{"id":59972,"date":"2021-10-24T19:25:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-24T19:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:56:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:56:35","slug":"secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/","title":{"rendered":"Secrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The U.S. is welcoming tens of thousands of Afghans airlifted out of Kabul but has disclosed little publicly about a small group who remain overseas: dozens who triggered potential security issues during security vetting and have been sent to an American base in the Balkan nation of Kosovo.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human rights advocates have raised concerns about the Afghans diverted to Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo over the past six weeks, citing a lack of transparency about their status and the reasons for holding them back. It\u2019s unclear what might become of any who cannot be cleared to come to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are obviously concerned,\u201d said Jelena Sesar, a researcher for Amnesty International who specializes in the Balkans. \u201cWhat really happens with these people, especially the people who don\u2019t pass security vetting? Are they going to be detained? Are they going to have any access to legal assistance? And what is the plan for them? Is there any risk of them ultimately being returned to Afghanistan?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Biden administration says it\u2019s too soon to answer some of these questions, at least publicly, as it works feverishly to resettle the Afghans who were evacuated<\/a> following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of public information has made it a challenge for those who closely track the fate of refugees. \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of transparency in terms of how the security check regime works,\u201d said Sunil Varghese, policy director for the International Refugee Assistance Project. \u201cWe don\u2019t know why people are being sent to Kosovo for additional screening, what that additional screening is, how long it will take.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, more than 66,000 Afghans have arrived in the U.S since Aug. 17, undergoing what the government portrays as a rigorous security vetting process to screen out national security threats from among a population that includes people who worked as interpreters for the American military as well as their own country\u2019s armed forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of those, about 55,000 are at U.S. military bases<\/a> around the country, where they complete immigration processing and medical evaluations and quarantine before settling in the United States. There are still 5,000 people from the evacuation at transit points in the Middle East and Europe, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which is managing the effort known as Operation Allies Welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resettlement effort is under intense scrutiny following waves of criticism of President Joe Biden for the frantic evacuation U.S. forces and allies as part of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which was put in motion when President Donald Trump\u2019s administration signed a peace deal with the Taliban to end America\u2019s longest war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump and other Republicans claim the Biden administration has allowed Afghan refugees into the United States without sufficient background checks. Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has defended the screening and said there have been only minimal threats detected among the arriving refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fact that some people have been flagged by our counterterrorism, intelligence, or law enforcement professionals for additional screening shows our system is working,\u201d said National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exact number at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, a small nation in southeastern Europe that gained independence from Serbia with U.S. support in 2008, fluctuates as new people arrive and others leave when security issues, such as missing documents, are resolved, according to U.S. officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government of Kosovo, a close U.S. ally, has agreed to let the refugees stay in its territory for a year. The country also hosts a separate group at site adjacent to Bondsteel known as Camp Bechtel, where Afghans who worked for NATO nations during the war are staying temporarily until they are resettled in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For several weeks, there were about 30 Afghan evacuees, along with approximately 170 family members, at Camp Bondsteel because of red flags, according to one U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information not publicly released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are in a kind of limbo because they aren\u2019t detained but they aren\u2019t necessarily free to leave either at this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They volunteered to be evacuated from Afghanistan but were flagged at one of the transit points in Europe or the Middle East and told they had to go to Kosovo. Some chose to bring their families with them while authorities work with analysts and other experts from the FBI, DHS and other agencies to resolve questions about their identity or past associations, a senior administration official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are free to move about the the base but cannot leave under conditions set by the government of Kosovo, said this official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss security and diplomatic issues and spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those sent to Bondsteel are people who require \u201csignificant further consideration,\u201d involving analysis and interviews, before authorities feel comfortable allowing them to move on to the U.S., the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, the analysis has led to a determination that they are \u201csuitable for onward travel to the United States,\u201d while in others the \u201cwork remains ongoing\u201d and their cases remain unresolved, said the official, without giving a precise breakdown on the numbers involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. has not sent anyone back to Afghanistan and will decide the fate of anyone who can\u2019t make it through the screening process on an \u201cindividualized\u201d basis, which in some cases might mean resettling them in another country, this official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, though, Bondsteel remains off-limits to outsiders, including lawyers who might potentially represent people there if they aren\u2019t ultimately allowed to enter the U.S., a situation that doesn\u2019t sit right with advocates like Sesar. \u201cThere is not real access to the camp,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s no public or independent scrutiny of what happens in there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. is welcoming tens of thousands of Afghans airlifted out of Kabul but has disclosed little publicly about a small group who remain overseas: dozens who triggered potential security issues during security vetting and have been sent to an American base in the Balkan nation of Kosovo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":94760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":12,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,8,23,93,12,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2157],"class_list":["post-59972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"MW7EKTJCGBBIXAHLACTF4FQLMY","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nSecrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.S. is welcoming tens of thousands of Afghans airlifted out of Kabul but has disclosed little publicly about a small group who remain overseas: dozens who triggered potential security issues during security vetting and have been sent to an American base in the Balkan nation of Kosovo.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Secrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S. is welcoming tens of thousands of Afghans airlifted out of Kabul but has disclosed little publicly about a small group who remain overseas: dozens who triggered potential security issues during security vetting and have been sent to an American base in the Balkan nation of Kosovo.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-24T19:25:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T07:56:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ben Fox, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ben Fox, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"Secrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2021-10-24T19:25:31+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T07:56:35+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 983,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP21295789951668.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t \"Flashpoints\",\n\t \"Home\",\n\t \"Middle Column\",\n\t \"News\",\n\t \"Newsletters\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Secrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo - Army Times\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP21295789951668.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2021-10-24T19:25:31+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T07:56:35+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"The U.S. is welcoming tens of thousands of Afghans airlifted out of Kabul but has disclosed little publicly about a small group who remain overseas: dozens who triggered potential security issues during security vetting and have been sent to an American base in the Balkan nation of Kosovo.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP21295789951668.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP21295789951668.jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/24\\\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"News\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"Secrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Secrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo - Army Times","description":"The U.S. is welcoming tens of thousands of Afghans airlifted out of Kabul but has disclosed little publicly about a small group who remain overseas: dozens who triggered potential security issues during security vetting and have been sent to an American base in the Balkan nation of Kosovo.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Secrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo","og_description":"The U.S. is welcoming tens of thousands of Afghans airlifted out of Kabul but has disclosed little publicly about a small group who remain overseas: dozens who triggered potential security issues during security vetting and have been sent to an American base in the Balkan nation of Kosovo.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2021-10-24T19:25:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T07:56:35+00:00","author":"Ben Fox, The Associated Press","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ben Fox, The Associated Press","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Secrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo","datePublished":"2021-10-24T19:25:31+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T07:56:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/"},"wordCount":983,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21295789951668.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Flashpoints","Home","Middle Column","News","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/","name":"Secrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21295789951668.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-24T19:25:31+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T07:56:35+00:00","description":"The U.S. is welcoming tens of thousands of Afghans airlifted out of Kabul but has disclosed little publicly about a small group who remain overseas: dozens who triggered potential security issues during security vetting and have been sent to an American base in the Balkan nation of Kosovo.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21295789951668.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21295789951668.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2021\/10\/24\/secrecy-shrouds-afghan-refugees-sent-by-us-to-base-in-kosovo\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Secrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21295789951668.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59993,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59972\/revisions\/59993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59972"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=59972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}