White House eyes ways to speed up visas for foreign interpreters stranded in war zones February 9 A group of local Afghan villagers speak to an interpreter accompanying U.S. Army soldiers on a patrol in Kowlak valley, Nangahar province, in Afghanistan on Feb. 19, 2010. (Spc. Victor Egorov/Army) Since last summer, Daniel Elkins has seen a steady increase in the number of panicked messages from foreign translators working with U.S. forces deployed to overseas conflict zones. “They keep saying ‘we’re in danger,’” said Elkins, a founding member of the Special Operations Association of America who still maintains ties with interpreters he served alongside in Afghanistan in recent years.