Afghan evacuations to begin amid Taliban surge

The Biden administration said Wednesday that it is prepared to begin evacuation flights for Afghan interpreters and translators who aided the U.S. military effort in the nearly 20-year war.

The Operation Allies Refuge flights out of Afghanistan during the last week of July will be available first for special immigrant visa applicants already in the process of applying for U.S. residency, according to the White House.

State Department Spokesman Ned Price declined to detail how many Afghans are expected to be among those evacuated in the first flights or where those evacuated will be taken, citing security concerns.

"Our top priority in all of this is the safety and security of these SIV applicants," Price said. "We don't want to do anything that might potentially jeopardize their safety and security going forward."

President Joe Biden has faced pressure from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to come up with a plan to help evacuate Afghan military helpers ahead of next month's U.S. military withdrawal.

The White House began briefing lawmakers on the outlines of their plans last month.

The evacuation planning could potentially affect tens of thousands of Afghans.

Several thousand Afghans who worked for the U.S. - plus their family members - are already in the application pipeline for special immigrant visas.

The Biden administration has also been working on identifying a third country or U.S. territory that could host Afghans while their visa applications are processed.

The Taliban are pressing on with their surge in Afghanistan and say they have seized a strategic border crossing with Pakistan.

It's the latest in a series of key border post to come under their control in recent weeks as American and NATO troops complete their pullout from the war-battered country.

The development was the latest in Taliban wins on the ground as American and NATO troops complete their pullout from the war-battered country.

On Tuesday, an Afghan official said a senior government delegation, including the head of the country's reconciliation council, would meet the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, to jump-start the long-stalled peace talks between the two sides.

"Any government that comes to power through the barrel of a gun that comes to power through force in Afghanistan, any government that doesn't respect fundamental and universal rights is not one that will have legitimacy in the eyes of the broader international community." Price said.

Meanwhile,  American diplomats are escalating a charm offensive with Afghanistan's neighbors this week as they work to secure a spot in Central Asia to monitor for and respond to any resurgence of Islamic State or other outside militants in that country after the U.S. military withdraws.

But unlike in 2001, when Central Asian countries readily offered up their territory for U.S. bases, troops and other access as America hit back for the 9/11 attacks plotted by al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Americans face more reluctance from the region this time as they seek a handy close-by place in the region to manage any future national security threats out of Afghanistan.

The administration has given few details of what kind of security access it is seeking in the region, or from which countries.

While the U.S. can manage strike and counter-terror capability for Afghanistan from Gulf nations or from U.S. aircraft carriers, closer is much better.

That's especially true for intelligence operations to track developments in Afghanistan.