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The US steps up efforts to save Afghan allies amid Taliban offensive

The Biden administration will <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewFeinberg/status/1415328036686344197?s=20">begin evacuating</a> thousands of Afghans who worked for the US government later this month, ahead of an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/07/08/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-drawdown-of-u-s-forces-in-afghanistan/">August 31</a> deadline for the end of US military operations in Afghanistan.
Current and former Afghan translators, interpreters, and others who have worked with the US government in Afghanistan are facing deadly danger as the US drawdown continues and the Taliban reclaims territory once controlled by Afghan and coalition forces.
As Task & Purpose <a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/news/afghan-interpreters-us-withdrawal/">reported</a> this month, “an estimated 70,000 Afghans who have worked for the United States — and their family members — are at risk of being killed as the Taliban push for a final victory.”
Because of that danger, <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewFeinberg/status/1415328036686344197?s=20">according to a senior administration official</a>, flights for “interested and eligible Afghan nationals and their families who have supported the United States and our partners in Afghanistan and are in the [Special Immigrant Visa] application pipeline” will begin in the last week of July as part of Operation Allies Refuge.
The <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/special-immg-visa-afghans-employed-us-gov.html#overview">Special Immigrant Visa</a>, or SIV, program allows Afghans who work or worked “by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Afghanistan,” as well as family members, to qualify for visas and lawful permanent resident status in the US.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
JUST IN: The White House is launching “Operation Allies Refuge” to evacuate Afghan nationals who assisted US and allied forces (plus families) from Afghanistan.
From a senior administration official: <a href="https://t.co/4Bet68C6hb">pic.twitter.com/4Bet68C6hb</a>
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewFeinberg/status/1415328036686344197?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2021</a></blockquote>
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“Our message to those women and men is clear,” President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/07/08/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-drawdown-of-u-s-forces-in-afghanistan/">said</a> in a speech about Afghanistan earlier this month. “There is a home for you in the United States if you so choose, and we will stand with you just as you stood with us.”
On Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/07/15/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-and-surgeon-general-dr-vivek-h-murthy-july-15-2021/">told reporters</a> that some 20,000 Afghans have applied for SIVs so far, though the number eligible is likely far larger — potentially as many as 100,000 people, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/us-20000-afghan-interpreters-request-asylum/a-58284551">according to Deutsche Welle</a>.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Psaki says approximately 20,000 Afghans have applied for the special immigrant visas for Afghans that supported the U.S. during the Afghanistan War and details how the vetting process for the visas will work. <a href="https://t.co/PDhEx6QZnk">pic.twitter.com/PDhEx6QZnk</a>
— CBS News (@CBSNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1415729543403479050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The news comes after sustained bipartisan scrutiny from lawmakers, including Sen. Angus King (I-ME), who <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/06/15/i-want-white-houses-hair-fire-senator-calls-action-save-afghan-interpreters.html">said</a> last month that he “[wanted] the White House’s hair on fire” over the issue — and a rapid <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/20/world/asia/afghanistan-kunduz-taliban.html">Taliban offensive</a> in Afghanistan has only heightened concerns.
“It’s not only a moral issue, it’s a national security issue,” King told reporters in a telephone briefing, <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/06/15/i-want-white-houses-hair-fire-senator-calls-action-save-afghan-interpreters.html">according to Military.com</a>. “This can’t just be business as usual at the State Department. ... History judges you for how you go into a war, but also how you leave it.”
Currently, however, only about 2,500 of those evacuees in the SIV program will be allowed to travel directly to the US, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/biden-admin-now-plans-evacuate-2-500-afghans-directly-u-n1274235">according to NBC News</a>. Many others — about 10,000 people whose background checks for a visa are still pending — will instead likely be flown to third countries or to overseas US military bases. Details are still unclear, but Guam, a US territory, is reportedly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/24/us/politics/afghan-interpreters-visas.html">under consideration</a> as an interim location.
Congress has welcomed the Biden administration’s announcement — but lawmakers are still <a href="https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-statement-on-president-bidens-planning-of-americas-afghanistan-withdrawal">urging the White House to do more</a> to protect the US’s Afghan allies and ease their entry into the US, as well as pushing for legislative solutions.
One such bill, the proposed <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3385">HOPE for Afghan SIVs Act</a>, would postpone the SIV medical exam requirement until applicants arrive in the US, eliminating a major hurdle for many Afghans.
