In the News
I'm a Veteran Doing What the American Government Won't | NYT Opinion
In this New York Times opinion documentary, volunteers describe their work supporting and helping to evacuate our Afghan allies who were left behind. Featuring Operation North Star volunteer Ben Owen and Moral Compass Federation volunteer Travis Peterson.
VOA News: US Special Immigration Program Refers More Than 5,000 Afghan Refugees to Canada
The U.S. State Department has referred more than 5,000 Afghan refugees who were seeking admission to the United States to a parallel program in Canada, where waiting times for permanent residence are shorter.
U.S. military veterans, former intelligence and defense officials and others have dedicated their time to rescue those still in Afghanistan through newly formed groups like Operation North Star, which is all volunteer, or Task Force Pineapple, which is a public-private partnership.
Getting people out of Afghanistan is just part of the problem.
According to the Operation North Star website, they have almost 500 Afghans in third countries and more than 2,000 Afghans in safe homes in Afghanistan. Equally challenging has been guiding the Afghans through the complex process to resettle in the United States, including finding safe homes, leaving Afghanistan, finding a third country, applying to a refugee program and arriving in a new country.
ReasonTV: Risking Their Lives to Rescue Afghans Left Behind
Private entities and the U.S. government worked together to airlift out nearly 130,000 people. Most are now awaiting a lengthy vetting process. Tens of thousands are still hiding in Afghanistan. Operation North Star and more than a dozen other organizations dedicated to protecting and evacuating vulnerable Afghans have established the Moral Compass Federation to more effectively advocate for policy changes and learn from one another's efforts to get our allies out.
REFL: Afghans Battle Red Tape, Taliban In Hope Of Evacuation To United States
While more than 80,000 at-risk Afghans were evacuated in the largest U.S. airlift in history, estimates suggest that roughly equal that amount of Afghans who assisted the U.S.-led war remain stranded, including interpreters, aid workers, and some of the best-trained troops in the former Afghan armed forces. Now hundreds are trying to rescue their Afghan partners through self-funded volunteer groups such as Operation Recovery, Project Exodus, Save Our Allies, No One Left Behind, and Joint Operation North Star. Many of the nonprofits work together under the banner of larger organizations, like the Moral Compass Federation.
Washington Examiner: Evacuation organizations band together for Afghan allies
Having worked tirelessly for nearly six months to provide care and support for tens of thousands of Afghan allies and activists who were left behind after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, a group of 16 nonprofit evacuation organizations is now combining forces as the Moral Compass Federation.
Operation North Star: The military veterans working to protect Afghan allies from the Taliban
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.
Washington Examiner: Afghan allies face death as donor funding dries up
This week, Operation North Star ran out of donor funding to provide safe houses, security, and goods to some of the 2,000 allies and at-risk Afghans who have entrusted the operation with their lives, resulting in more than 100 families being turned out into the desolation of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Though funds speedily procured by nonprofit organization Flanders Fields will allow both groups to meet their most urgent needs for the next 30 days, many Afghans who fought for democracy face a precarious future.
Washington Examiner: Crowdfunding organizations in dire need of funds to save Afghan allies' lives
Operation 620 is one of a group of organizations, including Operation North Star , Task Force Argo , Save Our Allies , and Task Force Pineapple seeking to rescue 10,000 to 100,000 Afghan allies who remain in Afghanistan. They are fulfilling the U.S. government’s promise to support our allies "with the personal checking accounts of veterans," explains one veteran with Operation North Star. Without millions of dollars, they cannot carry out their urgent mission.
Politico: The Taliban’s ‘escalated aggression’ against vulnerable Afghans
In the months since the U.S. and its partners withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban — now the de facto rulers of the country — have grown increasingly sophisticated in tracking down those who helped foreign forces in the 20-year war. That’s led to a more targeted and brutal uptick in violent vengeance, these groups say.
“I’ve talked to more than a few politicians and they all tell me the same thing: There is nothing we can do,” said DUKE, the nickname for a North Star member who didn’t want to be publicly identified. “As an American and a veteran, I refuse to accept that answer.”
Politico: Catching the Last ‘Last Flight’ Out of Afghanistan
“We are constantly at risk of running dry,” said "Duke", the codename of a former Army reconnaissance platoon sergeant and member of the leadership team for Operation North Star, one of three main volunteer groups still conducting evacuation operations. “It’s like the entrepreneur sweating payroll every two weeks. At some point we are going to run into a problem, and when that happens the humanitarian cost will be horrific.”
Congressman Ed Case Praises Operation North Star
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.