Hey everyone , welcome back to the Radio Resistance Podcast . I'm Kumail here with my co-host and brother , zubair John . Today's episode well , it might surprise some of you we're talking about why , as Afghan Americans , we're choosing to vote for Donald Trump .
Now , I know that's not something you hear every day , especially in our community , but there's a lot behind this decision . Think about the conversations you've had with other Afghan Americans friends , family , people in our community . Why do you think this shift is resonating with so many from our communities ?
Well , I think it's because what we've seen for the last three years and that's why I don't think it should be surprising to many , at least to the Afghan community it really shouldn't be surprising because it's been a disaster for three years . The situation in Afghanistan , meaning under the Biden administration , the Biden-Harris administration .
So Kamala Harris would just be an extension of Joe Biden , of his policies , and do we want to see four more years of this right ? I think that's . It's really that simple .
Exactly exactly , and it's not just about Afghanistan either . There's also this growing feeling that our values , things like family , faith and tradition , aren't reflected in the way we thought they'd be .
So we'll get into all of that today , but first , so let's talk about what's happened in Afghanistan , specifically Biden's approach , the withdrawal , and where USAID is actually going right now .
Yeah , so I think that's number one right . For three years it's been sending cash shipments to the Taliban . A lot of people get surprised by that when you mention that to , whether it's just ordinary Americans or even sometimes some Afghans who aren't really haven't been following the situation .
They'll average a minimum of 40 million dollars a week , but if you actually look at the larger sum , it's closer to 80 million dollars every 10 days . So these are . We've seen this . That Afghanistan Central Bank confirmed it , like they acknowledge this and they're saying thank you for this money .
Right , afghanistan Central Bank is run by the taliban , the afghanistan bank and yeah , cash shipments , shrink-wrapped cash shipments going to afghanistan every 10 days , 80 million dollars . That's the reason the taliban are still standing . So all right , what do you think about that ?
no , yeah , right , that's the frustrating part . Um , the intention , you know , might be to help , but the reality is that this funding is flowing through channels that are , as Zubair John mentioned , controlled by the Taliban . It's hard to watch , knowing you know that the people who need that aid the most are actually the least likely to receive it .
No-transcript with a regime that now it's like it's not even if we say openly oppresses its people and it crushes the sand . It's , it's , we're past that . It's the only country in the world where girls haven't been able to go to school for three years now .
Yeah , and we'll look , we'll get into the specific details , but it's like the logic behind what's happening , right . So , so , okay , pull out . Then . It's like sustaining this status quo , which is , well , since we left the country , we ended this war .
Well , we're not going to fight them now , so we might as well not look bad and just keep sending the Taliban money to at least let the country be standing , so it doesn't make the mess on us , right ? So it doesn't look like we created this mess and that whatever is happening there is our problem . But that is what is happening , right .
It's like , well , the Taliban , since day one they started in the very beginning started marching their suicide bombing armies From the very beginning . Girls' schools get shut down , all the edicts of women not being able to go out in public , and all that going after former soldiers . So it's like that happened from the very beginning and there's no accountability .
He never biden , never raised his , his voice , he never mentioned , mentioned any of this stuff right , it's just .
There's been no acknowledgement whatsoever exactly no acknowledgement .
It's just like oh , afghanistan's done , now let's just leave that in the background while we're sending them on you know low-key sending them 80 million dollars every 10 days . It's in the past . Now no one's going to ask about afghanistan because the war is over and it's like three years of that , while all these human rights violations are happening .
We've been following it and we don't .
We don't want this to happen anymore , like we're done with this exactly , exactly , and here's where the shift comes in for a lot of us . We see that you know a leader . We need a leader who's willing , at the very very least , to stop this funding , you know , to make a strong stand against regimes like the Taliban . Right , there might be other .
Can I stop you , sorry , one second . Yeah , go ahead At the very very least one step , even before that , at the very very least acknowledging the screw up .
It's like okay , this is .
This is a mess acknowledging that , yeah , that's a terrorist regime over there and yeah , we could have done this better and , yeah , we should probably do something to change what's happening and then there you go . So that's for the first step . The second step is now what do we do ? I don't know . Maybe let's stop sending them $80 million every 10 days .
Yeah , and so President Trump's stance is a lot clearer on this . You know , we never saw any sort of like endless aid to governments that don't respect human rights .
You know , and a lot of people criticize the whole agreement itself engaging itself , and that's a whole discussion , discussion in and of itself , which well , let's just wanted to get into , okay , well , sure , just let me just ask you if I'm like , I'm the layman , I'm asking you so what agreement ?
why are people blaming trump ?
yeah , so the doha agreement was a um . You know what essentially led to the fall of Afghanistan , and this is an agreement that many you know associate and affiliate to Donald Trump's prior , previous presidency .