As things stand, limited access to clinics in Afghanistan that can conduct the exam has created a chokepoint in the process. <a href="https://crow.house.gov/media/press-releases/crow-wenstrup-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-expedite-application-process">According to Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO)</a>, one of the bill’s cosponsors and a former US Army Ranger who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, “there is currently only one facility in Kabul that conducts all immigrant visa examinations for the entire country, forcing applicants from the outer provinces to travel to Kabul in often dangerous circumstances.”
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<figcaption>Naseri, formerly an interpreter for the US Marine Corps in Afghanistan, poses for a portrait in Kabul.</figcaption>
<cite>Andrew Quilty/The Washington Post/Getty Images</cite></figure>
The measure passed the House late last month by a <a href="https://twitter.com/carolinesimon66/status/1409945276949925889?s=20">bipartisan vote</a> of 366 to 46 and has bipartisan backing in the Senate.
“Approximately 20,000 Afghans are currently stuck in the backlog,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) said in a <a href="https://www.padilla.senate.gov/press-releases/padilla-cornyn-bill-to-speed-up-immigration-process-for-afghan-interpreters-passes-house/">statement</a> with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). “This bill is a commonsense solution that will help pave a more expeditious path to safety for these Afghans and their families.”
In many cases, the Taliban marks interpreters for death specifically for their cooperation with the US. Some have already been killed, or their family members have been targeted — <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/6/13/betrayed-the-afghan-interpreters-abandoned-by-the">according to the advocacy group No One Left Behind</a>, more than 300 interpreters and their family members have been killed since 2014.
“I gave everything I had to the Americans, but once they are gone, I will be killed,” one former Afghan interpreter for US forces, Abdul Rashid Shirzad, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-interpreters-evacuation/2021/07/02/88d263d8-daa5-11eb-8c87-ad6f27918c78_story.html">told the Washington Post</a>. “They keep track of us, and they don’t shoot us like they do Afghan soldiers. If they catch me, they will behead me.”
Currently, Shirzad’s SIV application is pending, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-interpreters-evacuation/2021/07/02/88d263d8-daa5-11eb-8c87-ad6f27918c78_story.html">according to the Post</a>. In 2016, he was denied a visa for reasons that remain unclear.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
'Why didn't we do this before we withdrew our forces?" Matt Zeller, co-founder of No One Left Behind, shares a harrowing story to illustrate the frantic desperation of Afghan interpreters who worked with the U.S. trying to escape the Taliban's advance. <a href="https://twitter.com/mattczeller?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mattczeller</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/n1leftbehind?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@n1leftbehind</a> <a href="https://t.co/0fSWouSEGA">pic.twitter.com/0fSWouSEGA</a>
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1415496972178534402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Separate from the the HOPE for Afghan SIVs Act, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) is also <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2021/07/13/democratic-security-supplemental-would-also-aid-afghan-allies/">pushing</a> for Congress to raise the cap on SIVs to 46,500 visas — a potential increase of 20,000 from current levels.
There are currently several permutations of the SIV program, according to the State Department. Special immigrant visas are also available to <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/special-immg-visas-iraqis-employed-us-gov.html">Iraqis who worked with the US</a>, and specifically for Iraqi and Afghan <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/siv-iraqi-afghan-translators-interpreters.html">translators and interpreters</a> who worked with the US military.
Leahy’s proposed cap increase is part of a potential $3.7 billion <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2311?">security supplemental</a>, which Leahy introduced last week to increase funding for Capitol security in the wake of the January 6 attack.
The package would also make a number of other changes to the SIV program. <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2021/07/13/democratic-security-supplemental-would-also-aid-afghan-allies/">According to Roll Call’s Caroline Simon</a>, the Leahy plan would “reduce the employment requirement for eligibility from two years to one year, postpone the required medical exam until the applicant reaches the United States, overhaul the appeal process for denials and provide SIV status for family members of murdered applicants, among other changes.”
And it would include $100 million in “emergency aid” for an expected surge in Afghan refugees as the Taliban continue to claw back territory in Afghanistan.
Many of those same provisions are also included in the standalone <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2032?">Afghan Allies Protection Act</a>, a bipartisan bill <a href="https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/to-stabilize-afghanistan-withdrawal-king-cosponsors-bipartisan-bill-to-protect-allies">cosponsored</a> by King, Leahy, and 15 other senators. A <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3513?">version of the bill</a> also has bipartisan support in the House.
However, the Leahy plan for the Afghan SIV program doesn’t have universal support: Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the ranking member opposite Leahy on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has instead <a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/shelby-releases-bill-to-fund-national-guard-capitol-police">proposed</a> a much narrower supplemental package that would only fund Capitol security and does not include money for the Afghan SIV program.
