Pentagon: ‘Robust screening’ for Afghanistan refugees coming to the U.S.

WASHINGTON — Evacuation efforts are continuing in Afghanistan, and more than 37,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul in the last 10 days.

Most of those evacuees are refugees who are applying for special visas.

The Pentagon said it is screening evacuees before they come to the United States and using military bases around the world as security checkpoints.

RELATED: Jacksonville refugee reflects on Afghanistan conflict

Department of Defense officials say five flights with 1,300 evacuees landed Monday at Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C.

Press Secretary John Kirby didn’t say how many of those evacuees were Afghan refugees.

“We have intelligence and law enforcement personnel at these sites making sure that a robust screening is done of these individuals,” Kirby said during the Pentagon briefing.

RELATED: Biden on Afghanistan: ‘There is never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces’

The White House said it is allowing Special Immigrant Visa applicants and other vulnerable Afghan refugees into the states.

National security expert Jamil N. Jaffer said these background checks must be efficient and thorough.

“It’s really about making it a priority, and that’s part of the challenge. The administration made it a priority to get out and get out quickly and didn’t make it a priority to take care of the people who fought alongside our men and women in the military,” said Jaffer, who runs the National Security Institute at George Mason University.

Jaffer said the biggest threat to national security is letting in the wrong person.

EXPLAINER: The Taliban takeover, what’s next for Afghanistan

“We don’t want to let somebody with a suicide bomb on a plane coming off Afghanistan,” Jaffer said.

Additionally, he said the way this process unfolds could have worldwide implications.

“It’s critical that we treat the people who worked with us right and we do right by them because we have an obligation to them, not just a moral obligation to them but also how our allies perceive us and how our enemies perceive us,” Jaffer said. “If we’re seen as not a good partner, not keeping our commitment, people aren’t going to want to fight alongside us. Our allies aren’t going to trust us, and our enemies aren’t going to be afraid of us.”

The Pentagon said it’s getting support from 26 countries as transit hubs for security screenings.

RELATED: Afghanistan evacuee gives birth on US military plane

©2021 Cox Media Group