San Diego: In the chaotic, final hours of the Vietnam War, the US evacuated thousands of South Vietnamese who supported the American mission and were at risk under the communist government.
With US and NATO forces facing a September 11 deadline to leave Afghanistan, many are remembering that desperate, hasty escape as they urge the Biden administration to evacuate thousands of Afghans who have lost their lives in the past. Over two decades worked as interpreters or otherwise helped in US military operations. .
Despite unusual bipartisan support in Congress, the administration does not agree to such a move, refusing to publicly support anything that could undermine security in the country as it did after the 9/11 attacks. Opens the war that has begun.
“We have a moral obligation to protect our brave allies who laid down their lives for us,” said Republican Rep. Peter Peter, and we’ve been working for months to get the administration involved and ensure a plan with some concrete results. are doing.” Meijer, of Michigan, said during a House hearing last week.
Lawmakers have urged the administration to consider temporarily relocating Afghans working for US or NATO forces to a safer foreign location while their US visas are processed. Some have suggested Guam, a US territory that served a similar purpose after the Vietnam War. Kurdish refugees were also deported to the Pacific Islands after the Gulf War in 1996.
The Governor of Guam recently wrote to the President Joe Biden That is to say, the area is ready to help when needed.
The Biden administration is for now focused on accelerating a special visa program for Afghans who helped with US operations and pouring resources into relieving the backlog.
“We’re processing and kicking people out at record speed,” white House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. “We are working with Congress right now to streamline some of the requirements that are slowing down this process and we are making comprehensive plans for possible evacuations, should this become necessary.”
Zalmay Khalilzad was state DepartmentThe Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconstruction, warned lawmakers in May that the departure of “all educated Afghans” would be a “sign of panic” and hurt the morale of the country’s security forces.
“It’s a delicate, complicated balance that we have to keep,” Khalilzad said.
Democratic Representative Jason Crowe of Colorado recently introduced legislation that would nearly double the number of visas available this year to 8,000, and ease eligibility requirements.
But he said Congress’s action would not be quick or sufficient.
Even if the law is passed immediately, the number of visas would be far less than the estimated 18,000 Afghans waiting to be processed. That figure does not include their spouses and children, which would bring the total to about 70,000 people.
And the average wait is over three years. The process has also been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to the US embassy in Afghanistan suspending visa interviews.
Crowe, a former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan, said he prefers the government to “take our Afghan partners to a temporary evacuation site, where we can secure strong visas without endangering the safety of applicants.” can do processing. Taliban”
In a statement this month, the Taliban vowed not to attack those working for Western interests, urged Afghans to stay home and warned their ranks against retaliatory killings.
Still, many Afghans are desperate for visas, fearing violence not only from the Taliban but also from heavily armed warlords allied with the US, and are now seeing this as their last chance to leave Afghanistan.
The withdrawal of American troops began on May 1, when American troops numbered between 2,500 and 3,500, and could be completed by July 4. Some 7,000 NATO forces are set to leave by September 11.
Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine said the government needed to find a “constructive” approach to helping Afghans working with the US military. This could include sending more people from the State Department or the military to process visas in Afghanistan, or evacuating people to a safer location.
“It’s not only a moral issue, it’s a national security issue,” said King, who sits on both the Intelligence and Armed Services committees, adding that “we also have a practical responsibility, should we want to.” People help us. Future?”
According to the advocacy organization No One Left Behind, more than 300 interpreters have been killed in Afghanistan since 2016.
Former Army Major Matt Zeller said a military evacuation is the only viable option for the thousands of Afghans facing threats, who have been protected from the presence of US troops.
“I am alive only because my Afghan, Muslim translator saved my life by killing two Taliban fighters who were about to kill me in a fight,” said Zeller, whose interpreter waited three years for a visa.
US government should have learned from what happened in Vietnam: Jim Jones, a veteran of Vietnam and former Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court.
Initially fearing mass evacuations would weaken South Vietnamese forces, the US watched for weeks as North Vietnamese forces overran South Vietnam before driving out the Americans and allies. The effort ended with the largest helicopter evacuation in history in the final hours of the war.
In less than 24 hours, Marine helicopters airlifted approximately 7,000 US military personnel, South Vietnamese who supported the US mission, and their dependents.
Many South Vietnamese soldiers and government officials were left behind or were killed in “retraining” camps. These included soldiers who helped Jones survive as an army artillery officer.
“We had a moral obligation to extract as many as possible, but instead, we left them to a terrible fate,” Jones wrote in the Military Times. “We cannot allow such a tragedy to happen to the Afghans again. I pray that this great nation does not again turn its back on the troubled people who trusted us.”
Pentagon leaders say they are ready to help in any way they can and downplayed concerns that history will repeat itself.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently told lawmakers, “I don’t see Saigon 1975 in Afghanistan.”