It's because the Doha agreement started Doha talks and the Doha agreement was signed under President Donald Trump's presidency , and the Doha Agreement was signed under President Donald Trump's presidency . So what that was ?
It was a series of talks that began with the intention of , when withdrawal of the US and NATO troops were announced by the government of the United States , they saw a need for intra-Afghan peace talks , and this was the new approach . Was that , you know , we need to have the Taliban included in these peace talks as well .
That was the idea behind , like the framework of this agreement . Now , there were issues . There were plenty of issues with the agreement itself . It excluded the people of Afghanistan . It excluded the people of the United States of America as well .
This whole plan was now orchestrated by an individual called Zalmay Khalilzad , and this individual was appointed , during President Trump's time , as the special ambassador for Afghanistan , and thankfully , president Trump sees , you know the trickery and the deceit and has called this individual a con man , for you know what he has done .
More importantly though , zubair John , many in relation to the Doha agreement .
What I wanted to bring up was that many you know bring this up and try to say that it was , yeah , during President Trump's time , but they always forget to mention how this agreement , and the part of it that made us feel safe still under President Donald Trump , is that it was a conditions-based agreement , and we know how President Trump operates with such
situations . If a terrorist organization is going to try to strong arm or try to , you know , and then we don't even need to speculate here . We heard it from the horse's mouth , as they say . We heard from President Trump's mouth . This deal was terminated the second that the Taliban broke it .
Now , from that time till now , how many other violations the Taliban have had . That has given President Biden numerous opportunities to come out and say , hey , you know what ? That agreement that was signed under my predecessor's time ? It was a horrible agreement , and here's the proof for it . Here's the proof . The Taliban have been doing this , this and this .
We haven't seen that . And the reason that he's not doing that is it because it must just be , because , well , he executed the deal and it just went horribly under his execution and if he brings it up now it will make him look bad . You want to know what the proof is .
You know what the proof is for that ? Well , I hadn't even heard you express this before , but the proof here is when Kamala Harris in that debate brings up Afghanistan the only time . She was asked sometime after that if there was anything that she'd do different , and I was expecting honestly to hear like , like maybe Afghanistan be brought up .
Nothing , she says , I wouldn't have done anything different . She claims to have been the last one in the room when the withdrawal decisions was made .
That's a very important point then .
So like right there .
That's like when people say well , why are you guys voting for Trump , right ? That's another very just common sense point . I mean . Kamala Harris asked what would you have done different to avoid this chaotic , destructive , embarrassing withdrawal and the policy for the last three years what would you have done different ? And she says nothing .
So well , she was asked a little bit more generally as far as , like during the entire time of her vice presidency , what would it ? Was there anything you would have done differently ? And she couldn't have mentioned Afghanistan . She was able to . My point with bringing it up in the debate . That was just to score a point is the point .
She was just trying to score a point , just as just like how Biden , with the smirk on his face , said , said it that one time , just a few months after August in 2021 , you know , it was a deal signed by President Trump and that's it .
Everything after that , all every mistake , everything that happened , just brush it under the rug to protect the legacy of our non-president president , whoever our president is actually . Yeah , so that's what it comes down to then .
So this deal Trump was , you know , he comes up with this idea sits with , with his representatives , with his experts , and stuff goes to . They go to Doha , they have this deal . The deal has conditions , like any deal , like when you sign a lease right For an apartment . Right , you're leasing out an apartment .
There's terms and conditions to the lease right , fine print and everything . In fact , that stuff isn't even in fine print . It's part of , like , the main you know the core leases . Yeah , the core text is like okay , you're going to get this apartment for this much per month . However , you cannot do these things and you have to do these things .
So , naturally , if you're the building owner , you're the landlord and your tenant doesn't they violate any of those things . What happens ? The lease is over , you're out , you violated the lease , you're done . And that's one of the things trump as a developer , right as a businessman he gets this . That's why he said it . He's like he was terminated .
He's like he's like it's done , because now you embarrassed me .
We had a deal and you guys violated everything , and this administration won't even acknowledge that it was violated , because they carried out the deal , they executed it and then they were in charge of following through with the deal for the next three years and they they just completely , instead of even acknowledging it . They're like they made it worse .
They're like here you go . Here's $40 million a week for what you're doing $40 million .
Yeah , that just makes me , you know , to our next point as well . It's not just , you know , about cutting aid . It's about who the united states chooses to support instead . Right , um , so , the people in afghanistan who , when the fall happened in august 2021 , after the as the withdrawal was happening , kabul collapses , the taliban take over .
