Afghanistan war veterans are horrified by the Taliban gains. “After enlisting in the U.S. military against his family’s wishes, Chicago native Tom Amenta said he found himself in ‘middle of nowhere,’ Afghanistan, in 2002 as an Army ranger in a remote area some 15 minutes from the border with Pakistan. He was fighting the initial battles of a war that few knew would stretch on for 20 years. Now 40 and retired from the military, he felt anger foam inside as he watched the evening news on Thursday while on a work trip to Pennsylvania,” Andrew Jeong and Jennifer Hassan report. “Friends who had been killed there came to mind, including NFL star Pat Tillman. Fond memories of former Afghan colleagues, such as interpreters, who remained in the country and whose fates he didn’t know, also resurfaced. ‘It makes me angry, really angry,’ Amenta said of the U.S. withdrawal.”
