Washington Post article: The evacuation of America's allies from Afghanistan... What is the situation in Iraq and Vietnam?

An article in The Washington Post argues that the pursuit of US forces to complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years of military presence due to the escalating Taliban attacks is putting the fate of tens of thousands of Afghans who worked closely with the United States on the line.

US President Joe Biden told reporters this week that "Afghan allies" who have cooperated with US forces in Afghanistan as interpreters, drivers or on other tasks, will be relocated for their safety "and will not be abandoned," which could mean the evacuation of tens of thousands, especially And that the threat of the Taliban returning to the forefront of the scene again in Afghanistan looms on the horizon.

The author of the article, Adam Taylor, confirms that the announcement of this step brings back the memories of those who follow the history of American wars abroad, the memories of years ago in both Vietnam and Iraq.

He adds that during the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War, after the communist forces of North Vietnam declared victory, the United States was forced to evacuate thousands of South Vietnamese.

In recent years, US authorities have also granted a limited number of visas to interpreters and other collaborators with the US military in Iraq.

The writer refers to the criticism of those efforts by defenders of those who were left alone facing their fate in their countries, considering them “slow” and “insufficient” measures in light of an urgent necessity, and among them is retired Admiral James George Stavridis, who - in an article on Bloomberg. Last week - memories of the liquidation of allies of Washington in the Vietnam War, stressing that "this bleak scenario should not repeat itself."

Groups of volunteers have estimated that at least 1,000 local translators who worked with US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq have died, while many of those who remain are awaiting visas from US authorities.

Vietnamese soldiers celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon (Reuters-Archive)

Vietnam and the Fall of Saigon

After US President Richard Nixon's unilateral withdrawal of his country's forces from Vietnam in 1973 and the success of North Vietnamese forces in entering Saigon two years later, about 7,000 Americans and South Vietnamese were evacuated by helicopter during an operation known as Operation Frequent. Wind), making it the largest evacuation of this type of aircraft in history.

Many others were able to get out of the country on their own, and during 1975 alone the United States brought a total of more than 100,000 people to the Pacific island of Guam for treatment before they were transferred to the United States, and some lawmakers have indicated that this island could play a similar role. For those who have been or will be evacuated from Afghanistan.

This was only the tip of the iceberg of what the International Rescue Committee called “the largest refugee resettlement project in American history,” as other waves of Vietnamese refugees arrived in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s.

Despite the large numbers of South Vietnamese who left the country after the communist takeover, many left there and were either liquidated or sent to "re-education camps".

An American tank in the center of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in 2003 (Getty Images)

Escape from Iraq

The Washington Post article says that in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, the United States and its coalition partners made efforts to defend the Iraqi Kurds who had sided with American and international forces.

A "no-fly zone" was imposed on northern Iraq, which helped create an area under Kurdish control that later became the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

But after renewed threats from Saddam's forces in 1996, the US military evacuated its local Kurdish employees, telling former employees and their families as well as members of the CIA-backed opposition parties and employees of US non-profit organizations that they could apply for asylum. About 7,000 of them have already arrived in America within a year.

After the US invasion and the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein's rule in 2003, US forces remained in Iraq until 2011 before withdrawing and returning again after 3 years due to the rising influence of the Islamic State.

During those years, many Iraqis who worked with the Americans were killed at a time when some increasingly feared being targeted by Iranian-backed militias.

The US authorities have provided a "special immigrant visa" since 2008 for Iraqis who have worked with the United States, providing them "in theory" a fast track to move to America, and a similar immigration system was established for Afghans the following year.

But the waiting list in Iraq is still wide, with about 100,000 people waiting for their turn, and while Washington prepares to intensify the evacuation of its allies and collaborators from Afghanistan, Iraq's program remains temporarily suspended due to an investigation into allegations of visa fraud.