Right um , the people in afghanistan ? There was , there were people who continued what the US government under Biden ended , which was the war on terror . Right , the people in Afghanistan ?
There are people in there who are still fighting for democracy and freedom , and they are who deserve America's backing , right , okay , so who I'm referring to is about the resistance in Afghanistan . You know , we're not the only ones who felt abandoned by US policies .
There are people in Afghanistan , the ones who've risked their lives fighting the Taliban , who feel it even more deeply . Zoya , can you give our listeners some background on who these democratic resistance fighters are ?
Yeah , so obviously those the way you said it . It sounds nice for our American friends democratic resistance fighters fighting for democracy and freedom but for our own listeners I just want to make this clear you know , our I mean our own Afghan crowd , because sometimes they'll be like they're turned , they've grown cynical to this .
Oh , we're fighting for democracy or freedom . Listen , it's actually simpler than that , right ? They're not even just . They're not fighting for necessarily democracy , they're fighting for basic human rights . They're fighting against clear and apparent oppression .
If anyone comes into your house right without asking and they come in and they I don't know do terrible things to your house right without asking , and they come in and they I don't know do terrible things to your family members , to your wife and to your daughters , you're going to fight back , you're going to defend your house , and it's that simple .
That's what the resistance is doing . So , yeah , the president fled , the army collapses , people go into hiding . But one person decided to take a stand , and that's Commander Ahmed Massoud , who said no , I'm not leaving , I'm going to do what my father would have done and I'm going to fight for this country . Goes to Panjshir . They mobilize .
The resistance is fighting till this day .
They're in the mountains .
They're doing guerrilla attacks throughout key cities without who are those people ?
Who are the actual forces ?
Yeah , and those are people who served the country for 20 years . Right , they were members of the . Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces . The left behind allies , right , the left behind allies exactly these are people who you know put their life on the line . They served the country for 20 years .
These are now the generals and commanders in the nrf , in the national resistance front . Yeah , these are , these are people who you know switching back to , I guess , our american listeners and viewers , um , broadly , generally , american , afghan , american , any sort of american um , that's who I want to speak to right now .
You know these , as the resistance fighters , are people who I hate to say were , I want to say are our allies , but they were . They were our allies during the war on terror . We , our government , decided to end that war . It's an ongoing one . It's gotten even more dangerous , even more dangerous .
In any case , they stood with the United States and now they're fighting to protect the values we all believe in freedom , human rights , the right to an education . But under this administration , these groups have all been overlooked , not being engaged with whatsoever . We're engaging with terrorists who are not with the democratic forces of afghanistan .
That's the painful irony of it all . These are again individuals who share , or people who share our values , who want to free afghanistan , who've literally as zubair john mentioned as well put their lives on the line for democracy . Um , supporting them , you should , it's a natural choice , right ?
but um instead , they're left out in the cold right , and the thing is they were also our allies from even further back right , the since the 80s , when afghanistan was fighting the soviet union , america was supporting afghanistan in that fight because they didn't . They didn't want communism to , to grow and to expand , to take over .
So naturally , the us found an ally in afghanistan , which was our people , who are like we don't want communism either .
Keyword naturally .
Naturally it's like common sense . So what did they do ? They supported the Mujahideen . And who was the key Mujahideen fighter who was dubbed as the Afghan who won the Cold War , ahmad Shah Massoud . So he later , you know , his group , after the Soviet Union is defeated , then becomes the leading group to fight terrorism within Afghanistan the Taliban , al Qaeda .
And then when 9-11 happens , right America goes right back to this group , who then they dub as the Northern Alliance , and they say , ok , let's fight the Taliban , let's take them down . And his son , whose image is behind me , is now leading that fight . So it's like this is nothing new this shouldn't be anything new for america .
This is nothing new for , uh , you know people to understand right .
Yeah , and here's where , you know , president trump's perspective really comes into play . Um , you know , say what you will about his approach , but President Trump's foreign policy it often was focused on strong alliances and very much clear boundaries .
We do believe that he'd be more likely to stand with the democratic resistance in Afghanistan , rather than the softer approach that we're seeing now . Can I add ?
to that , yeah , please . So it's not . And at the same time , we don't just believe it . Right , it's , of course , what we're doing is an educated guess , as some would say . It's like , well , put two and two together , this is likely what will happen . But we've also seen proof of this in the last three years . So America isn't completely a lost shot , right ?
