Today's D Brief: US expands Afghan refugee program; Taliban attacks rising; Milley, Gilday, Berger @ SAS; And a bit more.
By Ben Watson
August 2, 2021
The D Brief
Taliban violence is rising in Afghanistan, so the United States is expanding its Afghan refugee criteria beyond those who worked directly for the U.S. and now to Afghans who were employed by U.S. contractors, the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post report today from Washington.
The new criteria is referred to as “Priority 2” designation, and it’s unclear exactly how many people it could affect. The new designation extends to spouses and children of contractor employees, and includes “Afghans who are at risk because they have worked for U.S.-based media or U.S.-funded NGOs as well as those who have other qualifying employment,” Ross Wilson, Chargé d'Affaires to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, tweeted this morning.
For some perspective, some 20,000 Special Immigrant Visa applications are still being processed, the Journal reports. And late last week, more than 200 Afghans, including family members of people who worked with U.S. forces, arrived at Fort Lee, Virginia, an Army base near Richmond, as Defense One’s Jacqueline Feldscher reported.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/08/the-d-brief-august-02-2021/184208/
