Written by Bobbie Wylie
On Wednesday, Representative Darrell Issa announced that another San Diego area resident and his family will be returning home from Afghanistan.
On August 31, 2021, President Biden withdrew the US military from Afghanistan, ending a 20-year conflict. President Biden’s hasty withdrawal of US troops left many US allies in the Taliban-controlled country.
One of those left stranded in Afghanistan was Prince Wafa. Once news broke of Biden’s frenzied withdrawal, Wafa rushed to Kabul, where he and his wife had been waiting for her spousal paperwork to process. It was then he found himself abandoned by his own nation’s negligence in one of the most dangerous places in the world. Wafa sent a letter to the Biden administration urging them to expediate an evacuation and that he had some issues with the State Department regarding communication on flights out of Afghanistan. Wafa said that Congressman Issa had informed him of flights leaving Afghanistan to Doha, Qatar where most of the evacuees where evacuated to.
After reaching out to Congressman Issa through the Afghanistan Evacuation Assistance portal on the congressman’s website, Wafa and his wife are now on their way home. Wafa is a local business owner and entrepreneur who owns a number of convenience stores.
“Prince Wafa’s story will not go unnoticed,” said Rep. Issa. “No American should have to go through what he endured, and this should also provide a lasting lesson: Today, we celebrate the return of a brave American. But there is much more work to do, and many more Americans to bring home.”
Congressman Issa’s office has been instrumental in evacuating over 40 members of California’s 50th Congressional District from Afghanistan since they were abandoned in the Taliban-controlled country after the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan that ended on August 31st.
“This one was personal. My team and I worked for months to ensure the safe return of Prince Wafa and his wife, and we were amazed by his courage and commitment,” said Rep. Issa in a press release. “His betrayal by President Biden and the almost limitless delays by this Administration were needless and shameful. He wasn’t the first American left behind and we are determined that he won’t be the last to come home.”