Like we've seen some things from certain members of the US government , right ? People who are in Congress Haven't we seen it , kumail ? Like , who have been the few people who have raised their voice out of concern for the people of Afghanistan , for the situation there , they're like , what the hell is going on there ?
Like we can't just forget Afghanistan , like there's something serious is going on there . The Taliban are just oppressing people with impunity . Meanwhile , we had an entire army who sacrificed for that country , many of them who are veterans , and now they've become , you know , policymakers and whatnot .
But those congressmen who supported our fight , who are saying , well , we should be supporting the resistance instead of these terrorists , who will not just be a harm for Afghanistan but will end up dealing with terrorists and attacking us one day , right ?
So can I just ask you , kamal , what party do those people belong to Do those people support Kamala Harris they're the gop but , specifically under under um trump , and under trump's leadership , I think he's even , you know , shaping and shifting the , the , uh , I would say reviving more so , but , yes , the entire gop's platform , um , and , and this is why , you
know , so many afghan americans are looking to trump's leadership . We're not just talking about a political stance , it's a solidarity . It's solidarity with people who share our dreams for a free Afghanistan . So it's not just about foreign policy alone either . There's another layer to this , and I think this is , you know , something that also appeals to many .
It's why we see Trump's values seem to resonate with so many in our community . You know , afghan culture is rooted in family , faith and community , and lately there's a sense that those values are being dismissed or downplayed by one side of the aisle . So , yeah , I was just going to ask you .
Just so it's more clear , though when you're saying like values are you talking about ? Like the left , like we've seen this rise in this woke culture , right ? Is that what you're referring ?
to ? Let me put it this way , I think yes , and I think it comes down to respect . You know , in our culture , family isn't just important , it's everything right . We prioritize our faith , we have respect for our traditions and we want those values to be preserved , not become politicized , right ?
President Trump's platform today , for all its you know criticism , emphasizes family structure , religious freedom and respect for tradition in a way that resonates with a lot of us . And , exactly as you said , we see that it's not just the far left . It's become what the Democratic Party stands for . It's the opposite of these values .
Exactly , and that's the point I was trying to basically , I guess pry from you is we see what's happening , right ?
I mean , we have family members , whether it's your niece or nephew or your cousins , that are in grade school and they're being taught things that 10 years ago even , but definitely 20 , 30 , 40 years ago would be seen as like not just it would be appalling , it'd be insane . It's like what are we teaching these kids ? And ?
Yeah just a very , and we're not alone in this zubair john .
It's not just the afghans . We've seen in other muslim communities too right , of course .
It's not even muslims , bro , it's not . It's not just muslims , of course , muslim community , afghan immigrant community in general , and just normal people , to be honest . Normal like white .
Americans considered Americans .
Yeah , it's like they don't . They don't like this stuff . It's like what are we teaching these kids ? It's like what happened to family values , what happened to respecting our elders and respecting religion and all these things ? Meanwhile we , the left , has been making a mockery out of these things we saw just the Olympics , remember in Paris ?
What the hell was that about ? Just the things that were going on there mocking Christianity .
Oh , right right outside In the opening ceremony I mean Kamala Harris said to a group of Christians sorry , it's a bit of a joke a group of Christians at her own rally who were chanting um , uh , jesus is king or jesus is lord , something along those lines , and she tells them , like , get out of here .
I think you know you guys are at the wrong rally , because there was apparently a trump rally just a few blocks away . It's like is that who you want as commander in chief , as president of the United States of America ? Someone who dismisses Christians , for it wasn't even a slogan against her .
So us who are Muslim , and you're telling us that we're crazy for supporting somebody who you know put up a travel ban for reasons that pertain to national security and have nothing to do with racism or a specific group of people .
There were Muslims allowed during that time to come and fly here freely from Muslim countries in the world , but there were certain Muslim countries where we see there is a high security threat and it only makes sense to restrict travel for some time from those countries , you know , until there's more stability , until there's more peace in their country , or they're not
to be . So , yeah , I mean , no part of that is crazy . They want us to think and believe that this is crazy . Zubair John , no part of this is crazy . We're the rational ones here and they're crazy for making us , or wanting us to think that this is crazy .
Gaslighting yeah that's the definition of gaslighting . But since you just mentioned that , can we go to that point now , or do you want to mention the ? I know we wanted to talk about the security issue as well . Do you want to touch on that first ? Because about the security issue as well .
Do you want to touch on that first Because , since you just mentioned that Muslim ban thing I was going to bring up , let's bring up the parallels between what we're seeing from the Arab Muslim community right lately in the last couple of days .
Oh yeah , let's go ahead and discuss that , yeah .