“We made a promise to the Afghans who risked their own lives to support and protect our troops and our country,” Leahy said in a <a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/-chairman-leahy-statement-on-the-introduction-of-the-senate-security-supplemental-">statement</a> on the security supplemental. “As a country, our word is our bond, and we all agree, Republicans and Democrats, that bond will not be broken on our watch. If we do not address this now, then when?”
As Leahy’s statement suggests, time is running out for Afghans who have worked with the US — and for the US to find a solution for its allies that meets the moment. In the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/07/08/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-drawdown-of-u-s-forces-in-afghanistan/">same July speech</a> where Biden announced the US evacuation effort for Afghan visa recipients, he also set a new withdrawal date for US forces: August 31.
That’s about a week and a half earlier than the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/13/22381893/biden-afghanistan-war-withdraw-september-11-taliban">previously announced date</a>, September 11, and already, most US troops — more than 90 percent of all forces, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/usa/top-commander-afghanistan-steps-down-symbolic-end-us-military-mission">according to US Central Command</a> — have withdrawn from the country.
Earlier this month, the US pulled out of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/world/asia/afghanistan-bagram-us-withdrawal.html">Bagram Air Base</a>, the largest US airfield in the country. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/bagram-afghanistan-airfield-us-troops-f3614828364f567593251aaaa167e623">According to the AP</a>, US soldiers made a quiet overnight departure, shutting off power to the base and leaving without alerting the incoming Afghan base commander.
Bagram has long been the hub for US operations in Afghanistan, and it carries additional symbolic importance as “a gateway to and from a war that cut across constant changes on the battlefield and in presidential administrations,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/world/asia/afghanistan-bagram-us-withdrawal.html">writes</a> New York Times reporter Thomas Gibbons-Neff.
Last week, Army Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller officially stepped down from his post as the top US commander in the country, marking the effective conclusion of the US presence in Afghanistan. Only about 600 US troops are still in the country, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/07/12/last-us-general-afghanistan/">according to the Washington Post</a> — primarily to protect the US Embassy and international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.
“Our job now is just not to forget,” Miller said ahead of his departure from Kabul Monday. “With the families that have lost people across this conflict, it will be important to know that someone remembers, that someone cares, and that we’re able to talk about it in the future.”
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1626667255_3576_311393" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22724758,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/j2vofoUlirVnaJHNFuiTddSPG-s=/0x0:4836x3224/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ubpLIoG93_u2WQGUyj5wvJPqzi8=/0x0:4836x3224/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jU2q_h4CCIrg2Htha1J88X0Ln8s=/0x0:4836x3224/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HzPYUViUR5baNQkBEkPRbeszDh4=/0x0:4836x3224/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kb2eUSbPNY0jn4qqHlR02A1PYSU=/0x0:4836x3224/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/f0IZ9RR9jmPCiry1ASI7SDWL40M=/0x0:4836x3224/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/X9nGU1RYFcZ5-12-h1IHbIMJNME=/0x0:4836x3224/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8kmQoaFK__cKhdEqgclvPcMXQIo=/0x0:4836x3224/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/aIn7m7bthBJTHbqWpd-wXvjjZxw=/0x0:4836x3224/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="The two men shake hands on a military runway, Austin, a tall Black man in a navy suit; Miller, a white man with gray hair in light-patterned Army fatigues and boots." data-upload-width="4836" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/T4I18rz2Fnjw61veP9ANoH6lXIA=/0x0:4836x3224/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UtTB6x1HtQu9Oic9QlRrygU5Unw=/0x0:4836x3224/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XIS4UjYa9aOGpbpR-kB47acHsqI=/0x0:4836x3224/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SbD3heTPty0hNd1hJuV0qh9_0WY=/0x0:4836x3224/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/N-RbMCArmXl7jcXw1WJlv2x3ciI=/0x0:4836x3224/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ioQjTDO54eQ2JOF2jsQl4yYUeFU=/0x0:4836x3224/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BUu8fIGvZTsWj-bi4NNrYidA8nI=/0x0:4836x3224/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ND-sFjj9eMB368kXPbvzRPYDqTA=/0x0:4836x3224/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/D2VnLFKm5lmogAVqg9wChurKk_E=/0x0:4836x3224/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G2VBBzVyJ0-rRo_MSx2DA7VB7Y4=/0x0:4836x3224/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4836x3224):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22724758/1233976038.jpg 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left) greets Army Gen. Scott Miller, the former top US commander in Afghanistan, upon Miller’s return to the US at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, on July 14, 2021.</figcaption>
<cite>Alex Brandon/AFP/Getty Images</cite></figure>
