USVAA

Miska, a leading advocate for Afghan and Iraqi Military Interpreters and author of the new memoir “Baghdad Underground Railroad” (Onward Press) speaks with CNN’s Michael Holmes about what the United States owes its allies in-country allies in Afghanistan ahead of U.S. withdrawal.

Click on the blue play button on the embedded Tweet to watch the video. 

The lives of #translators who worked for the US military in #Iraq and #Afghanistan are on the line – and they feel abandoned by the US govt. Many have already died because of their service. Colonel (ret) @SteveMiska is one of many fighting to get them out before it’s too late. pic.twitter.com/CVhKLzWyK3

— Michael Holmes (@holmescnn) May 23, 2021

We may never know the full toll of the post-9/11 wars. The staggering cost of the two-decade-long conflict, and its future consequences, are only just beginning to be understood as the United States prepares to fully withdraw troops from Afghanistan and Iraq before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. As the final chapter of America’s longest war nears, what are the biggest problems facing veterans returning home? What does it mean to be a military vet in the U.S. today? And what does the U.S. government owe local allies, such as the translators and interpreters who served alongside American forces?

Steve Miska, a United States Army veteran who retired as a Colonel after 25 years in the Army, led the “Baghdad Underground Railroad” that helped dozens of interpreters escape sectarian violence in 2007. The author of a new book chronicling that experience, Baghdad Underground Railroad: Saving American Allies in Iraq, he is currently the executive director of First Amendment Voice, and conducts pro bono work to support nonprofits that help former interpreters. Miska visits Zócalo to discuss the cost of war.

Steve Miska (left) and Emma Sky (right)

USA TODAY – As U.S. troops exit Afghanistan, ‘leave no one behind’ must include military interpreters

In Iraq, I witnessed our former interpreters, their families, and other allies in a fight for their lives.

San Clemente Times – Local Veteran Publishes Book on Operation to Save Foreign Allies

Jalysa Conway spent five years working as a Cyber Warfare Officer in the U.S. Air Force, and has been read into things that’d make you want to crap your pants. Since then, she’s traded in her Top Secret Clearance for a career as a professional television writer. She has written for GREY’S ANATOMY and POWER BOOK IV: INFLUENCE, a short-lived spinoff of Starz’s top drama. She currently writes for Fox’s #1 new drama, 9-1-1: LONE STAR. But true to her inner nerdy self, she has also freelanced for LAST KIDS ON EARTH, an animated Netflix zombie series for kids, and has written a futuristic action short for SOLDIER STORIES, a Top Cow military veteran-themed comic anthology. Her life’s goals are world domination and to bring fresh, diverse, and inclusive tales to genre television.

Timothy Wurtz is a screenwriter, USVAA Colleague, and the Publisher of Onward Press, a publishing imprint of USVAA.

Jalysa Conway (left) and Timothy Wurtz (right)

USVAA’s publishing imprint, Onward Press, is proud to present our latest book, Baghdad Underground Railroad by Steve Miska. In this compelling memoir that illustrates humanity and compassion in the midst of war, Steve Miska highlights the plight of local allies, who are essential to the American cause in foreign wars but are often left behind. He also offers an insider’s look at the complex and frustrating political reality of Iraq facing U.S. commanders and policymakers following the downfall of Saddam Hussein. To learn more about the book and the author please visit the Onward Press website.

Tony Camerino is a writer known for his work on all five seasons of the hit CBS drama Person of Interest. He has written on three other television dramas (A.P.B, Taken, and The Enemy Within), and developed original projects for Netflix, Amazon, and Fox. His feature script Landslide (co-written with Will Staples), based on his military memoir How to Break a Terrorist, made the 2015 Blacklist. He also authored Kill or Capture (St. Martin’s Press).

Camerino is a combat veteran (Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq) and retired with 20 years of service in the Air Force and Air Force Reserves. As a senior military interrogator for a Special Operations Task Force in Iraq, he personally conducted or supervised over 1,300 interrogations. Camerino was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his achievements, including leading the interrogations that located Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, the notorious Al Qaeda leader and ISIS founder, who was killed in a subsequent airstrike. An outspoken critic of torture, he frequently appears as an interrogations expert on television and radio and has published Op-Eds in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and a cover story, “Martyrdom, Interrupted,” in The National Interest. Camerino has trained U.S. Army interrogators, US Marshals, and foreign interrogators from 15 countries. He is also a Fellow at UCLA’s Burkle Center for International Relations.

Sam Wolfson is an established screenwriter, playwright, and actor. He’s the co-creator of JEWTOPIA, one of the longest running and fastest recouping productions in Off-Broadway history. Wolfson co-penned the book based on the play, Jewtopia: The Chosen Book for the Chosen People, and co-wrote the screenplay for the 2012 JEWTOPIA movie adaptation starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. Wolfson’s second original comedy play, PLAYDATES, ran for over a year in Los Angeles to sold-out crowds. He wrote for all three seasons of the hit MTV drama “Finding Carter.” He served as both writer and co-producer all for three seasons of the groundbreaking Disney Channel comedy “Andi Mack,” which introduced the first gay character in Disney Channel history.

For any questions please contact Keith Jeffreys at keith.jeffreys@usvaa.org

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