It's what we do

When will they learn?

In early October, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and the Defense Department approved Maj. Mohammed Naiem Asadi’s request to seek refuge in America, along with his wife and 4-year-old daughter, because they were in “imminent danger of being killed by the Taliban,” approval documents and emails shared with Stars and Stripes show.

But on Oct. 28, just hours before they were to about to leave, Asadi was told plans had changed. He would learn the Pentagon had withdrawn its endorsement.

The Pentagon had indeed approved Asadi’s application to seek refuge in America, said a DOD official who could not be named due to not being authorized to comment on the case. The military changed its stance after a few senior leaders had objected that this decision had been made without their approval, the official said.

[...]

The 32-year-old flier is said to have killed more Taliban than any other pilot in the Afghan Air Force during thousands of flight hours, Afghan and U.S. military officers told Stars and Stripes.

Asadi protected an American pilot who crashed his A-29 Super Tucano attack turboprop in northern Afghanistan this summer, said a letter of commendation signed by Air Force Capt. Robert V. Yost.

Asadi led a flight of two MD-530 attack helicopters that scrambled to protect the crash site in Taliban-contested territory, and Asadi’s efforts were vital to the pilot’s rescue, Yost wrote.

“The incident was just one of countless events where Maj. Asadi’s actions have protected and saved lives,” he wrote.

[...]

Among several threatening letters and phone calls was one this spring, in which the Taliban demanded Asadi’s father hand over his son, or his entire family would be killed.

[...]

Documents show he passed several background checks, and on Oct. 5, the Pentagon endorsed his application.

“Applicant and his family are in imminent danger of being killed by the Taliban,” said the document, signed by Assistant Secretary of Defense Ezra Cohen. “Threat to applicant is directly related to faithful execution of the job he was trained, equipped and advised by the U.S. to do.”

But the day he was supposed to leave, Asadi said his appointment at the U.S. Embassy was canceled. No reason was given.

[...]

He then received a phone call from the Afghan air force’s commander, demanding Asadi report to his office. He hadn’t told his command he applied to an U.S. program to leave the country.

He did not report.

[...]

Asadi is now somewhere in Afghanistan under U.S. protection. His young daughter has adapted well to life in hiding, he said, but for him and his wife, the disappointment and uncertainty have been overwhelming.

“I cannot go backward,” Asadi said. “And I cannot go forward."

  Stars and Stripes

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.