U.S. military dogs get the best seats on flights from Kabul

Washington, August 17 (RHC)-- The U.S. is being accused of valuing the lives of its military dogs more than those of Afghan civilians, after soldiers were seen evacuating their animals while those desperate to escape the Taliban clung on to departing planes.

Videos and photos published on Monday – which showed dogs being walked to Kabul Airport, where they were evacuated along with U.S. military personnel – angered many across the world, who viewed the apparent prioritization of animals over humans as an insult to the many Afghans attempting to flee the Taliban as the U.S. pulls out of the country.

Posts on social networks showed the dogs seated in the economy section of the plane and seemingly ready to enjoy an in-flight movie.  

“There was room for the dogs, and all the luggage, but the people that allied themselves to the U.S. had to latch onto the outside of a plane,” tweeted geopolitical analyst and journalist Maram Susli.

Others noted that “the optics” of dogs “being evacuated in an orderly fashion and Afghan citizens clinging to plane wheels and falling to their deaths” did not reflect well on the US, and that it served as the “perfect depiction of betrayal.”