Former interpreter: Taliban publicly executing Afghans who sided with US
A former U.S. military interpreter says the Taliban have begun executing U.S. allies away from Kabul where there is not media attention.
A former translator for a high-ranking U.S. Army Ranger in Afghanistan told Fox News Wednesday the Taliban have begun publicly executing allies of the U.S. in provinces away from the media attention of Kabul.
The interpreter, who remained nameless for protection, warned of the Taliban retaliation on "The Faulkner Focus" and said he’s losing hope to free his family of American citizens still trapped in the country.
"They are not doing really bad stuff in Kabul right now because there's a lot of media focus on Kabul, but they already started public execution in other provinces where a lot of media is not available or covering it," the interpreter said.
"They started hunting down people in other provinces and they just executed a police officer yesterday and they did public hangings of four officers like last week… they are retaliating against people who sided with the U.S. and now the U.S. is leaving them behind."
The interpreter painted a contrasting picture of the Kabul airport evacuation from the Biden administration, describing how his family spent two nights there before retreating when conditions became too dangerous.
"I don't know what they're talking about when they get on these briefings and tell people that if you show up and you have paperwork and stuff, you will come inside… that’s not happening," he said. "They could have been just stepped on and they could have like died right there, so they had to go back home."
The interpreter told host Harris Faulkner he’s reached out to U.S. lawmakers, military contacts and the National Visa Center but no one has been able to help get his family on a plane.
"They are just saying we cannot do anything, like, ‘It is out of our control’… I don't know who has the control," he said.
The interpreter worked with U.S. troops for nearly five years on "hundreds" of missions that put Taliban members in prison. Five thousand of those prisoners were released by the Afghan government last year as part of the U.S.-Taliban peace deal.
"My family is in great danger," he said of the release.
President Biden said Tuesday the U.S.'s Aug. 31 troop withdrawal deadline was contingent on the Taliban's continued cooperation with ongoing efforts at Kabul's airport.
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The interpreter criticized the U.S. for appearing to give the Taliban "control" over the evacuation.
"Every problem you bring up to them they're like group communicating with the Taliban leaders," he said. "It sounds like they're in control and we're at their mercy, not at the U.S.’s mercy. Everything has to be run by them and controlled by them."
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