Okay , Because it relates with it before we go off topic . So that's funny that you mentioned that the Muslim ban and things like that . Okay , so the entire Muslim Arab community . In the first election right , 2016 , when Trump was running , it was like unanimous . Everyone was like screw Trump , we're not voting for this guy . He hates Muslims .
He's going to deport us all . He's going to throw us in concentration camps or whatever internment camps . He's going to block our family members from coming in . We can't leave , we can't come . It was just like this hysteria , right , the fear mongering . Literally everyone was like we had bought into all of it and we're like we're doomed . Islam is over .
You know we're not going to be able to practice our religion . This know , we're not going to be able to practice our religion . This guy hates us . What happened , though ? Right , the reality is none of that really happened . In fact , most muslims during that time , most arabs , not most like , literally , it's just it was . We survived .
Nothing happened , like we didn't face this backlash . We didn't face , uh and that's not to say were there cases of incidents of islamophobia . Did islamophobia trend up and down during certain times ? Of course it did , just like it did post 9-11 .
It happens , it goes , it goes up and down , and there are certain groups who exploited this trump presidency , and you know , but nothing happened , right ? And then what are we seeing happening in the last couple of days , starting with michigan , I think .
Last week , right , group of imams , like muslim leaders , not like a random guy like me and you know , like a muslim leader , beard thobe and imam comes out with several other guys , other imams from an arab community in michigan and they say it's a trump rally and they're like we're supporting donald trump . Would we ever think that this is going to happen ?
Right , like never in a million years ? Did we think that , oh my God , that the Arab community , the Muslim Arab community , is going to support Donald Trump ? Why is that happening ? Like what's ? What is the biggest cause of the biggest concern for the Muslim Arab community right now ?
It's the Middle East , right , the conflict that's happening in several different areas in the Middle East , starting from the war in Gaza . So I think that this is something we need to tell people who are critiquing us for saying well , how could you support Trump Things he said in the past against Muslims , his policies ?
Look , if the Arab community is coming out and they're in large numbers saying we're with biden after everything that's happened , we're done with this , we're done with not just not biden , but the biden harris extension , kamala , harris democratic party in general , that whole establishment , we're done with it . Uh , then , of course .
Then we have double the reason to . You know to well , we're also done with Kamala .
Harris and we're going to support Trump Go ahead . Yeah , no , yeah , exactly . It's coming from a common place of , I guess , frustration , right , and this shift . It makes complete sense to me .
I think a lot of us you know , afghan Americans , arab Americans and other Muslim communities , americans , arab Americans and other Muslim communities we're feeling a very strong sense of , and a growing sense of disconnect with , this current administration , and I guess the Kamala administration would ultimately be the same .
I mean , there hasn't even been any attempts of engagement with the community . From what I see , engagement with the community , from what I see For President Trump , we see , you know , despite so many around him being accused of certain notions , of whatever sort or extremes , you know , we see engagement happening .
We see , just as you said , an amount of community there . These are communities that have traditionally supported Democrats . They're now questioning that loyalty because , you know , they feel their concerns are , they're not being . It's not even a matter of represented anymore , it's respected in any way .
Right , for years , zubair John , I just wanted to come back to what you mentioned about the travel ban and stuff . Right , I myself I believed , like many , that , you know , the Democratic Party was the natural choice for Muslims and immigrant communities . Right , I rallied . I remember , I'll never forget this .
I rallied for Bernie Sanders and said , shoulder to shoulder with people you know , from different backgrounds , who were at the time fighting for change . There were protests that I , in a sense , to a degree , led against . You know , president Trump's travel ban back in the day . And , yeah , we genuinely believe we're supporting a platform that aligned with our values .
But what happened , you know , since then , just like I guess you know this Arab American community , in Detroit , I began , you know , to feel that our voices and our values were there entirely being silenced today , sidelined .
This administration's approach to the Biden administration's approach to the Middle East , especially , you know , its support for policies that to many in the Arab community seem to favor one side without understanding the deeper human costs . It's left people disillusioned , right . And then Harris's attempts you know this is something her attempts to address these concerns .
Everyone sees it for what it is . It's insincere . I just saw something . Cnn exposed this right , she had like messaging , one specific kind of messaging uh , being put out in detroit and michigan and then the complete opposite . I can't remember which state it was , but uh , basically the exact opposite . Yeah in pennsylvania .
Yeah for um , the jewish communities there , right , like what are you doing everyone ? We all see You're not doing anything but hurting yourself . So sorry , you know . Just to like conclude this isn't just about party loyalty anymore . It's truly about accountability real policies that you know address our concerns and respect for our values .
