Page 4 - Siv Program News Today

Do it the right way and so well do that in the days -- in the days ahead. >> reporter: do you think that -- oh, sorry. >> i was just going to say, i would just say again that i am enormously proud of our men and women that worked hard to accomplish what they just accomplished, which i think, as i said earlier, is historic and heroic. go ahead. >> do you think maybe you should have -- the previous administration did leave, i understand biden did put a lot of hurdles in the way of the siv program ...

In afghanistan. its been a painful choice to leave. thats why they didnt heed the warnings back in april. does that square with your understanding? >> i have a relative who is forced to choose between coming home to see her children or staying behind to be with her parents. she chose to be with her kids. these are impossible positions. they should never have had to have been made. the tragedy is there was that difference between the iraq siv program and the afghan siv program. many of the iraqis...

Operation veterans. if you know anybody who served in afghanistan. do a quick buddy check. a lot of people are hurting. we are very, very concerned about their mental health. leadership. the siv program. we advocated through 7 administrations. my unit closed a camp in iraq. i worked with some of the best non-commissioned officers all from new york. nypd and learned a lot from them. they called it. they said we will see what happens. a few years later they walked out the door and became isis. i s...

The bank holding up pieces of paper and proof they had to make their case, that they thought, that they should be allowed to be part of the siv program. and packed together and that increases in density. a very desperate people trying to get in. it is, i have to say, given what were hearing about this, quite likely that a dense crowd like that may have been in fact the target. quite how u.s. personnel who we hear from the important were also injured too ended up into that is unclear. did an init...

0 works. if the hope is for them to be a reasonable partner for afghan allies, other members of former of the afghan government or the u.s., that one indication there. im jim sciutto. thank you for being with us. that is flick robertson with me there. "at this hour" will start now. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> hello, im kate bolduan. were continuing this follow the major breaking news in afghanistan. there has been an explosion outside of kabul airport. officials also say this appears to be ...

These are known passport holders. >> okay. but have -- have lprs also been contacted? >> yes. >> and what about siv applicants, people who are -- were in contact -- >> will we get -- >> im sorry. >> i dont expect you to have all of it, but then, you know, since this whole thing began theres been a lot of criticism of the administration over how it handled it and theres been a lot of pushback from people within the administration about the hand that you were basically dealt or what you say you we...

The parties of the american special forces on the base, the american diplomats on the base, there are those people with whom they worked. now, they may well have applied for the siv program, military types, they may have been considered not eligible, that is at times confusing. and then of course those who worked alongside u.s. diplomats are eligible for the siv program and possibly in the thousands and quite likely still somewhere in kabul although im sure there are efforts to try to assist the...

Advocate, and im glad you pointed out the trump administrations complicit in this because we had olivia troyer on chapter and verse how they basically choked to death the siv program, case in point. the biden administration didnt do more in its earliest six months to ramp up that program, cut the red tape despite congressional pressure to do so and legislation to do so. we have been drilling down on that as you fairly point out, but with 60% of americans in the nbc poll support the withdrawal. t...

0 these are known passport holders. >> okay. but have -- have lprs also been contacted? >> yes. >> and what about siv applicants, people who are -- were in contact -- >> will we get -- >> im sorry. >> i dont expect you to have all of it, but then, you know, since this whole thing began theres been a lot of criticism of the administration over how it handled it and theres been a lot of pushback from people within the administration about the hand that you were basically dealt or what you say you ...

Afghans should not be going out of the country unless it is necessary. that will certainly strike a chill in the tens of thousands of siv applicants still in kabul or surrounding cities at this time because they now know if the u.s. leaves, it is quite likely the taliban will stick to that policy and they wont be able to start taking civilian flights out. state department officials had been suggesting they would like to see the siv program continue after their military departure. that was a long...