NY Times, Washington
The first group of Afghans promised refuge by the Biden administration for helping the United States during the 20-year war in Afghanistan landed on American soil early Friday (July 30), starting a new life chapter after years of waiting.
A chartered airliner carrying 221 Afghan interpreters, drivers and others who worked with the US military, as well as their family members, arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington after travelling more than 30 hours from Kabul, the Afghan capital, officials said.
From Dulles, they were bused to Fort Lee, Virginia, south of Richmond, where they will stay at a hotel on the base for about a week to complete their processing before being resettled in the US permanently, officials said.
The late-night arrival marked the vanguard of an initial group of about 2,500 Afghans being evacuated under threat of Taleban reprisals in an effort the White House calls Operation Allies Refuge.
Groups of Afghans will arrive by plane roughly every three days and be transported to Fort Lee, said one US official briefed on the arrangements.
At the sprawling Army base about 130 miles south of Washington, the Afghans will stay on dedicated floors of the hotel, where private security rather than military police will be in place to ensure their safety, officials said. An additional 4,000 Afghans who worked with US forces but whose applications need further approvals will go to other countries with their families in the coming weeks to complete the visa process before coming to the United States, officials said.
The United States is negotiating with Qatar and Kuwait to house thousands of Afghans at military bases in those countries for up to several months while they complete their visa applications and await clearance to come to the United States. Diplomats are discussing similar arrangements with Kazakhstan and Kosovo, one official said.
Many of the newly arrived interpreters have long been targets of the Taleban for their cooperation with US troops during the war.
Their passage was promised under two congressionally devised special visa programs, but the documentation and security requirements have bedeviled many applicants.
