New York City, NY — Yesterday, the Washington Post ran an investigative piece “The Afghanistan Papers: At War With the Truth” highlighting reports of failures and deception associated with the conflict in Afghanistan involving American leadership in the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America today is warning against making the mistakes of the Vietnam War. The public must be prepared to separate its concerns about the political and strategic decisions of American leaders from the honorable and laudable service of American veterans who responded to the call of duty.
“The post-9/11 generation of veterans cannot be subject to the same mistreatment that Vietnam War veterans experienced upon their return from service,” said Jeremy Butler, CEO of Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). “Veterans of the War in Afghanistan have done everything this country asked of them – they put their heads down and worked hard to achieve the missions they were assigned. Public perception of veterans must be kept separate from the political blame game.”
The ongoing conflict in Afghanistan is the longest conflict in American history, followed by the Vietnam War, which lasted from 1964-1973. The brave men and women who served during that war had to confront the challenges of being publicly identified with America’s unsuccessful campaign in the country and were not given the honor and respect that their service deserved.
Learning the lessons of past wars, IAVA calls upon Americans to rally behind veterans in light of these revelations. The release of the so-called “Afghanistan Papers” should remind all of us that we have much more to do to properly take care of those who are serving in Afghanistan, those who served in Afghanistan, and the entire post-9/11 generation of veterans.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is the premier veteran’s advocacy and support organization on the planet. Every day, we fight for veterans. Hard. We are the tip-of-the spear non-profit engine of impact that connects, unites and empowers over 400,000 veterans and allies nationwide. Founded by an Iraq veteran in 2004, IAVA is the non-partisan leader in advocacy. We organize and drive historic impacts nationally.
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