Previously, the Trump administration had set <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/17/us/politics/biden-us-forces-afghanistan-may.html">May 1</a> of this year as the deadline to end the US troop presence in Afghanistan; under Biden, May 1 became the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/04/14/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-way-forward-in-afghanistan/">start date</a> for a final US withdrawal.
The withdrawal has generated substantial pushback: Former President George W. Bush criticized it as a “mistake” last week in an <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/george-w-bush-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal-a-mistake/a-58261709">interview</a> with Deutsche Welle, and former top US Afghanistan commander Gen. David Petraeus <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/18/petraeus-afghanistan-taliban-withdrawal-499986">told CNN</a> Sunday that “I fear we will look back and regret the decision to withdraw.”
“I’m afraid Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm,” Bush, who launched the US war in Afghanistan in 2001, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/george-w-bush-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal-a-mistake/a-58261709">said</a>. “They’re just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people, and it breaks my heart.”
Biden has said the US will continue to support the Afghanistan government and provide humanitarian assistance, but he stood by his decision to withdraw US troops in <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/07/08/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-drawdown-of-u-s-forces-in-afghanistan/">remarks</a> this month.
“Nearly 20 years of experience has shown us that the current security situation only confirms that ‘just one more year’ of fighting in Afghanistan is not a solution but a recipe for being there indefinitely,” he said.
As the US drawdown continues, a major Taliban offensive against the Afghan army has succeeded in reclaiming large swaths of territory, raising fears that Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, could fall in short order after the US mission there concludes.
Since the US withdrawal began in May, the Taliban have steadily expanded their reach in Afghanistan, and are now believed to control “more than a third of Afghanistan’s 421 districts and district centers,” <a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-10fe97c34200c7677d2bd047d92f822b">according to the AP</a>.
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Taliban's increasing hold over Afghanistan.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFPgraphics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AFPgraphics</a> map showing parts of Afghanistan under government control and territories under the influence of the Taliban, from April to July 13 <a href="https://t.co/f1Mbeuqvla">pic.twitter.com/f1Mbeuqvla</a>
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1415848303837663232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
</div>
Casualties are also mounting: The Taliban <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/13/asia/afghanistan-taliban-commandos-killed-intl-hnk/index.html">murdered</a> at least 22 Afghan commandos last month as they tried to surrender, and Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/world/asia/danish-siddiqui-reuters-photographer-killed-afghanistan.html">shot and killed</a> in Kandahar on Friday.
Some Afghan troops have also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/05/afghan-soldiers-flee-tajikistan-taliban/">fled the country</a> in the face of the Taliban offensive, crossing the border into neighboring Tajikistan in the north.
Those stories reflect what the Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/afghan-government-could-fall-within-six-months-of-us-military-withdrawal-new-intelligence-assessment-says/2021/06/24/42375b14-d52c-11eb-baed-4abcfa380a17_story.html">reported</a> last month is “the new consensus” of US intelligence officials: That the Kabul-based Afghan government, led by President Ashraf Ghani, could fall to the Taliban over the next six months to a year.
The rapid Taliban advance reportedly led the US to consider delaying its withdrawal from Bagram, but officials ultimately opted against it.
Even if the Afghan government remains intact, however, the Taliban offensive is a bad sign. In June, Miller, the former US commander in Afghanistan, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/world/asia/afghanistan-civil-war-miller.html">warned</a> that Afghanistan could slide into a civil war as the US presence there dwindles.
Whatever happens afterward, however, the US timetable is clear: After two decades of war, US military operations will wind down on August 31.
And with most troops already out of the country, there’s more urgency than ever in the fight to save America’s Afghan allies.
“This is a massive step in the right direction,” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), a Marine Corps veteran, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheLeadCNN/status/1415411861542084610?s=20">said</a> of the newly announced Operation Allies Refuge. “Now, we just need to keep pressure on the White House to ensure they see this through until all our Afghan allies are evacuated to safety.”
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
"This is a massive step in the right direction." says Rep. Seth Moulton on the Biden administration's plan to evacuate Afghan allies.
"Now, we just need to keep pressure on the White House to ensure they see this through until all our Afghan allies are evacuated to safety." <a href="https://t.co/uyxt6WAIqD">pic.twitter.com/uyxt6WAIqD</a>
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheLeadCNN/status/1415411861542084610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2021</a></blockquote>
</div>
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/7/18/22582355/operation-allies-refuge-afghanistan">https://www.vox.com/2021/7/18/22582355/operation-allies-refuge-afghanistan</a>

