Afghan general who led last-ditch effort to stop Taliban takeover now drives Uber in Washington
Afghan General Haibatullah Alizai, who led a last-ditch effort to resist the Taliban takeover in 2021, now drives an Uber in Washington DC after being granted asylum in the US.In an interview with CBS’ Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Alizai spoke about his final days in Afghanistan, his evacuation by US forces and his life as an immigrant in the US.Alizai, the last chief of staff of the Afghan army, fled Afghanistan in August 2021 as the US military was completing its withdrawal. He had been trying to form a resistance against the Taliban when US personnel told him that the base was being closed and everyone had to leave within minutes.He boarded a US military C-17 in civilian clothes without initially knowing where he was being taken. The aircraft eventually landed in Kuwait.Alizai later received asylum in the US, where he described his new life as that of an immigrant. Finding employment proved difficult because of extensive background checks and other processes, he said. He now drives for Uber in Washington DC.The former general also remains separated from his wife and three sons, who have asylum in India. He said he cannot travel outside the US and does not know when he will be able to see his family again.Reflecting on his relationship with the US, Alizai said Afghan and American soldiers had “shared blood” over two decades of war. Despite the Taliban takeover and the collapse of the Afghan government, he said he still had hope.“We have shared blood together for 20 years,” Alizai said. “Whatever happened, still, this is the right side. I have some hope.”Alizai had spent his final days in Afghanistan working with US forces at Kabul airport during the chaotic evacuation. He said Afghan intelligence had warned of a possible Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP) attack around August 22 or 23, before the August 26 suicide bombing that killed 170 Afghans and 13 US service members.Looking back, Alizai said he considered the 20-year US-Afghan military partnership worthwhile, arguing that preventing terrorist attacks on US soil was among its key objectives.The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was completed on August 30, 2021, ending America’s longest war and leaving the country under Taliban control.
