House Votes to Evacuate More Afghan Allies as US War Ends

House lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Thursday to allow in thousands more of the Afghans who worked alongside Americans in the Afghanistan war, citing the urgency of protecting those on-the-ground allies from Taliban retaliation as the U.S. military withdrawal enters its final weeks.

Florida Republican and Vietnam war veteran Rep. Neal Dunn evoked the scenes of the U.S. military withdrawal from Vietnam, which left many Vietnamese who'd worked with American forces fearing — and sometimes meeting — death and detention. "We cannot do this again. We must not do this again. We must bring back … all the people who were so important to us in combat," Neal said, urging fellow lawmakers to vote for the measure. "Please do not abandon friends of America again." House members passed it 407-16, sending it to the Senate. The bill, by Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat and former Army Ranger who fought in Afghanistan, allows 8,000 more visas for translators and others who worked with American troops and civilians in Afghanistan. It also eases some requirements for the visas.