The window for a possible evacuation of Afghans who worked for the U.S. could soon close as a withdrawal of U.S. forces will likely wrap up within weeks, 2 Defense officials tell NBCNews
of thousands of Afghan partners who have applied for U.S. visas.
Deputy Secretary of State Brian McKeon briefed Crow and other lawmakers on the plight of Afghan partners on Tuesday. Advocates for an urgent evacuation argue that organizing such an operation after U.S. troops leave would be more dangerous, more expensive and politically more complicated. Drones and intelligence resources will be gone and the security situation at air bases will be uncertain.The United States has no agreements in place with neighboring countries in Central Asia that would allow it to launch aircraft just across the border. Instead, U.S.
“Right now, we are rapidly approaching the point in which there will be little security left in Afghanistan to support a withdrawal,” Purdy said. “Every day that passes means that we will be forced to make more hard decisions. We don’t have a year or six months to plan every detail, we have weeks and days.”
“While we remain focused on the peace process, we also have a commitment to Afghans who served the U.S. government at great personal risk to themselves and their families, and we are processing qualified SIV applications as quickly as we possibly can,” a State Department spokesperson said.
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