Senate Panel Grants More Visas for Afghans Who Supported US

[longknife]

I don't think that even The Donald could complain about letting these Muslims into the US. They put their lives on the line to serve with us and I think we owe it to them to have a chance at freedom they won't have in their homeland.

The Afghan civilians worked for the coalition as interpreters, firefighters and construction laborers. But the militants considered them traitors. The top American commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Nicholson, urged Congress to extend the special immigrant visa program so they and their families could escape what he called "grave consequences."

Full story @ Senate Panel Grants More Visas for Afghans Who Supported US | Military.com

 

[couch protester]

That make sense, allow unknowns from the enemy side to infiltrate our military and sabatog our operations, then release them among American civilians and government buildings with access.

 

[Unkotare]

That make sense, allow unknowns from the enemy side to infiltrate our military and sabatog our operations, then release them among American civilians and government buildings with access.

Did you read the OP at all?

 

[Camp]

This should have been done long ago.

 

[Syriusly]

I don't think that even The Donald could complain about letting these Muslims into the US. They put their lives on the line to serve with us and I think we owe it to them to have a chance at freedom they won't have in their homeland.

The Afghan civilians worked for the coalition as interpreters, firefighters and construction laborers. But the militants considered them traitors. The top American commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Nicholson, urged Congress to extend the special immigrant visa program so they and their families could escape what he called "grave consequences."

Full story @ Senate Panel Grants More Visas for Afghans Who Supported US | Military.com

Of course it makes sense.

Yet to many- they are just "Muslims"

There are people in Iraq who are in the same situation and should be given the same kind of opportunities to escape.

 

[longknife]

That make sense, allow unknowns from the enemy side to infiltrate our military and sabatog our operations, then release them among American civilians and government buildings with access.

Where the hell do you come up with "unknowns?" These are men who stood by the side of NATO forces in a war zone putting their lives and the lives of their families in jeopardy.

Leaving them to stay in Afghanistan is a certain death warrant - just like the hundreds we've screwed in Iraq.

 

[longknife]

That make sense, allow unknowns from the enemy side to infiltrate our military and sabatog our operations, then release them among American civilians and government buildings with access.

Did you read the OP at all?

Clearly not.

 

[waltky]

Afghans Account for Nearly Half of Foreign Troops Who Go AWOL in US...

Afghans Account for Nearly Half of Foreign Troops Who Go AWOL in US
20 Oct 2017 | Nearly half of the foreign troops training in the U.S. who go AWOL are from Afghanistan.

Nearly half of the foreign troops training in the U.S. who go absent without leave are from Afghanistan, a government watchdog report said Friday. Of the 352 foreign troops who were absent without leave since 2005 in the U.S., 152 were from Afghanistan, according to the report by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction. The report said 83 of the 152 AWOL Afghans either fled the U.S. or were unaccounted for, while 27 have been arrested or removed from the U.S. by law enforcement. According to the Pentagon, about 2,200 Afghan personnel have trained in the U.S. since 2007. The AWOL rate among Afghan trainees has also been increasing, SIGAR said. Forty-four of the total 152 Afghan AWOL cases occurred between January 2015 and October 2016, according to U.S. Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A).

nternational military students receive a class assignment from Andrea Gjorevski during a general English class at the Defense Language Institute at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas​

The report quoted Army Maj. Gen. Richard Kaiser, CSTC-A commander, as saying the Afghan Ministry of Defense "does not have a comprehensive policy for preventing its members from going AWOL while enrolled in U.S.-funded training or addressing what happens when AWOLs occur." The base that had the largest number of Afghan trainees go AWOL was Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas, where Afghan trainees are required to attend English-language courses, the report said. In response to the report, the secretary of the Air Force's Internal Affairs office recommended establishing a position for an Afghan Liaison Officer at Joint Base San Antonio to "address student needs and quality-of-life issues, and work with the training facility leadership to solve any other issues that may arise."

According to the SIGAR report, some of the AWOL Afghans said later in interviews that they left bases in the U.S. or tried to return home because of threats against their families by the Taliban. "One trainee stated that after she left for training, the Taliban visited her home and threatened her family because of her involvement with the U.S. Two others stated that their families had received threatening letters or phone calls from the Taliban, and another claimed that his family had been attacked due to his training in the U.S.," the report said. The report concluded the AWOL incidents among Afghan trainees "may have had a negative impact on operational readiness of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) units and the morale of fellow trainees and home units, and posed security risks to the United States."

Afghans Account for Nearly Half of Foreign Troops Who Go AWOL in US | Military.com

See also:

IG: 13 Afghan Military Trainees Have Disappeared Inside the U.S.
October 20, 2017 | Thirteen Afghans who came to the United States for military training between 2005 and 2017 went AWOL here and have not been accounted for, according to an inspector general's report.

During that same period, a total of 253,977 foreigners came to the United States for military training, including 2,537 of them from Afghanistan, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a report released on Friday. During that time, 320 foreign trainees went AWOL in the United States. And of those 320 AWOL trainees, 152 of them (47.5 percent) were from Afghanistan. As of March 7, 2017, the status of the 152 Afghan trainees who went AWOL included:

--70 who fled the United States;
--39 who gained legal status in the United States;
--27 who were arrested, removed, or are being processed for removal from the United States;
--13 who were still AWOL or remained unaccounted for;
--and 3 who were no longer AWOL or who returned to their U.S.-based training.

"Although we are not aware of any acts of terrorism or similarly serious acts involving Afghan trainees who have gone AWOL, such cases are considered by the CTCEU (ICE's Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation Unit) to be high risk because they involve militarily trained individuals of a fighting age who have demonstrated a 'flight risk,' and have little or no risk of arrest and detention for absconding from training," the report said. The report notes that Afghan military trainees went AWOL from 23 different locations in the United States. The largest number (56) absconded from Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, where Afghan trainees are required to attend English-language training. Sixteen trainees absconded from Ft. Rucker, Alabama; 13 from Ft. Benning, Georgia; and 11 from Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. According to current and former trainees interviewed by SIGAR, the reasons most often cited by Afghans were personal/family safety concerns and perceived job insecurity in Afghanistan following training.

Afghan trainees who went AWOL while training in the United States include 103 company grade officers (46 second lieutenants, 40 first lieutenants, and 17 captains); 20 personnel for which a rank is unknown; 19 non-commissioned officers; and 9 field grade officers (4 majors, 3 lieutenant colonels, and 2 colonels); and one civilian. In addition to U.S. security concerns, "The tendency of Afghan trainees in the United States to go AWOL may hinder the operational readiness of their home units, negatively impact the morale of fellow trainees and home units," the report said. Meanwhile, thousands of U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan, trying to build up the capabilities of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, an effort that has cost the U.S. government billions of dollars since the war began in 2001.

According to the SIGAR report:

 

[longknife]

The visas referred to were for Afghans who acted as interpreters and others in direct support of American forces.