America’s War on Terror in Afghanistan would not have been possible without the help of a vital group—Afghan translators and interpreters. While these individuals served alongside our troops, often at significant risk, many did not make it out during the August 2021 withdrawal and are still awaiting evacuation.

One who did manage to escape, however, was Afghan interpreter Jamil Hassan, and this is his story.

Promises Betrayed provides a first-hand account of the evacuation, along with a historical narrative about the war in Afghanistan, all told from the unique perspective of an Afghan ally. Having served as a translator for General David Petraeus and General John Nicholson in Afghanistan meant that Jamil and his family were, and are still, high-value targets for possible Taliban retribution.

Like many Afghans, Jamil Hassan believed in what our leaders were selling—the hope for a better life and future. He served alongside our troops and worked toward goals anchored on promises made by our country. But in August 2021, those promises were broken.

Everything Jamil Hassan—along with countless others, including American and coalition soldiers—worked for, was swept aside during the disastrous August withdrawal from Kabul. For all intents and purposes, Jamil’s home country is now lost, probably forever, and the fate of his friends and family, amongst thousands of American allies left behind, is now tenuous at best.

Promises Betrayed includes Jamil’s minute-by-minute account of how he and his family, by the narrowest of margins, eventually made their way onto a plane and out of Kabul, on August 18, 2021.

It also tells the real story of America’s “War on Terror” in Afghanistan, and how the Biden Administration’s poor planning and final execution of America's withdrawal from Afghanistan failed America, our allies, and most of all, the freedom-loving Afghan allies who were left behind.