Iowa National Guard Lt. Pat Hendrickson, right, stands with Nabiullah Mohammadi
in Afghanistan. “He was my right-hand man,” Hendrickson said.
(Photo: Courtesy photo via The Des Moines Register)
Posted on 01/12/2015 1:04:23 PM PST by Starman417
The price of aiding and abetting the U.S.?
One of the most often repeated phrases in our military culture is “Leave No Fallen Comrade Behind.” Many service members relied so heavily on their Afghan and Iraqi translators that some were considered members of the unit. It goes without saying that, when troops are in the combat zone, their lives are in constant danger. But at the end of their tours, they get to go home.Translators, however, do not have that luxury.
Predictably, like Iraqi Terps, so too the Afghan interpreters who aligned themselves to helping U.S. forces:
The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) is a U.S. program established for Afghan or Iraqi translators who have worked with the U.S. military. Translators play a crucial role for the U.S. military, and the Iraqi Refugee Assistance project estimates that around 50,000 Iraqi and Afghan nationals have served as translators over the past decade. However, working with the U.S. often comes with a heavy cost: being branded a “traitor” by the Taliban and other groups, putting the translators and their family members at constant risk. The SIV program was intended to provide protection against this by allowing the translators and their families to migrate to the U.S. after their service.Taking years, unlike the complications experienced by others in the immigration process, can cost Afghan interpreters their lives.Unfortunately, the program has fallen short, as evidenced by a recent protest held by Afghan translators outside the U.S. embassy in Kabul, demanding that the U.S. follow through with its promised visas.
Obtaining a visa under the SIV program entails a lengthy, and costly, application process. There are three steps. First, the applicant must file a petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security (USCIS). The applicant is required to provide basic information, a birth certificate, with certified English translation, proof of employment with the U.S, evidence of a background check, and a letter of recommendation.
If that is approved, the translator may move on to step 2, applying for the visa. This requires submitting many of the same documents, plus additional information for every family member. The entire process can – and often does – take years.
By expediting the process, what are the chances of letting in some bad players?
One reason civil servants might be wary about issuing visas is that they do not want to be associated with allowing potential security risks into the U.S. However, many of the soldiers who served alongside the translators disagree with the notion of any potential security risk. Indeed, U.S. soldiers have campaigned for a more efficient visa approval process, including U.S. Army soldier Matt Zeller, who has revealed that during his time in Afghanistan the Taliban would attempt to have the translators dismissed by calling and making fraudulent claims to the U.S. military bases in Afghanistan.Congress has just extended the SIV program for another two years, after it was set to expire on December 31, 2014. The extension is likely to assist thousands of Afghans. However, as American troops start to pull out, the translators and their families who are being left behind remain at serious risk of retribution from the Taliban.
As I asked here:
What do we still owe Iraq and Afghanistan, if we owe anything at all? Pottery barn rule? President Obama seems content to absolve U.S. hands of any further involvement and entanglements, having failed in renegotiating SoFA for the sake of national security and self-interest (which is tied to Iraqi’s security and interests); and we as a nation seem at peace with exiting both theaters, cutting our losses, weary of American blood and treasure spent or squandered (however you wish to look at it).And what responsibility should we have toward individual lives and families, like Roy’s, who sided with the Americans? Why should we care? How do we honor those soldiers and military families who sacrificed the ultimate? Aren’t we selfish Americans, after all, who care only about nation-building at home? Who have no further responsibility nor obligation toward the mess and aftermath of Iraq and Afghanistan? They own it, now. They should fix it.
Isn’t it cynical to believe America still stands as a beacon of freedom to the world, in this day and age? The last best hope?
Did we prove to OBL that America isn’t a paper tiger?
Should we care whether or not Roy’s mom hates us? Blames us- as so many rightly and wrongly do- for the state Iraq is in, today? Should we concern ourselves on whether or not Roy’s siblings are able to have a good life? Should Blake Hall be the only person to shoulder the guilt, compassion, sense of moral responsibility to Mohammed/Roy? What is he to us, who did not personally know him?
In Sept 2013, USA Today reported Iowa troops fight to get Afghan interpreter to U.S.:
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
When do the boat people start to show up?
BTW - no sale.
The US went over there and spent billions, and lost a lot of good men. The “Terps” were trying to change **their** country. (My assumption, otherwise they were just trying to sell out their homies for US dollars)
It would seem they still have some work to do.
Not heartless, but the last thing we need is more immigrants to support.
Don’t get me started on the grand-children of the ‘Yards wanting a free pass to the land of the big PX...
AT some point, it becomes a matter of no money, and we are there....no money.
Surprised?
Why?
We did the same to the Philippinos in WW11
We did the same to the Kurds after Desert Storm
And now Afghanistan -
It’s dangerous to help Amer.
The process to get an interpreter a visa to emigrate generally takes under a year. It is easier now for Afghans than it used to be, because they can get their medical and do all their applications/interviews in Kabul, rather than having to travel to Islamabad.
They must first serve as an interpreter for a few years to qualify for the program. I could definitely see an individual’s case dragging into a second year, or longer in an exceptional case where there is a problem, or the applicant drops the ball and lies about it.
There is a natural human tendency to bond with those who are with you in the face of danger. I went to work to advocate for my interpreter, who helped to keep me alive through many dicey situations (He is now a US citizen, living nearby, and we are good friends with his family).
Some of the interpreters are killed for serving with US forces - several that my interpreter knew personally. It ebbs and flows a bit with changing conditions, but the danger is very real. This is a risk every time we pull out from an operation - many of the tribal leaders who helped us in the Anbar “Awakening” have been systematically hunted down and executed by ISIS (often tortured and maimed first). The pro-US South Vietnamese were jailed by the 100,000’s, often for a decade.
The enemy will seek to consolidate their control by rooting out opponents and potential opponents. Taking care of our allies should be part of any operation.
I recognize your point about the cost of supporting immigrants.
Personally, I oppose family-based “chain migration” and support quality-based immigration policies that admit people based on the skills and capital they bring. I am particularly opposed to importing a large number of muslims, as I don’t believe they bring much particular benefit to the country, while they do bring clear risks. We get better return on investment from Filipinos or Indians or many others we could choose from.
But nonetheless, those that personally stick their necks out for us earn some loyalty from me. We do need to have some loyal population that is fluent in the language and culture, because we will have security issues to deal with over there for a long time.
It is the overall immigration system that is the problem, and the welfare system - not the relatively small percentage that goes to the interpreters and their families.
In the case of my interpreter, he is a good man - he served honorably, is self sufficient and paying taxes. And he is on our side. That’s all good.
Under our immigration system though, now that he is a citizen, he can bring his parents, his wife can bring her parents, and their parents bring all children under 21. So with his own kids, we are looking at a total of 16 new Americans by next Christmas, based on one man’s service. The parents are rife with medical issues and don’t speak English, we’ll have to see about the rest.
If it was just his family, I’d say that they were a net plus for the country, but with the rest, I am starting to doubt it. All the kids are at risk for radicalization/recruitment, because the mosques in America are overwhelmingly operated by radicals and their front organizations.
The morning of the start of the ground war he was nowhere to be found. Most people assumed I had finally shot him ( I didn't) and I was quite the celebrity for a day.
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