vox The US steps up efforts to save Afghan allies amid Taliban offensive

The Biden administration will begin evacuating thousands of Afghans who worked for the US government later this month, ahead of an August 3...

COVID-19 Restrictions Lifted In England, Scientists Warn Of Surge In Cases

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="COVID-19 Restrictions Lifted In England, Scientists Warn Of Surge In Cases" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2020-09/klj4rssg_britain-coronavirus-650_625x300_08_September_20.jpg" title="COVID-19 Restrictions Lifted In England, Scientists Warn Of Surge In Cases" /></div>
Scientists said the unlocking will lead to a rise in COVID-19 cases in England. (File)
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London:
The British government on Monday lifted pandemic restrictions on daily life in England, scrapping all social distancing in a step slammed by scientists and opposition parties as a dangerous leap into the unknown.
From midnight (2300 GMT Sunday), nightclubs were able to reopen and other indoor venues allowed to run at full capacity, while legal mandates covering the wearing of masks and working from home were scrapped.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson -- who is self-isolating after his health minister was infected -- urged the public to remain prudent and for any laggards to join the two-thirds of UK adults who are now fully vaccinated.
He defended the reopening -- dubbed "freedom day" by some media -- despite scientists' grave misgivings after daily infection rates in Britain topped 50,000, behind only Indonesia and Brazil.
"If we don't do it now, then we'll be opening up in the autumn, the winter months, when the virus has the advantage of the cold weather," the prime minister said in a video message.
This week's start of summer school holidays offered a "precious firebreak", he said.
"If we don't do it now, we've got to ask ourselves, when will we ever do it? So this is the right moment, but we've got to do it cautiously."
Jonathan Ashworth, the opposition Labour party's health spokesman, said the government was being "reckless", echoing experts who say the reopening endangers global health.
"We are against opening up without any precautions in place," Ashworth told BBC television, attacking in particular the government's plan on masks.
After the success of the vaccination programme -- which has now offered at least one dose to every adult in Britain -- the government says any risks to hospital care are manageable.
But professor Neil Ferguson from Imperial College London warned that Britain was on course for 100,000 cases a day, as the Delta variant of Covid runs out of control.
"The real question is, do we get to double that or even higher? And that's where the crystal ball starts to fail," he told BBC television.
"We could get to 2,000 hospitalisations a day, 200,000 cases a day, but it's much less certain," he said.
"Flashing red"
Even if Britain is suffering far fewer deaths than in previous waves, such a caseload would still put severe pressure on the National Health Service (NHS) and risks seeding new variants, medics warned.
Senior Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt, a former health secretary, said the government should learn from Israel and the Netherlands, which have been forced to reverse recent relaxations.
"The warning light on the NHS dashboard is not flashing amber, it is flashing red," he told BBC radio.
Scotland and Wales, whose devolved governments set their own health policy, said they would maintain the mandate on face coverings among other restrictions.
But in England, all restrictions on social mixing were lifted. Sports stadia, cinemas and theatres can now return to full houses.
Fully vaccinated residents returning from "amber list" destinations in Europe no longer have to quarantine -- although in a last-minute policy shift, the government has kept the requirement in place for France.
Also staying in place are requirements to self-isolate after a close contact, which have forced millions off work or school in recent weeks, leading to industry warnings of severe economic disruption.
After their contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, Johnson and finance minister Rishi Sunak initially tried to use an official testing pilot scheme that enables participants to escape full self-isolation.
But after a public and political outcry, Downing Street staged a hurried U-turn.
"Epidemiological stupidity"
Johnson, who nearly died of Covid last year, will remain at the prime minister's country retreat at Chequers northwest of London until July 26.
"We did look briefly at the idea of us taking part in the pilot scheme which allows people to test daily," he said.
"But I think it's far more important that everybody sticks to the same rule."
Others urged the government to stick to the cautious global consensus on tackling the pandemic, rather than acceding to the libertarian instincts of Johnson and other Conservatives.
The government's stated approach of lifting controls now before any winter surge of respiratory disease is marked by "moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity", said University of Bristol public health expert Gabriel Scally.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/covid-19-restrictions-lifted-in-england-scientists-warn-of-surge-in-cases-2489507">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/covid-19-restrictions-lifted-in-england-scientists-warn-of-surge-in-cases-2489507</a>

news world COVID-19 Restrictions Lifted In England, Scientists Warn Of Surge In Cases

Scientists said the unlocking will lead to a rise in COVID-19 cases in England. (File) London: The British government on Monday lifted ...

