. The tragic events in Afghanistan, resulting in the loss of thirteen American lives and the abandonment of those who aided our cause, serve as a stark reminder of the consequences of failed leadership. As an Afghan interpreter who witnessed the consequences firsthand, I carry the weight of those memories with me.
According to Wafa, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden administration left him and others in dangerous circumstances, The Stream reported. Wafa’s journey to safety was a particularly harrowing ordeal.
After the U.S. withdrawal, he spent more than 50 days in Kabul, with his life and his wife’s under constant threat from the Taliban due to the American passport he carried.
In a desperate bid to escape, Wafa reached out to his former commander, who connected him with Jason Jones of the Vulnerable People Project (VPP). Jones offered an evacuation plan, which could secure safe passage for Wafa and his wife out of Afghanistan, but at a cost of $175,000 — a sum the nonprofit would cover.
Despite his dire situation, Wafa ultimately declined, citing his wife’s reservations about the dangerous overland route. However, as Jones would later learn, Wafa’s decision was driven by a deeper motive: He wanted to save the resources to help feed Afghan allies still stranded and struggling in his homeland.
“[My wife is] not afraid of anything,” Wafa told Jones, “I just didn’t want you to waste all that money on me.”
Instead, Wafa requested that the money be used to set up a food distribution program to “begin feeding our allies who have been abandoned, to begin feeding the poorest of the Afghans.”
Wafa finally reached the U.S. by plane. However, he voiced concern for Afghan allies and U.S. citizens who were left vulnerable to the Taliban by the Biden administration.
“How can you leave a U.S. citizen with the background that I have, that can be hunted at any time? How can you leave them there?” he told ABC News.
In considering the upcoming election, he encouraged Americans to reflect on leadership that values stability, allyship, and integrity.
“It is my unwavering belief in the importance of honoring promises and preserving the values that define us as a nation that motivates my support for Donald Trump,” Wafa said.
Wafa now operates a successful business in San Diego, and works with VPP to advocate for fellow Afghan allies who remain in need of support.
