DETROIT – There is no disputing the Taliban now control Afghanistan and the situation has led to a lot of frustration and disbelief among Americans.
The US spent 20 years, billions of dollars and sent a lot of our troops home dead or injured.
For many this abrupt and deadly departure is inexcusable.
Local 4 News is sharing the story of one veteran from the Afghanistan War.
Read: Taliban take over Afghanistan: What we know and what’s next
Sergeant Joshua Korder served two tours and nearly died when an IED exploded within feet of him near the Pakistan border.
He is not happy with the way the withdrawal went and believes the many who served there should not feel as if their service was for nothing.
“The news was great up until then and then all of a sudden it seemed like we were losing the war and I was like really motivated to go over there and help out,” said Korder.
Korder enlisted in 2008, spent much of his time in the army airborne infantry assisting with the nationwide election.
Read more: Gold Star Family copes with somber anniversary of son killed fighting in Afghanistan War
Having trained, patrolled and partnered with the Afghani military, he saw a people uninterested in fighting for their country, which came to the fore with an argument over their refusal to deliver votes during the presidential election.
“Why don’t you take your ballots during a democratic election we helped to enable for you? Why can’t you take the ballots to be counted? Isn’t that important to you in the new government and everything like that? They’re like ‘we’re really scared,”' he said.
He believes that was because the Taliban were silently living among them taking notes on who did what leading to an answer to this question.
“How do you have a death list in a day? You know, because these people have been watching them and keeping tabs on them and saying this person is doing the wrong thing, these are people we need to target,” he said.
“Even though the Afghans wouldn’t fight for their country, we were willing to, and I think that every veteran can take pride in their heart that we tried our hardest for those 20-years. We literally fought and bled and died and stood there and watched our friends do the same thing for that country. We should be proud of that, not feel defeated,” said Korder.
Read even more: Biden says he stands ‘squarely behind’ Afghanistan decision