That's what it all comes down to and that's why I , like many Arab Americans in Detroit , am willing to support President Donald Trump . It's not a protest vote . This is not just a protest vote . It's a call for leadership that doesn't take us for granted and holds those in relation to policies and individuals who are responsible for policies accountable Right .
We want to see some real change .
Enough is enough but you know even if it is a protest , even if it is a protest vote , that's good enough . If someone wants to do it as a protest vote , to vote for trump instead of kamala harris , whether it's the arab community , muslim community or afghans , that's fair enough .
Due to the backstabbing , the betrayal right , the insult to our intelligence , what's happened , that's , that's fair right to say that .
But then the strategic reasons and just , uh , you know , for example , I was saying the arab community why they're doing it is because the middle east , literally the way that it , that what's going on right now , it literally cannot get worse than what's happening . Right , it's a complete mess .
The amount of people that have been killed right when , when trump was asked about this is right now , it literally cannot get worse than what's happening . Right , it's a complete mess the amount of people that have been killed .
Right when Trump was asked about this , he said well , this would never have happened if I were president , this wouldn't have happened to begin with . And so that's number one . Number two is well , they also realized that Donald Trump wouldn't have . I already mentioned the protest vote .
And then the third one is they knew that it wouldn't get go this , it wouldn't go on for this long , to this extent and magnitude under a Trump administration . Because that's again , it's part of his nature , part of the way that he operates .
He wouldn't allow something for this to go on for this long because he'd be like it's making me look bad , it makes america look bad . Of course , some might say , well , it's about his own ego . Well , fine , okay , he doesn't want to look bad . He says this we look weak and he says I'm embarrassed on behalf of the us and he vows change .
So I think those things right , there is enough for the arab communities on the middle east issue and for afghans on our issue . The parallel is there .
And one more thing I just want to say before we switch get to the next point is when we saw the community in the Somalian community in Minnesota just yesterday come out and say also we're coming out in support of Trump and he said the same thing . He's like I know many of you are going to be surprised . He's like .
But to his own community he's saying we know why we're doing this is because he mentions his reasons . But one of the things he says he admits he's like I know Trump is a jerk . He says a more vile word there . He says I know he's a jerk . He says things directly .
He could be mean , what did he say as a ?
man , we have a bleeper on this show or we'll take care . He says that the a-hole , right , he says so . He says I know trump is that . He's like . He says things . He's very uh , whatever he doesn't , he says it as it is , doesn't shy away . He's like but , um , at the same time , nothing happened to us . What I was saying earlier .
He's like , in in the four years that he was president , he's like we were fine and we know that those things were misrepresented anyway , he wasn't going to . It was . That was the fear mongering , right , the propaganda against him that you're all going to get deported and that you know he hates you guys . That's not true . So he's like nothing happened to us .
And the last thing that he said right , he's like some of you guys are sad that I'm saying that I'm abandoning my party . He's like well , guess what ? I did not abandon my party , my party abandoned me . Those are Democrats , all those Somalian immigrants , those are all lifelong Democrats . And now they're .
They finally realized that they're like no , we're being used , we're literally just being used and they're not delivering for us . And , of course , the other things that you mentioned the family values , the conservative traditional values , this , this party , the left , the kamala harris , doesn't align with us , whereas donald trump , his values do align with us .
So , yeah , anyway , those were the parallels there . Now , coming back to Afghanistan , however , you want to wrap this up . I don't know if you had a next point .
Yeah , no , there was . There's a lot of points , man . One thing that I did want to mention was as far as security , right , yes , so security is something that's very much close , I would say , to every Afghan and , of course , afghan Americans , and I'm sorry .
So , national security for us over here , right , I guess we did discuss this a bit when we were mentioning , you know , biden's , this current administration's approach and how this affects us over here .
But to be a little more specific , right right now in Afghanistan , you have a situation that some this is how many national security experts will explain it or put it to you . I'll say we're right now on September 10th 2001 , one day before 9-11 . That's the current situation .
But those who actually know , those who actually know what's cooking , what's brewing in Afghanistan , they'll tell you it's not September 10th , it's unprecedented . That's the truth . The reality is , we've never actually seen a situation like how we see today in Afghanistan . You have thousands of jihadi training camps all throughout the country .
It's not just women and girls . Education Boys I'd rather boys not go to school . Girls' education Boys I'd rather boys not go to school . Any rational , sane parent would not want their boy to go to school under the Taliban's curriculum , because all it is is a suicide bomb training center , a jihadi training center . That's what these madrasas are essentially .
So when you have that cooking and brewing , you have 20 terrorist organizations , over 20 . This is all verified . The United Nations , bill Roggio from FTD , the Longboard Journal , former CIA targeter , sarah Adams you can go and access this information . It's public information .
