American commitment to foundational values must withstand assault by an individual
By Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and Jillian Burns - December 2, 2025
We
heard with horror that two US service members were shot the day before
Thanksgiving while performing their duties — on US soil, in the US
capital.
We were further dismayed to learn that the suspect was
an Afghan who had been paroled into the United States in 2021 following
the fall of Kabul, after reportedly working with the US government in
Afghanistan.
Without question, the accused should be prosecuted
to the full extent of the law. No political resentment, if that was his
motivation, justifies the use of violence, particularly against those
people who have taken an oath to protect America.
As former
members of the diplomatic corps, we have the highest respect for the US
armed services. Throughout our respective careers, our military has
protected us in dangerous situations overseas. We have witnessed their
sacrifices on the battlefield in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. It is
a particular tragedy to see those serving our country struck down in
our own streets.
We both served our country in Afghanistan, where
our missions were attacked by Afghan terrorists, exactly two years
apart — US Embassy Kabul on September 13, 2011, and US Consulate Herat
on September 13, 2013.
The threat posed to us by Afghan
terrorists did not deter us from supporting, in various capacities, the
mission to assist a very different group of Afghans to gain admission to
the US. These Afghans worked with the US, at great risk to themselves
and their families.
We chose to support these efforts because of
the totality of our experiences in Afghanistan, not just the worst ones.
The vast majority of Afghans are not violent extremists; they are
ordinary people who want a better life for their children and work hard
to achieve this goal. Some, such as those eligible for Special Immigrant
Visas (SIVs), risked their lives for us and were threatened by the same
extremists who targeted us. We also take seriously the promises the US
government made to these allies to bring them to safety.
In the
aftermath of a horrific crime, we naturally search for ways to prevent
any such future crimes. Out of fear, sometimes these efforts go too far,
such as the social media frenzy now calling for the expulsion of all
Afghans, or even all Muslims, from the US. If true that America provided
shelter to this man and his family out of loyalty because he was once
our ally, only for him to become our enemy, this would represent a
terrible betrayal. But this should not damn the entire effort.
America
is a country that values individualism — individual opportunity and
individual responsibility. We should keep this principle in mind, even
in the worst of times. Any person accused of crimes in the US should
face judgment before a court and, if found guilty, be suitably punished.
It would be a betrayal of American values, however, to blame a whole
community for the actions of one person.
Ambassador Ryan
Crocker has had a long association with Time of Remembrance, a Gold
Star Family organization in the inland northwest. A six-time US
ambassador, he was the 2020 recipient of West Point’s Thayer Award,
presented to an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in
the national interest exemplify the military academy’s motto, “Duty,
Honor, Country.” He retired from the Foreign Service in 2009, then came
out of retirement to serve as US Ambassador to Afghanistan (2011-12). He
currently serves as a Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow at MEI and as
senior advisor to No One Left Behind, a US veteran-led non-governmental
organization that assists Afghans eligible for resettlement in the
United States.
Jillian Burns retired from the Foreign Service in
2014, after serving as Consul in Herat (2012-13). She returned to the
State Department (2022-25) to work in the Office of the Coordinator for
Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE), the government organization that
coordinated the multi-agency efforts involved in relocating eligible —
and vetted — Afghans to the US.