Joe Biden only just revealed plans to remove all American soldiers out of Afghanistan in April; this happened when one member got up and asked a difficult question during a confidential meeting with top security experts on Capitol Hill.
Just what is the Biden government’s strategy to relocate and hasten the visas of many Afghan citizens who assisted the US combat effort?
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was unable to respond. According to two persons in the meeting and a military official aware of the conversation, Austin said that he would get around to answering that at a later stage.
@POTUS Bring the Afgan translators to Guam NOW!
They served us…we need to take care of our ALLIES!@DHSgov #Maddow
Please retweet
👇👇👇 https://t.co/BhHe1BTn8J— J Klingensmith (@klingensmith_j) July 10, 2021
Austin’s reaction astounded them and it foretold what so many congressmembers, both liberals and conservatives, presently see as the Biden government’s failure to adequately prepare for the eruption of visa applicants. This also includes the need to quickly remove Afghans from the nation as the Taliban continues to gain territory.
Republicans Have Taken a Firm Stand Against Biden on This
Conservatives slammed Biden’s move to withdraw US forces immediately and end the almost 20-year military effort; yet, senators from both parties agreed on the importance of protecting Afghans who served as translators and interpreters for American forces.
Biden, with his regional security staff ,has been blamed for leaving people who put their lives at great risk to assist the US forces. There are rising fears that the Afghans remaining behind will be persecuted, executed, or both once the combat soldiers leave.
The legislators had assembled in a secure chamber in the Senate in their first of many opportunities to question Biden’s top aides; this regards their intentions for Afghanistan and intel reports on the worsening reality on the ground.
@POTUS
Please get the Afgan translators out NOW! This is a terrible injustice to those who helped save our soldiers lives. Every minute wasted not getting them out is shameful. Get them out NOW!— J A (@Berrentree) July 10, 2021
Biden Has No Plan of Action
The Biden government has increased the rate for a few applications who are nearing the end, but countless more are still going to wait. The Afghans are requesting asylum in the United States via the State Department’s Special Migrant Visa system.
Congress founded this in 1999 to relocate translators, interpreters, and other Afghan citizens who assisted the American Army. However, the system has been beset by substantial delays for years and there are currently around 20,000 persons in the application procedure.
@SecDef @POTUS @VP We knew this would happen. We cannot abandon these women & girls to the extremists. Not to mention the 17,000 translators. It is unconscionable! We must stop the pullout of our troops or find a way to better support the Afgan military.https://t.co/TGxgpfEeAM
— Debbie Hennessey (@DebbieHennessey) May 9, 2021
Afghans had waited so long for their requests to be accepted, despite a legal rule that they are granted within nine months. The danger has escalated in the months since Biden declared the September 11 timetable for military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
According to some intelligence estimates, the Taliban have achieved significant territorial advances and now threaten to seize the nation within several months. The applicants are afraid of action from the terrorists, who have vowed to kill them and their relatives.
The Senate Intelligence Commission’s leadership has already cautioned that the existing backlog is out of step with the withdrawal’s speed and the increasing worsening of security in Afghanistan. Gallagher bemoaned the fact that the whole thing is a total disaster and that it’s not going to improve soon.