It's very easy to get this data , to get this information and you'll see that , yes , over 20 . Al-qaeda affiliated terrorist organizations . You have ISIS , you have al-Qaeda . You have every single Islamist jihadist terrorist group on this planet today with a representation in the one and only Islamic emirate in the world .
Right , so that's been cooking , with us ignoring the situation . It's not just like in the 90s . People say that it's like in the 90s . No , in the 90s , technology was in advance as it is today . The Taliban didn't already have a 1.0 .
We see those who are in the Islamist terrorist world , supposed to be adversaries , enemies with one another , becoming friends on one day . Sajjan , dr Sajjan Gohel on CNN I remember this was back in 2021 . He was saying you know , between ISIS-K and Taliban , some say , hey , they're enemies , but the truth is it's like a marriage made in hell .
One day they're enemies of one another , the next day they're getting married , they're marrying off each other's daughters , and so on . So all of that happening there , and we're here , not bothered . We do have a precedent .
We saw what happens when you leave Afghanistan , neglected , and that was 2001 , the biggest tragedy in our entire history here in the United States . You would think , you would think that we'd learn something , a thing or two .
Right , we've been told one thing , and one thing only after August , and that was that , oh , these over the horizon operations will be , will suffice for our national security . Who believes that is I haven't heard this from an Afghan American for me to be able to really , like you know , discuss , but yeah , who actually is convinced by that ?
You know those us relying on , on the Taliban , and you know whatever capabilities we have over the horizon is going to suffice for our national security . So what's to come if we do nothing ? It's much worse than 9-11 . That's the point that our national security right now is .
This is not for fear mongering , or you know , and I'm trying to , on this point , really speak to my dear sisters and brothers from Afghanistan , afghan Americans here . You know better than most that this isn't something that we're exaggerating here .
We both know all of us know what the Taliban are capable of , right , they hosted terrorists and weren't willing to give up their leader one time . Now you have terrorist disneyland in avalanche . What they're going to do , I mean , we don't even want to think about that , but yeah .
So voting for president trump , to wrap things up over here , voting for president trump is one way to avoid , you know , any , any unwanted disasters , any more unwanted disasters , from happening . Imagine this was the start of president biden's presidency .
Right now , four years of this , without a shadow of a doubt , we'd have , uh , we'd see those threats , national security threats actually coming . Yeah , you know , happening yeah , I think it's .
And what also is is important is that trump it's not just us assuming what he would do . I mean , he's said it over and over in many different interviews that everyone who is responsible for this disaster , they're going to be fired , right . I think that's something that's very important . If you want a continuation of policy , then you the same .
Oh , that's right to be there you want a ? continuation of policy . The same people are going to be there , but when you think that there needs to be change , well , you've got to shuffle it around , You've got to get rid of people , You've got to change policy . And Trump has said that .
He said these people day one , by 12 o'clock , all of them should be fired . So that's as an Afghan .
As an Afghan , if nothing else . If nothing else , right , because what can you expect ? You know , it's been years of nothingness after the betrayal , the great betrayal . So , if nothing more than just that because that's what we know for a fact , that's what we can hold the president accountable to that .
What are you basing your vote for Kamala in relation to Afghanistan ? What are you basing it off of ? Her cackle her , chuckle her , laugh . You have nothing , absolutely nothing . You have reason to not vote for her . That's all you have . It's just reason to not vote for her Claims that she was the last one in the room . She wouldn't change anything .
Okay , let's just give a give , our vote .
I think I'm sorry . This made me emotional , man .
Yeah , no , um , you know , when you said like why would you , I think the only people who are still , if you're from afghanistan , right , and you say that you , you're against the taliban and you you say that you care about what's happening there , but you're still gonna vote for kamala harris , at that point , what ?
What you're really just showing what it it is let's just be honest , just admit it is that you don't want to admit , you don't want to change , you don't want to say , hey , I'm going to go back on those things that I used to say . Those mean , you know me calling out Trump and stuff like that . That's so hard for people to do ?
Ultimately , it's the ego .
It's the ego . It's the ego . It's hard for me to admit that . Yeah , I guess he wasn't that bad . I thought in 2016 , all of this stuff was going to happen deportations and Muslim Islam was over and stuff like that but it didn't happen . So , yeah , I have to admit it's not going to happen now .
They don't want to say that it's because when you have a history of your Facebook posts all against Trump and now you have to come out and say I'm going to support Trump . That's a big ego hit . People don't want to do that and it's like people are also stuck in these . What do you want to call it ? Identity politics or that ? It's really tribalism .
