Keeping a Promise

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/13/opinion/keeping-a-promise-to-afghans.html?_r=0

There is talk about weather the US kept their promise to Afghan military interpreters who were offered to come back and live in the American to recognize what a great justice they had served to the US.  It says that congress had started specual visa programs for those linguists in 2006 yet only a small amount of petitions that were submitted on their behalf were approved.

Within the last two years John Kerry(Secretary of the State) has worked to review process and approve a higher percent to be approved for these cases.  12,000 Afghan linguists have pending applications and the State Department can only issue 4,000 within the next two years:-(  this could have not happened if the Washington bureaucrats had operated better.

In 2010 and 2011 only a few dozen Afghan linguists were allowed to immigrate. American officials in Kabul looked at the program  as something that could only get worse sending a message about how the war was going. In fact many linguists  actually received rejection letters telling them they were as "suspected threats" with  nothing to back that up.

6,500 visa slots that congress set aside expired which left the Afghans in a stand still unable to return to their homes.  Finally there were service men and women who lobbied reps in congress to get help. Last year they were able to extend the program  allowing  the 4.000 slots. John McCain and  Jeanne Shaheen championed the cause.

Soon the White House will present a  budget request to Congress allowing  new visa slots to be made. If the US  fails to give the linguists this deserving shot at a new life then they will fail to keep their promise and add a  "shameful chapter to the legacy  of a war that has been grim enough for Afghans".