Rep. Seth Moulton and Matt Zeller on Securing Visas for U.S. Partners in Afghanistan

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🗓️ 16 June 2021

⏱️ 35 minutes

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Summary

The United States is quickly approaching its September deadline for a full military withdrawal from Afghanistan. As the U.S. completes its withdrawal, many Afghans who partnered with the U.S., serving as translators and interpreters, face the danger of severe retribution from the Taliban.

Those who partner with the U.S. military can obtain a special immigrant visa, or SIV, through the U.S. State Department, but many lawmakers and veterans' groups are concerned that the U.S. is running out of time to approve SIVs for its Afghan partners. To help make sense of it all, Bryce Klehm sat down with Congressman Seth Moulton and Matt Zeller. Rep. Moulton is a representative from Massachusetts who served as a Marine infantry officer in Iraq and who is also a member of the Honoring Our Promises Working Group, a bipartisan group of lawmakers calling on the Biden administration to protect the U.S.'s Afghan partners. Zeller is a Truman Center fellow and host of the Wartime Allies podcast, who served as a combat advisor with Afghan security forces and who is also the co-founder of No One Left Behind, a veterans' organization that provides services to former Afghan and Iraqi interpreters who resettle in the United States.

They covered a range of issues, including the risks that current and former U.S. partners in Afghanistan face, the obstacles in the SIV process and a potential evacuation of U.S. partners to Guam.

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0:00.0	The following podcast contains advertising to access an ad-free version of the LawFair
0:07.2	podcast become a material supporter of LawFair at patreon.com slash LawFair.
0:14.7	That's patreon.com slash LawFair.
0:18.2	Also, check out LawFair's other podcast offerings, rational security, chatter, LawFair
0:25.6	no bull and the aftermath.
0:32.6	18,000 people could be evacuated day by day over the summer with just one or two
0:40.0	flights a day. So this doesn't have to be chaotic. We have the time, although it's
0:47.5	very limited, to do this well and smoothly and not create a scene. Just make
0:53.3	sure we save lives.
0:56.3	Ambrice Clem and this is the LawFair podcast June 16th, 2021. The United States is quickly
1:03.4	approaching its September deadline for a full military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
1:08.2	As the US completes its withdrawal, many Afghans who partnered with the US, serving as translators
1:13.2	and interpreters, face the danger of severe retribution from the Taliban. Those who partner
1:18.8	with the US military can obtain a special immigrant visa or SIV through the US State Department.
1:25.0	But many lawmakers and veterans groups are concerned that the US is running out of time to
1:29.6	approve SIVs for its Afghan partners. To help make sense of it all, I sat down with
1:35.2	Congressman Seth Moore, a representative from Massachusetts who served as a Marine
1:39.5	Infantry Officer in Iraq and who is also a member of the Honoring R-Promises Working
1:44.3	Group, a bipartisan group of lawmakers calling on the Biden administration to protect the
1:49.4	US's Afghan partners. Congressman Molten and I were joined by Matt Zeller, a Truman Center
1:54.9	fellow and host of the War Time Allies podcast, who served as a combat advisor with Afghan
2:00.2	security forces. He is also the co-founder of No One Left Behind, a veteran's organization
	...

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