If you think about it . The definition of tribalism doesn't mean like you are supporting . It's not like a literal tribal culture in a jungle . Supporting it's not like a literal tribal culture in a jungle .
Tribalism means whatever sect or group you belong to , you just blindly follow them , even when they're wrong , and you don't want to change , you don't want to admit . When you're wrong , you don't want to admit , you don't want to attempt to change , you don't want to look elsewhere .
It's like no , this is my tribe , I back up my tribe , no matter what and it's like anyone that that just displays immaturity , that displays arrogance , like you have a big ego . But mature people , rational people , you know , just they they look past that , they grow . It's called maturing and it's like no , that oh yeah .
I had those idealistic things back in the day where , yeah , I don't , I don't want anything to happen against immigrants or I don't want you know , I don't like mean words I , I don't want anything to happen against immigrants or I don't want . You know , I don't like mean words , I don't like political incorrectness .
But it's like you grow and you're like wait a second , those things are really . We can deal with certain things . It doesn't have to be ideal . That's what idealistic right .
It doesn't have to be , it's not the ideal situation , but this is a better option for us and we need to be pragmatic , we need to be realistic and we should go for what the higher odds are for our favor , for our cause . And that's just what a lot of people aren't doing . They're stuck in their ways and they don't want to admit it anyway .
So I just hope , I really hope , our people understand that it's not about necessarily getting every Afghan . We're not here to convince the Afghan population to go out and vote for trump , no matter what , and and you're you know it's going to make or break the election .
We get that it's not a big enough population , necessarily , but at the same time , certain states , it might affect certain swing states or whatever cities it could . It could affect it . But but the bigger point is how can you do not insult your , do not like , allow yourself to just be used and and go for the party that's kicked us when we were down .
It's like I don't know this is .
this is exactly , you know . This is about being real with ourselves and asking , like what kind of future do we want to see ? Right , who do we trust to actually lead us there ? As you said , we're not here to tell you who to vote for , but we are here to say don't just vote because it's what you've always done , or don't vote that way .
Right , Vote because that's truly what you believe in At least that right . So you know , as election day comes up , yeah , we're asking you to take a step back , really think it over , talk to the people you trust . It's okay to question things , it's okay to change your mind .
What's important is that your vote reflects you know who you are and what you want for your community and for Afghanistan . And yeah , before we do wrap up , I just wanted to say it's not an easy decision . It's personal , it's complicated and it is uncomfortable for some of us , without a doubt . But yeah , that's also what I guess makes it so important .
You know we're at a point where each of us has to decide what really matters to us . You know , beyond any sort of party lines or labels , One thing I earlier , when I mentioned national security , I didn't get to actually conclude the point , I just wanted to mention how , under President Trump , it'd be different .
You know we have his previous administration as far as policies to look at and when we see in his administration he took very decisive actions against terrorist organizations and emphasized the importance of national security .
That's why I mentioned national security as a point , all of the situation that's brewing up and the threats that that emanating from Afghanistan , and why , under President Trump's presidency , we'd be safer ultimately . Yeah , I have nothing more to add , Zubair John , if there's anything you'd like to add before we wrap up , please .
No , I mean , I don't really have anything . I just want to make one general point . I think we should put ourselves in the shoes of the people who are also in Afghanistan . I understand we mentioned the points about how a Trump presidency would be good for our population here . Right , and that's great . But it could be two ways .
We could also have reasons for a back home , which we mentioned . There's nothing wrong with that . So when we say our people back home , would they want to see an extension another four years of what they've lived through in the last three years ?
Right , if you said , if you went to a random person in Afghanistan and said hey , you put the mic to their face and you say do you want another four years of this what you've been through in three , three years ? Four more years of Joe Biden , kamala Harris , would you want it ? No person in Afghanistan would say yes . They would say absolutely no .
What's the other option ? And we would say Donald Trump , who's about this ? But they would say , sure , we'll go with him because it can't be worse than her , and if he has said these things , then that's better for us . We're going to go with this . So it should be that simple when you think about what you want for Afghanistan , you're muted .
I was just saying yeah , absolutely , I'm in full with your minutes . Yeah , all right . Let's wrap this up so to our viewers and listeners . Thanks for listening Again . We know these are tough conversations , but they're also ones that we need to have if we want to see any kind of real change .
So , you know , go out , make your voice heard , let's be part of shaping something better . And remember it's all about building a future that respects us , our families and our values . Thanks again , and we'll be here next time to keep the conversation going . Until then , stay connected , stay strong and , as always , keep moving forward , keep resisting .