He was an Afghan army general. Now he drives Uber in Washington while his wife, 3 sons live in India

Five years after the fall of Kabul, Afghan General Haibatullah Alizai is rebuilding his life in the US, where he now works as an Uber and Lyft driver in Washington DC after being evacuated by US forces and granted asylum.

“It's a whole 12-hour shift with Uber and Lyft both. Sometimes I even work 14 hours, 15 hours,” Alizai said in an interview with CBS' Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.

Alizai said he believed Afghan forces could still hold parts of the country even as US and NATO forces prepared to leave.

He said he came up with a resistance plan in mid-July 2021, but the government's slow decision-making left little time to act. “But yeah, we had options, but uh time was not uh in in our favor. Everything was just running so quick and so fast,” Alizai said.

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After being promoted by then-President Ashraf Ghani, Alizai was given four days to prepare a plan to defend Kabul. He said he was surprised that one did not already exist.

“It was August 14th. I expected to have a plan already been placed at the Ministry of Defense level to secure Kabul or to defend Kabul,” he said.

As the Taliban entered Kabul, Ghani fled the country. Alizai said Afghan forces were still prepared to fight.

“I just had to smile and say like, "Okay, made it easy. Now, we can announce the martial law and it's our right because we still have our troops fighting in different parts of Afghanistan,” he said.

Rejecting the claim that Afghan soldiers simply gave up, Alizai said, “We did fight. As I'm saying, we we lost 100,000 soldiers defending the country and the world from terrorists. The collapse did not come from soldiers not fighting. The collapse come from the local politicians negotiating with Taliban.”

Evacuation and life in the US

Alizai left Afghanistan on August 25, after failing to gather enough support for resistance in Panjshir. American personnel told him the base was closing, and he was evacuated on a C-17 to Kuwait.

“And uh they just boarded us on a C-17. I didn't know where we are going,” he said.

Alizai now works as a driver while looking for more stable employment. He said finding a job has been difficult because of the checks and processes faced by immigrants arriving from a war zone.

“Employment is not easy to find in US when specially you are coming from a war zone as an immigrant,” he said.

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Wife and sons remain in India

While Alizai is living in the US, his wife and three sons have asylum in India. The family remains separated, with video calls serving as their main way of staying in touch.

Asked when he would see his family again, Alizai said he had no clear answer. “I don't have idea. To be honest,” he said.

He also said he cannot travel outside the US, making a reunion even more uncertain.

Despite the collapse of Afghanistan, Alizai said he remains hopeful about his relationship with the US and the fellow soldiers he served alongside.

“We have shared blood together for 20 years. This is the right side. How uh whatever happened, still this is the right side,” he said.

Reflecting on the war, Alizai said he believed the sacrifices had served a purpose. “Only securing Afghanistan for 20 years from terrorists was not an easy deal. It worth it,” he said.