With US and NATO forces facing a September 11 deadline to leave Afghanistan, many are remembering that desperate, hasty escape as they urge the Biden administration to evacuate thousands of Afghans who have lost their lives in the past. Over two decades worked as interpreters or otherwise helped in US military operations. .
Despite unusual bipartisan support in Congress, the administration does not agree to such a move, refusing to publicly support anything that could undermine security in the country as it did after the 9/11 attacks. Opens the war that has begun.
“We have a moral obligation to protect our brave allies who laid down their lives for us,” said Republican Rep. Peter Peter, and we’ve been working for months to get the administration involved and ensure a plan with some concrete results. are doing.” Meijer, of Michigan, said during a House hearing last week.
Lawmakers have urged the administration to consider temporarily relocating Afghans working for US or NATO forces to a safer foreign location while their US visas are processed. Some have suggested Guam, a US territory that served a similar purpose after the Vietnam War. Kurdish refugees were also deported to the Pacific Islands after the Gulf War in 1996.
The Governor of Guam recently wrote to the President Joe Biden That is to say, the area is ready to help when needed.
The Biden administration is for now focused on accelerating a special visa program for Afghans who helped with US operations and pouring resources into relieving the backlog.
“We’re processing and kicking people out at record speed,” white House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. “We are working with Congress right now to streamline some of the requirements that are slowing down this process and we are making comprehensive plans for possible evacuations, should this become necessary.”
Zalmay Khalilzad was state DepartmentThe Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconstruction, warned lawmakers in May that the departure of “all educated Afghans” would be a “sign of panic” and hurt the morale of the country’s security forces.
“It’s a delicate, complicated balance that we have to keep,” Khalilzad said.
Democratic Representative Jason Crowe of Colorado recently introduced legislation that would nearly double the number of visas available this year to 8,000, and ease eligibility requirements.
But he said Congress’s action would not be quick or sufficient.
Even if the law is passed immediately, the number of visas would be far less than the estimated 18,000 Afghans waiting to be processed. That figure does not include their spouses and children, which would bring the total to about 70,000 people.
And the average wait is over three years. The process has also been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to the US embassy in Afghanistan suspending visa interviews.
Crowe, a former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan, said he prefers the government to “take our Afghan partners to a temporary evacuation site, where we can secure strong visas without endangering the safety of applicants.” can do processing. Taliban”
In a statement this month, the Taliban vowed not to attack those working for Western interests, urged Afghans to stay home and warned their ranks against retaliatory killings.
Still, many Afghans are desperate for visas, fearing violence not only from the Taliban but also from heavily armed warlords allied with the US, and are now seeing this as their last chance to leave Afghanistan.
The withdrawal of American troops began on May 1, when American troops numbered between 2,500 and 3,500, and could be completed by July 4. Some 7,000 NATO forces are set to leave by September 11.
Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine said the government needed to find a “constructive” approach to helping Afghans working with the US military. This could include sending more people from the State Department or the military to process visas in Afghanistan, or evacuating people to a safer location.
“It’s not only a moral issue, it’s a national security issue,” said King, who sits on both the Intelligence and Armed Services committees, adding that “we also have a practical responsibility, should we want to.” People help us. Future?”
According to the advocacy organization No One Left Behind, more than 300 interpreters have been killed in Afghanistan since 2016.
Former Army Major Matt Zeller said a military evacuation is the only viable option for the thousands of Afghans facing threats, who have been protected from the presence of US troops.
“I am alive only because my Afghan, Muslim translator saved my life by killing two Taliban fighters who were about to kill me in a fight,” said Zeller, whose interpreter waited three years for a visa.
US government should have learned from what happened in Vietnam: Jim Jones, a veteran of Vietnam and former Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court.
Initially fearing mass evacuations would weaken South Vietnamese forces, the US watched for weeks as North Vietnamese forces overran South Vietnam before driving out the Americans and allies. The effort ended with the largest helicopter evacuation in history in the final hours of the war.
In less than 24 hours, Marine helicopters airlifted approximately 7,000 US military personnel, South Vietnamese who supported the US mission, and their dependents.
Many South Vietnamese soldiers and government officials were left behind or were killed in “retraining” camps. These included soldiers who helped Jones survive as an army artillery officer.
“We had a moral obligation to extract as many as possible, but instead, we left them to a terrible fate,” Jones wrote in the Military Times. “We cannot allow such a tragedy to happen to the Afghans again. I pray that this great nation does not again turn its back on the troubled people who trusted us.”
Pentagon leaders say they are ready to help in any way they can and downplayed concerns that history will repeat itself.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently told lawmakers, “I don’t see Saigon 1975 in Afghanistan.”
.