JOINT OPERATION - TASK FORCE - NORTH STAR
Protecting And Evacuating
Vulnerable Afghans
Background
State collapse in Afghanistan has left thousands of government officials, soldiers, civil society activists, journalists, and interpreters vulnerable to Taliban retaliation. These men and women fought to preserve the principles of democracy, justice, and accountability that the United States tried to bring to Afghanistan. They are actively hunted by the Taliban because they stood with us and against everything the Taliban represents. To avoid detection, most spend no more than one night in a single location. Many live apart from their families to spare them the likely horror of seeing their loved ones executed, or detained and never heard from again. The Taliban visit their homes almost daily, and relatives are often assaulted or robbed for not disclosing their whereabouts. As fugitives in their own land, they cannot earn a living and only venture out in public in the most desperate situations.
This is not a problem they can solve on their own.
About Us
As Afghanistan fades from the public’s view, many of us are not willing to leave these people behind. Operation North Star started as a loose coalition of likeminded people with one focused purpose: rescuing vulnerable Afghans from certain death. That group quickly coalesced into a cohesive functioning unit with some 75+ volunteers around the world determined to help.
We are patriots, veterans, current and former special operations personnel, current and former DOD officials, political advisors, attorneys, and current and former intelligence professionals. We are working people who spend most of our non-working hours on this mission.
Our Work
What we do is simple: We find people who are hunted by the Taliban for their previous efforts to build a secure, democratic, and just Afghanistan, and we protect them.
We put these people and their immediate families in safe houses, we feed them so they do not have to venture outside, and we identify avenues to evacuate them.
We have evacuated nearly 500 vulnerable Afghans to date. Including family members, we are currently housing more than 2,000 Afghans around the country. This includes 30 Afghan-American dual citizens, 150 Afghans who have been referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, and Special Immigrant Visa holders and applicants.
Operation North Star on NPR’s On Point
When the United States pulled out of Afghanistan last year, thousands of Afghans who'd worked for the U.S. military were left behind. They'd risked their lives and their families' safety to be part of a new Afghanistan, but now the nation is in Taliban hands. The U.S. military vets they worked for have not forgotten. Today, On Point: Operation North Star, and the story of American soldiers still working to save their Afghan colleagues, and friends.
Hear about Operation North Star, and the story of the soldiers working to save their Afghan colleagues, and friends. David Young and Missy Ryan join Meghna Chakrabarti.
Take Action
As a volunteer organization, Operation North Star has zero paid staff and no overhead. No one has ever been compensated, and there have been no administrative costs to date. All funding goes straight toward the protection and evacuation of vulnerable Afghans.
READ THE OPEN LETTER
Operation North Star Signs Open Letter to President Biden, Congressional Leaders
As the United States government continues to navigate the conclusion of its military mission in Afghanistan, we the undersigned, having seen firsthand the heartbreaking uncertainties that our Afghan allies, American citizens, lawful permanent residents, and their families face in their attempts to flee life-threatening circumstances, submit the following letter urging our country’s leadership to act. The withdrawal of the American presence from Afghanistan has prompted unprecedented action by a coalition of Veterans, active duty military, frontline civilians, non-profit, private sector, academic, and other entirely volunteer organizations working hand-in-hand with willing partners within the Departments of State and Defense to assist in the evacuation and resettlement of the aforementioned individuals. The sheer volume and complexity of this crisis, however, renders our work untenable without increasing the formal support of the US Government.
Recognition from U.S. Congress:
“With the indispensable assistance of [Operation] North Star, the Afghans my office was working to extract from Afghanistan were eventually able to leave. Without [North Star’s] assistance […] I am certain these individuals would not have been able to leave Afghanistan and would in all likelihood have been killed.”
— Congressman Ed Case (D-HI)