Major US Wildfire In Oregon Spreads, More People Evacuated

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Major US Wildfire In Oregon Spreads, More People Evacuated" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-07/atgn8ids_canada-wildfire_625x300_03_July_21.jpg" title="Major US Wildfire In Oregon Spreads, More People Evacuated" /></div>
Firefighters in Canada, meanwhile, continued to battle dozens of blazes. (File)
</div>
Los Angeles:
With oppressively hot, dry weather looming over much of the Western US and Canada on Sunday, the enormous Bootleg Fire in Oregon grew again and authorities ordered new evacuations.
Bootleg, the largest of 80 major fires now active in the US, spread overnight from 274,000 acres to 290,000 acres -- three times the size of the metropolis of Detroit, officials said.
Some 2,000 people have had to evacuate, with more following on Sunday.
Satellite imagery from the National Weather service showed a huge plume of smoke soaring from Bootleg, in southern Oregon, to the Canadian border, hundreds of miles to the northeast.
But, with firefighters making progress on Bootleg's western flank, overall containment of the blaze more than tripled, to 22 percent.
Heavy winds and widespread lightning storms remained a serious threat.
Firefighters blamed lightning strikes for a fast-growing blaze in California's Lake Tahoe tourist area. The so-called Tamarack Fire, fanned by fierce winds, has grown explosively to more than 20,000 acres, with zero containment so far.
The small nearby community of Markleeville, on the Nevada border, has been evacuated.
Scientists say climate change amplifies droughts which create ideal conditions for wildfires to spread.
The National Interagency Fire Center said the outlook was for "very hot, dry and unstable conditions across the inland Pacific Northwest, Northern Rockies and Plains into northern Minnesota."
It said nearly 20,000 firefighters and support personnel are struggling to contain fires raging across the Western states, with more than 2.5 million acres already having burned this year.
Firefighters in Canada, meanwhile, continued to battle dozens of blazes, including some 20 new ones in British Columbia province and about 15 new ones in northwest Ontario province.
Authorities in that province said a firefighter had died in hospital of an unspecified "medical emergency."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/major-us-wildfire-in-oregon-spreads-more-people-evacuated-2489497">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/major-us-wildfire-in-oregon-spreads-more-people-evacuated-2489497</a>

news world Major US Wildfire In Oregon Spreads, More People Evacuated

Firefighters in Canada, meanwhile, continued to battle dozens of blazes. (File) Los Angeles: With oppressively hot, dry weather looming...

Rise Of Covid Cases Among Unvaccinated Population Concerning: Indian-American Doctor

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Rise Of Covid Cases Among Unvaccinated Population Concerning: Indian-American Doctor" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2020-11/fh6djb48_dr-vivek-murthy-650_625x300_08_November_20.jpg" title="Rise Of Covid Cases Among Unvaccinated Population Concerning: Indian-American Doctor" /></div>
Dr Vivek Murthy says, "the good news is the vaccinated are still highly protected." (File)
</div>
Washington:
America's Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy on Sunday expressed concern over the "significant increase" in COVID-19 cases in the US, especially among the unvaccinated population, urging people to get vaccinated and assuring them that the current set of vaccines are highly effective against coronavirus.
The Indian-American doctor said the vaccinated people are "highly protected" and 99.5 per cent of the deaths recorded from the COVID-19 infection are among those who are unvaccinated.
This is an issue of concern especially given the Delta variant, Dr Murthy told CNN in an interview.
"What we're seeing in LA County is concerning, this rise in cases. Unfortunately, we are seeing rises particularly among the unvaccinated in many parts of the country now and especially given the Delta variant," he said.
"What the CDC did in its guidance about - close to two months ago now, is based on the science saying that your risk of getting sick or transmitting the virus was low if you were fully vaccinated. They gave communities and individuals the flexibility to make decisions about what to do with masks," he said.
"I'm concerned about what we're seeing in the country right now. We are seeing increases in cases, particularly in parts of the country where the vaccination rates are low," he said.
Dr Murthy, however, said the good news was that among those who are fully vaccinated, there is still a high degree of protection, particularly from hospitalisations and deaths.
"In fact, 99.5 per cent of the deaths that we're seeing right now from COVID-19 are among those who are unvaccinated," Dr Murthy told Fox News in another interview.
"So worry that we are seeing, in fact, significant increases among the unvaccinated. But the good news is the vaccinated are still highly protected," he said.
In areas where there are low numbers of vaccinated people or where cases are rising, it is very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measures, like the mask rules that you see coming out in Los Angeles, he told CNN in response to a question
"And I anticipate that will happen in other parts of the country, too," he said.
"Should also say that for individuals, as well, depending on their circumstances, some people may choose to continue wearing masks such as those who may be immunocompromised or people who have those - family members at home who are unvaccinated.
"So people can make these decisions. Counties certainly have the right to put mitigation measures back in place, and that''s not contradictory to the guidance the CDC has issued," said the Indian-American surgeon general," he said.
Dr Murthy said the current set of vaccines were highly effective against COVID-19.
In the case of the mRNA vaccines, more than 90 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic infection, but they're not 100 per cent perfect, he said.
"No vaccine is. That means you will see some numbers of people who have breakthrough cases. But there are two things to know about that. One is that these numbers will be small," he said.
So far, more than 160 million people in the US have been fully vaccinated.
"So, you will see numbers, a minority, a small minority of people who do have breakthrough infections. But here's the other thing to know, is that when you're fully vaccinated, even if you do have a breakthrough infection, it's much more likely that infection will be either asymptomatic or mild.
"And that's really good news that continues to tell us that these vaccines are highly effective, and that''s one of the reasons we are recommending them for people across the country," he said.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/indian-american-doctor-vivek-murthy-rise-of-covid-cases-among-unvaccinated-population-concerning-2489481">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/indian-american-doctor-vivek-murthy-rise-of-covid-cases-among-unvaccinated-population-concerning-2489481</a>

news world Rise Of Covid Cases Among Unvaccinated Population Concerning: Indian-American Doctor

Dr Vivek Murthy says, "the good news is the vaccinated are still highly protected." (File) Washington: America's Surgeon ...

Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Wins Vote Of Confidence In Parliament

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Wins Vote Of Confidence In Parliament" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-07/jfp09jv8_sher-bahadur-deuba-650_625x300_12_July_21.jpeg" title="Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Wins Vote Of Confidence In Parliament" /></div>
A total of 136 votes were required for Sher Bahadur Deuba to win Parliament's confidence. (File)
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Kathmandu:
Nepal's new Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Sunday comfortably won a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives, ensuring continuity of the twice dissolved lower house of Parliament for the remaining duration.
Deuba, the 75-year-old chief of the Nepali Congress who was appointed as the prime minister as per the Article 76(5) of the Constitution on July 12 following Supreme Court's intervention, secured 165 votes in the 275-member house on Sunday.
A total of 136 votes were required for Deuba to win Parliament's confidence.
As many as 249 lawmakers participated in the voting process and 83 of them voted against Deuba while one lawmaker remained neutral.
"I hereby declare that the motion of the vote of confidence tabled by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has been endorsed with a majority," House Speaker Agni Sapkota announced.
The proposal for the vote of trust was registered in the Parliament Secretariat on Sunday, the very first day of the session of the reinstated lower house.
Previously, Deuba has served as the prime minister on four occasions; first from 1995 to 1997, then from 2001 to 2002, again from 2004 to 2005, and from 2017 to 2018.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Deuba on his success.
"Congratulations Prime Minister @DeubaSherbdr and best wishes for a successful tenure. I look forward to working with you to further enhance our unique partnership in all sectors, and strengthen our deep-rooted people-to-people ties," PM Modi tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Congratulations Prime Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/DeubaSherbdr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeubaSherbdr</a> and best wishes for a successful tenure. I look forward to working with you to further enhance our unique partnership in all sectors, and strengthen our deep-rooted people-to-people ties.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1416801219473936385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
Deuba took the oath of office and secrecy for a record fifth time on July 13, a day after a five-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives for the second time in five months.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari had dissolved the lower house for the second time in five months on May 22 at the recommendation of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and announced snap elections on November 12 and November 19.
Deuba had staked the claim to form the government as per the Article 76(5) with the support of 149 lawmakers but President Bhandari had invalidated the claim, along with that made by Oli saying both claims were insufficient.
After the top court's intervention, President Bhandari had summoned the meeting of both the Houses of the Parliament on Sunday.
In the lower house of Parliament, the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) has 61 members while its coalition partner CPN (Maoist Center) has 48 members, excluding Speaker Sapkota.
The main Opposition CPN-UML, which is Oli's party, has 121 members in the lower house, the JSP has 32 members and the other three fringe parties have a member each. There is an independent lawmaker as well.
The Nepali Congress, CPN Maoist Centre and Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal lawmakers voted in favour of Deuba. The Thakur-Mahato faction of the JSP-N also decided to support Deuba at the last minute.
Close to a dozen lawmakers of the UML left the House after Deuba's victory was certain. However, the remaining 22 lawmakers, including Madhav Kumar Nepal himself, voted for Deuba.
Interestingly, as many as 8 lawmakers from the Oli faction voted in Deuba's favour. All in all, around 30 lawmakers from the opposition party defied the party whip to vote against Deuba.
Former prime minister and senior leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) Jhalanath Khanal, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital in New Delhi, had issued a statement, asking his party''s lawmakers to vote in favour of Deuba.
With his victory, Deuba is set to remain prime minister for a year and a half, until elections are held.
Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 last year after President Bhandari dissolved the House and announced fresh elections on April 30 and May 10 at the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli, amidst a tussle for power within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP).
On February 23, the top court reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives, in a setback to embattled Prime Minister Oli who was preparing for snap polls.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/nepal-pm-sher-bahadur-deuba-wins-vote-of-confidence-in-parliament-2489457">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/nepal-pm-sher-bahadur-deuba-wins-vote-of-confidence-in-parliament-2489457</a>

news world Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Wins Vote Of Confidence In Parliament

A total of 136 votes were required for Sher Bahadur Deuba to win Parliament's confidence. (File) Kathmandu: Nepal's new Prime M...

