Former U.S. presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have formed a new group that will rally volunteers to help resettle Afghan refugees in the U.S. https://t.co/G7qJXUwUF3 pic.twitter.com/PrA7DOS0eG — Reuters (@Reuters) September 15, 2021 The Biden administration is notifying states of how many Afghan evacuees they'll be asked resettle. California's projected to take …
Honoring America’s Promise Open Thread: Welcoming Afghan Refugees (Or Not)Post + Comments (134)
U.S. President Joe Biden has picked veteran diplomat Lee Wolosky to help coordinate the resettlement of refugees from the war in Afghanistan, an administration official said on Wednesday.
Wolosky will serve in the White House Counsel’s Office and will work with officials with the National Security Council and other top administration aides to provide legal expertise on resettlement issues, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Wolosky previously served as U.S. special envoy for then-President Barack Obama in his efforts to close the U.S. military prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was in the position from July 2015 to January 2017.
During his tenure, Wolosky negotiated with a range of countries to repatriate or accept the resettlement of dozens of inmates as the administration sought unsuccessfully to empty the facility before Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, took office…
Wolosky served as director of transnational threats on the National Security Council for both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush during their presidencies.
Wolosky was also the attorney for Fiona Hill, a Russia specialist who served on the National Security Council for Trump, when she provided testimony in the impeachment inquiry that looked into whether Trump asked Ukraine to investigate Biden in return for a White House meeting or the release of U.S. security aid.
Of course, the GOP Death Cult is busy, too:
As tens of thousands of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban arrive in the U.S., a handful of former Trump administration officials are working to turn Republicans against them. https://t.co/abmyKWMLHJ
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 15, 2021
… [T]he Republicans pushing the issue are betting they can open a new front in the culture wars they have been fighting since President Joe Biden’s election by combining the anti-immigrant sentiment that helped fuel Trump’s political rise with widespread dissatisfaction with the Afghan withdrawal. That, they hope, could keep GOP voters motivated heading into next year’s midterms, when control of Congress is at stake.
“From a political standpoint, cultural issues are the most important issues that are on the mind of the American people,” said Russ Vought, Trump’s former budget chief and president of the Center for Renewing America, a nonprofit group that has been working on building opposition to Afghan refugee settlement in the U.S. along with other hot-button issues, like critical race theory, which considers American history through the lens of racism.
His group is working, he said, to “kind of punch through this unanimity that has existed” that the withdrawal was chaotic, but that Afghan refugees deserve to come to the U.S.
Officials insist that every Afghan headed for the country is subject to extensive vetting that includes thorough biometric and biographic screenings conducted by intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism personnel. At a pair of hearings this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said those “rigorous security checks” begin in transit countries before refugees arrive in the U.S. and continue at U.S. military bases before anyone is resettled. Checks then continue as refugees await further processing.
But Trump and his allies, who worked to sharply curtail refugee admissions while they were in office, insist the refugees pose a threat.
“Who are all of the people coming into our Country?” Trump asked in a recent statement. “How many terrorists are among them?”…
Early volunteer from the Death Cult ranks dropped a thread this afternoo:
Today I learned that 75 refugees from Afghanistan will be arriving in Montana. I strongly oppose the resettlement of these Afghan nationals in Montana.
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) September 16, 2021
The traditional vetting process for these individuals is a 14-step procedure, that takes well over a year. The mass evacuation of over 100,000 Afghan nationals in a matter of weeks has made proper vetting of these individuals near impossible.
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) September 16, 2021
Rep. Rosendale is getting thoroughly ratio’d, but then most of the most fervent supporters of his viewpoint have probably already been banned from social media that isn’t Gab or Parler or Gettr.