Federal government under Biden is administering inconsistent justice

The story of Zalmay Naizy of Iowa Falls has been well-publicized.

He was an interpreter for U.S. forces in Afghanistan for several years and has lived in Iowa Falls for several years, where he has become a valued and respected member of the community. He is now facing deportation back to Afghanistan because his visa has expired.

This is all happening as the U.S. is ending its military operations in Afghanistan and is attempting to deal with visa requests from 18,000 Afghans who have served as interpreters for the U.S. and now fear for their lives. On July 8, President Joe Biden said “there is a home for you in the U.S., if you so choose, and we will stand with you just as you stood with us.” Only a Pulitzer Prize winner in fiction could concoct such a ludicrous and obvious inconsistency.

Less obvious and more removed from the public eye is the contrast between the cases of Marine Major Christopher Warnagiris and Air Force veteran Daniel Hale. Warnagiris participated in the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, and reportedly physically attacked Capitol defenders. He has been charged with multiple offenses, but still is on active duty at the Quantico Marine base while awaiting trial.

Daniel Hale, involved with weaponized drones while stationed in Afghanistan, has been in jail for several months and may be sentenced for up to 10 years. His offense? He made public details about the use of U.S. weaponized drones, including the fact that, contrary to our government’s official statements, the drone program has killed many more civilians than targeted “terrorists.”

I hope Zalmay Naizy will get a green light to stay in the U.S. as long as he wishes. And I hope that the July 8 words of President Biden regarding Afghan interpreters bear fruit in reality.

I also hope that Major Warnagiris is promptly removed from active duty. If found guilty, part of his punishment must be a dishonorable discharge from the Marines.

As for Daniel Hale, a truth-telling, non-violent veteran, I hope that Judge Liam O’Grady imposes a very lenient sentence on July 27, and that Biden grants a pardon.

History will not treat kindly the U.S. involvement since 1980 in Afghanistan. But at least we need not further dishonor our country’s reputation by ignoring the plight of these victims. Naizy and the Afghan interpreters who worked with the U.S. military served veterans nobly. Hale, asserting the rights of U.S. soldiers to speak truth, honors veterans. Warnagiris, if found guilty, should be punished even more than his Jan. 6 peers because of the high responsibility he has, as a senior officer, to defend the Constitution. He has dishonored veterans.

Ed Flaherty of Iowa City is a member of Veterans For Peace #161.