Hillary Clinton Hopes Visa Program To Be Arranged For Afghans Who Worked With US, NATO

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd May, 2021) Former US Secretary of State and ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton expressed her hopes that a visa program would be arranged for Afghans who had worked with Washington and NATO after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, she said in an interview with CNN.

"I hope that the administration in concert with the Congress will have a very large visa program and will begin immediately to try to provide that channel for so many Afghans to utilize so that they are not left in danger," she said.

Clinton further discussed ways of how to help and protect the thousands of Afghans who worked with the US and NATO and spoke out for women's and human rights and mentioned the huge outflow of refugees from the country.

Additionally, Clinton said the United States should focus on two huge consequences of the US' withdrawal of their troops from Afghanistan.

"One, the potential collapse of the Afghan government and a takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban probably with a resumption of civil war in certain parts of the country," she said, adding that the second consequence would be the resumption of global terrorist activities, in particularly by al-Qaeda and IS (both banned in Russia).

The White House confirmed that the US has begun the withdrawal of their troops from Afghanistan. White House spokesperson, Karin Jean-Pierre, said that the US is ready to defend itself and its allies by ant means in case of attack at the time of the withdrawal.

The US is planning to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September 11.