On Tuesday, The U.S. military denied accusations of leaving behind military dogs in Afghanistan. The Pentagon had previously announced that the troops of the U.S. have been safely airlifted from Afghanistan. Post this news, a picture of U.S. military service dogs got viral on social media, and it stated that the service dogs were abandoned in Afghanistan.
After the reports got viral and the U.S. military received a lot of backlashes and then the Pentagon issued an official tweet denying these claims. The Defense Department officials said that they hadn’t left service dogs back in Afghanistan.
U.S. Officials Deny Accusations
A U.S. government spokesperson took to the media to say that the photos that got viral and were circulating were pictures of dogs who were under Kabul’s care. The U.S. forces undertook severe measures to help the Kabul Small Animal Rescue as much as they could.
Vulnerable Afghanistan residents and US citizens were evacuated by the troops earlier but it wasn’t their duty to evacuate animals, the spokesperson added. The government of the USA did not discard the fact that the photos were authentic but said that they were the stray ones of Afghanistan and that they didn’t belong to the military service of the U.S.
Previously, the photo circulated on several social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube. The picture reportedly showed several dogs in cages in the airport of Kabul, seemingly abandoned. The picture and news immediately went viral and received a lot of backlashes from people all over the world.
Animal Welfare Groups Wrote Open Letters
Animal welfare group sent an open letter that reportedly criticized the decision of leaving behind military dogs by the U.S. military. Many accused them of being insensitive and leaving behind poor hard-working animals for human beings.
There was a deadline of August 31 for withdrawing completely from Afghanistan. The joint task force didn’t leave behind any military dogs in Afghanistan and the photos being circulated were not that of U.S. military dogs according to the officials.
The long war of 20 years came to a halt and the Joint task force managed to bring back vulnerable Afgan residents and U.S. citizens but seemingly failed to bring back the U.S. military dogs. However, later the accusations were rubbished off by the officials through a tweet.
There probably might be widespread confusion, as said by the Pentagon, because of the ongoing war situation but it received a lot of backlashes and open letters from various major animal welfare groups.
There are many non-profit organizations in America that have come forward to help evacuate these poor animals that are being overlooked in this war. The CEO of American Humane said that these dogs are brave and undergo the same dangers working for saving lives of thousands of people and they deserve a good fate.
End Of 20 Years Long Battle
The 20 years of war was called off and the U.S withdrew its forces from the South Asian Islamic country. A massive airlift was performed over the past two weeks but many Afghans were left behind. There was a gunfire round of celebration when the U.S. withdrew its troops and ended the longest war. Taliban Spokesmen expressed their happiness at this newfound liberty and independence.
Around 100 people couldn’t get on flights even when they wanted to. The president of the U.S. has received a lot of heavy criticism due to his decisions in handling the case of Afghanistan. The Taliban previously took over Kabul and this withdrawal of the U.S. troops after the longest war gives a feeling of victory to them.
An animal welfare group even said that the U.S. government left the service dogs behind to give them a death sentence. The officials, Pentagon, and several other stakeholders said that the rumors are ‘absolutely false’ and ‘rubbish’. However, it disheartened numerous animal lovers and welfare groups as they said that animals deserve the same treatment as humans and even better as they are hard-working and go through various lifesaving dangerous situations. There was a statement released before which said that the dogs and their caretakers were not allowed to board the plane ‘explicitly’.
Final Words
The airlift did save a lot of people. The longest war has ended with a lot of blood in its hands and now, with the accusations of not saving the poor animals. The military dogs are specially trained to undergo several situations and save as much as they can. They are trained for several years and are tested to become service dogs and their service owner must ensure their safety along with the safety of the troops. The animal welfare groups are highly disappointed and disheartened in this fight against human beings where poor animals are suffering. Their suffering is compared to a ‘death sentence’ and that they should be given as much attention as human beings. Animal rights activists have come forward as well to express their anger and disappointment at this decision of the Pentagon.
