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A US veteran on the “betrayal” of leaving Afghans behind

A US veteran on the “betrayal” of leaving Afghans behind | GZERO World

Former US Army Captain Matt Zeller owes his life to an Afghan interpreter and resents what he sees as the Biden administration's decision to let the Taliban dictate the terms of the withdrawal. He asks Americans to think about all the Afghans who got left behind despite risking their own lives to help US forces. "Put yourself in their shoes," urges Zeller, who has a sobering message for America after leaving Afghanistan: "We're now going to carry a moral injury that will never abate. A scar that will never disappear." Watch his visceral testimonial on this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer.

Watch the episode: Afghanistan, 2021: Afghan & US military perspectives as the last soldier leaves

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Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the United Arab Emirates, on March 11, 2026.
REUTERS/Stringer

One day after US President Donald Trump announced that he had started a blockade of ships coming in and out of Iranian ports via the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is already testing those US commitments.