JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Retired U.S. Navy Commander Jon Singleton is trying to help his friends escape Kabul. Singleton is working with a network of veterans to raise money and connect Afghan allies to resettlement programs across the world willing to help.
Singleton served in Kabul, Afghanistan 15 years ago. As a commander, he worked side by side with Afghans on various missions, who later became friends.
“It’s absolutely heartbreaking…just absolutely heartbreaking. We are trying to get our friends to safety. “What we really want to do is to try to have those routes for escape still open and get them to safety. The Taliban right now is hunting down these very people we’re trying to rescue,” said Jon Singleton.
The Taliban had publicly promised to let anyone with a special immigrant visa leave Afghanistan now that US troops are out of the country. It’s too early to know if the group will keep that promise.
About 1,200 people were evacuated in the final hours of the United States withdraw. The White House said it still has “substantial leverage” over the Taliban to allow Americans and US allies to leave the country safely even after the deadline.