Their lives and families could very well be in danger from the Taliban with the rapid withdrawal of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan …
The number of people filing for SIV exit visas could be as many as 18,000….
Army Gen. Mark Milley told reporters this week that the Defense Department and State Department was making plans to evacuate Afghans who had worked for the U.S. government..
As NBC News reports, Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on his plane Wednesday that it was clear a “significant” number of Afghans who had worked for the U.S. military as interpreters or in other roles who might be in danger due to their work.
“There are plans being developed very, very rapidly here, not just interpreters but a lot of other people that have worked with the United States,” Milley said….
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It was the first time a senior administration official has confirmed possible plans of such evacuations.
“While I welcome these comments, we need to see action sooner rather than later,” Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), who is an advocate for evacuating Afghan partners, told NBC. “We need to show the world we reward those who help us against the enemy rather than leave them behind.”…
Note….
The fall of Saigon, Viet Nam?
A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill Friday aimed a bulking up a visa program for Afghans who helped U.S. troops amid increasingly urgent warnings about their safety as the U.S. military withdraws.
The bill from Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill) would add 20,000 visas to what’s known as the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, nearly doubling the number of visas Congress has authorized since 2014…..
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