The US government is “rapidly” formulating plans to evacuatepotentially thousands of interpreters who worked for coalition forces inAfghanistan over the past two decades to protect their safety, a topgeneral said.
“We recognize that there are a significant amount of Afghans that supportedthe United States and supported the coalition, and that they could be atrisk,” Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley said late Wednesday.
“We recognize that a very important task is to ensure that we remainfaithful to them, and that we do what is necessary to ensure theirprotection and, if necessary, get them out of the country if that is whatthey want to do,” he said.
In the remarks released Thursday, Milley said the State Department istaking the lead on arranging for interpreterslink and others who worked for USforces to move to the United States, amid fears they would be targeted forretribution by the Taliban insurgents.
“There are plans being developed very, very rapidly here,” he said.
Some 18,000 Afghan link interpreterslink, commandos and others who backedUS forces are waiting for decisions on visas to immigrate to the UnitedStates, a backlog that lawmakers say could take more than two years.
Many worked in battlefield conditions helping US troops fight Taliban,Al-Qaeda and Islamic State extremists opposed to the government in Kabul.
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Military veterans of the Afghan link warand members of Congress have expressed deep concerns that the US governmentis not working hard enough to get them out of the country, as some 2,500 UStroops and 16,000 US contractors are withdrawn by President Joe Biden’sSeptember deadline.
With the State Department mired in a huge backlog of visa-granting work,some of the interpreters link couldinitially be relocated to third countries, or the US territory of Guam,according to US media reports.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told a hearing in Congress Thursdaythat the withdrawal is “slightly” ahead of schedule.
“We accomplished the mission for which our troops were sent toAfghanistan,” he said.
“We will now transition to a new bilateral relationship with our Afghanlink… that continues to help themmeet their responsibilities to their citizens, but one that will notrequire a US footprint larger than what is necessary to protect ourdiplomats.”-APP/AFP
