American armies. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images
- The United States will begin flying later this month to evacuate translators and other Afghan nationals who assisted the American war.
- The deadline for announcing this news is August 31, and the deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan is approaching.
- The fate of Afghan interpreters and other personnel assisting the US military has always been one of the core issues during the withdrawal.
A senior government official said on Wednesday that the United States will begin to withdraw thousands of Afghan interpreters and other personnel who are helping the U.S. military in the country starting in late July.
The official said:
Under President Biden’s instructions, the United States is launching an allied refuge operation to support the relocation flights of interested and eligible Afghan nationals and their families who support the United States and our partners in Afghanistan.
The interpreters preparing to evacuate are those who have applied for Iraqi and Afghan translators and interpreters who have assisted the U.S. military in the past two decades under the State Department’s Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program.
Many Afghan interpreters who have worked with the United States and NATO forces in the past two decades are worried that the Taliban will retaliate. They are seeking to regain control of the Kabul government after the U.S. forces withdraw before the end of August.
It is estimated that about 18,000 people are eligible, and together with their families, they can bring the total number of evacuees to 100,000.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said on Tuesday that the US military will handle the evacuees, who may be transported to US bases overseas first.
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Kirby pointed out that not all interpreters asked to leave.
The Taliban killed some Afghans who worked for the US military, and some interpreters said their families were threatened.
The Afghan army continues to fight Islamic insurgents, who have expanded the scope of the rural areas they control, starting their offensive when Washington announced last year that it would withdraw all its troops this year.
U.S. officials said:
The United States still believes that the Afghan armed forces have the tools and capabilities to defend the country, and that the conflict must ultimately be resolved at the negotiating table.
