The United States under Joe Biden is slowly betraying Afghani translators who loyally helped us during the 20 year war in Afghanistan. Thousands are still stuck in the country as the U.S. prepares to complete a pullout. Yet, the networks have largely buried this abandonment. It was left to the very liberal comedian John Oliver on Sunday to condemn the “inexcusable” betrayal for his HBO host.
The Last Week Tonight host raged against the Democrat president, using anger and mockery he usually saves for conservatives. Noting that only a “tiny percentage” of those who need to flee the Taliban have been evacuated, Oliver seethed, “The fact that we're just scrambling for a plan now is inexcusable when we've had 20 years to develop one, and for around half that time [as vice president or president], Biden was in the White House!”
Oliver vented about the Afghanistan situation, deriding Biden’s looks in a way not often used on Democrats:
This is a situation Biden's hair should be on fire about, both metaphorically and literally. It'd frankly be a huge improvement on his current look, which I'd describe as "business ghost," also known as the "Sane Doc Bown" or "[t]he flat Jamie Lee Curtis."
And where is the network news in all of this? In recent weeks, ABC and NBC have buried the story. ABC’s Good Morning America noticed the danger way back on July 3 as MaryAlice Parks confidently touted Biden talking points: “Yesterday the White House confirmed that they are working to relocate many of [the translators] outside of Afghanistan where they'll be able to complete and wait for their immigration visas.”
NBC noticed last on July 11. CBS provided more serious coverage with a 60 Minutes+ story and a July 22 follow-up on CBS This Morning.
Back on HBO, after playing a clip of the President saying that translators who “so choose” to leave will be able to, the HBO host condemned:
Oh, well, that sounds great! Although that "If they so choose part" is doing a lot of work. Because it's not so much their choice as ours. We're the ones in charge of the process, so putting the choice on the applicants is basically a surgeon handing you a scalpel, saying, "There is a tumor-free pancreas in your body if you so choose, and I will stand with you." I think you might be fundamentally confused about who has power over the outcome here!
Oliver seemed to discover the world that this big government bureaucracy: "Just applying for a special immigrant visa can be a nightmare. And while 18,000 Afghans have applied on behalf of themselves and their families -- representing an estimated 53,000 people in total — many have been stuck waiting, in some cases for years."
The liberal host can highlight this perilous situation, the networks need to cover the story.
A partial transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more.
HBO's Last Week Tonight
08/01/2021
11:00 PM ETJOHN OLIVER: The U.S. withdrawal from there is nearly complete, ahead of the August 31 deadline set by the Biden administration. But many are concerned about who's being left behind.
[CNN clip.]
OLIVER: It's true. This is a situation Biden's hair should be on fire about — both metaphorically and literally. It'd frankly be a huge improvement on his current look, which I'd describe as "Business ghost," also known as the "Sane Doc Bown" or "The flat Jamie Lee Curtis." Because the fact is, there are thousands of Afghans who helped U.S. troops during the war who badly need to be evacuated because the Taliban very much wants to kill them. Since 2014, more than 300 translators or their family members have been killed. And I will say, publicly, Biden has been sending some encouraging messages.
JOE BIDEN: Our message to those women and men is clear. There is a home for you in the United States if you so choose, and we will stand with you just as you stood with us.
OLIVER: Oh, well, that sounds great! Although that "If they so choose part" is doing a lot of work. Because it's not so much their choice as ours. We're the ones in charge of the process, so putting the choice on the applicants is basically a surgeon handing you a scalpel, saying, "There is a tumor-free pancreas in your body if you so choose, and I will stand with you." I think you might be fundamentally confused about who has power over the outcome here. And the application process has been a mess for a long time. As we discussed on the first season of this show — presumably 40 years ago — just applying for a special immigrant visa can be a nightmare. And while 18,000 Afghans have applied on behalf of themselves and their families -- representing an estimated 53,000 people in total — many have been stuck waiting, in some cases for years.
(....)
OLIVER: Getting my guy out is basically what we've been conditioned to think the military does. It's supposed to be Saving Private Ryan, not "Filing paperwork on Private Ryan's behalf, waiting a few months, filing requisition paperwork to track down the initial paperwork, and then learning Private Ryan was shot in the head by a Nazi last month." And there is real urgency here, as the Taliban currently controls about half of Afghanistan's 419 district centers, and while they've yet to capture any of the provincial capitals, they are pressuring about half of them. This is basically the Bill Cosby comeback tour of political crises: We can all see where it's going, and if we don't act quickly, something terrible is going to happen.
(....)
OLIVER: And the administration may point to the fact that, this month, 2500 Afghans are being flown in stages to an Army base in Virginia. And that they're negotiating with third countries like Qatar and Kuwait to house Afghans at military bases while they await visa approval. But so far a tiny percentage of the people in the pipeline have been evacuated. And the fact that we're just scrambling for a plan now is inexcusable when we've had 20 years to develop one, and for around half that time, Biden was in the White House! If we really want to make sure these applicants are safe, we could bring them to the U.S. For processing. Guam has been suggested. And we should do that right now because the clock is ticking, and the translators in Afghanistan are well aware of that fact.