"Terrifying": German Chancellor Shaken As Europe Flood Deaths Rise To 188

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="'Terrifying': German Chancellor Shaken As Europe Flood Deaths Rise To 188" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-07/mcr7i0jg_angela-merkeleurope-floods650_625x300_18_July_21.jpg" title="'Terrifying': German Chancellor Shaken As Europe Flood Deaths Rise To 188" /></div>
"German language can barely describe the devastation that's taken place," Angela Merkel said
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Berchtesgaden/Bischofswiesen:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the flooding that has devastated parts of Europe as "terrifying" on Sunday after the death toll across the region rose to 188 and a district of Bavaria was battered by the extreme weather.
Merkel promised swift financial aid after visiting one of the areas worst affected by the record rainfall and floods that have killed at least 157 in Germany alone in recent days, in the country's worst natural disaster in almost six decades.
She also said governments would have to get better and faster in their efforts to tackle the impact of climate change only days after Europe outlined a package of steps towards "net zero" emissions by the middle of the century.
"It is terrifying," she told residents of the small town of Adenau in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. "The German language can barely describe the devastation that's taken place."
As efforts continued to track down missing people, the devastation continued on Sunday when a district of Bavaria, southern Germany, was hit by flash floods that killed at least one person.
Roads were turned into rivers, some vehicles were swept away and swathes of land buried under thick mud in Berchtesgadener Land. Hundreds of rescue workers were searching for survivors in the district, which borders Austria.
"We were not prepared for this," said Berchtesgadener Land district administrator Bernhard Kern, adding that the situation had deteriorated "drastically" late on Saturday, leaving little time for emergency services to act.
About 110 people have been killed in the worst-hit Ahrweiler district south of Cologne. More bodies are expected to be found there as the flood waters recede, police say.
The European floods, which began on Wednesday, have mainly hit the German states of Rhineland Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia as well as parts of Belgium. Entire communities have been cut off, without power or communications.
In North Rhine-Westphalia at least 46 people have died. The death toll in Belgium climbed to 31 on Sunday.
AID UP, POWER DOWN
The scale of the floods mean they could shake up Germany's general election in September next year.
North Rhine-Westphalia state premier Armin Laschet, the CDU party's candidate to replace Merkel, apologised for laughing in the background while German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke to media after visiting the devastated town of Erftstadt.
The German government will be readying more than 300 million euros ($354 million) in immediate relief and billions of euros to fix collapsed houses, streets and bridges, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told weekly newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
"There is huge damage and that much is clear: those who lost their businesses, their houses, cannot stem the losses alone."
There could also be a 10,000 euro short-term payment for businesses affected by the impact of the floods as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told the paper.
Scientists, who have long said that climate change will lead to heavier downpours, said it would still take several weeks to determine its role in these relentless rainfalls.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the link with climate change was clear.
In Belgium, which will hold a national day of mourning on Tuesday, 163 people are still missing or unreachable. The crisis centre said water levels were falling and a huge clean-up operation was underway. The military was sent in to the eastern town of Pepinster, where a dozen buildings have collapsed, to search for any further victims.
About 37,0000 households were without electricity and Belgian authorities said the supply of clean drinking water was also a major concern.
BRIDGES BATTERED
Emergency services officials in the Netherlands said the situation had somewhat stabilised in the southern part of Limburg province, where tens of thousands were evacuated in recent days, although the northern part was still on high alert.
"In the north they are tensely monitoring the dykes and whether they will hold," Jos Teeuwen of the regional water authority told a press conference on Sunday.
In southern Limburg, authorities are still concerned about the safety of traffic infrastructure such as roads and bridges battered by the high water.
The Netherlands has so far only reported property damage from the flooding and no dead or missing people.
In Hallein, an Austrian town near Salzburg, powerful flood waters tore through the town centre on Saturday evening as the Kothbach river burst its banks, but no injuries were reported.
Many areas of Salzburg province and neighbouring provinces remain on alert, with rains set to continue on Sunday. Western Tyrol province reported that water levels in some areas were at highs not seen for more than 30 years.
Parts of Switzerland remained on flood alert, though the threat posed by some of the most at-risk bodies of water like Lake Lucerne and Bern's Aare river has eased.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/terrifying-german-chancellor-angela-merkel-shaken-as-europe-flood-deaths-rise-to-188-2489442">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/terrifying-german-chancellor-angela-merkel-shaken-as-europe-flood-deaths-rise-to-188-2489442</a>

news world "Terrifying": German Chancellor Shaken As Europe Flood Deaths Rise To 188

"German language can barely describe the devastation that's taken place," Angela Merkel said Berchtesgaden/Bischofswiesen:...