London: According to The Independent, the US is formally considering whether to grant asylum to an Afghan pilot who the UK has threatened to send to Rwanda.
Due to security concerns, the former air force lieutenant's identity has been withheld. He flew numerous combat missions that targeted the Taliban and was dubbed a "patriot" by former Western coalition allies.
According to him, there were no safe routes for him to take, so he crossed the English Channel in a small boat to reach the UK, according to The Independent.
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After the pilot's application to the Afghan refugee programme was denied this week, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace chose not to step in, drawing criticism from prominent politicians and military officials who called it "shameful" for Britain to turn a blind eye.
The US State Department is currently examining the pilot's and his family's asylum application, despite the UK government doing nothing to prevent the Home Office from deporting the pilot.
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The pilot being "cast off" by the British for the US to handle was, according to Lord Dannatt, a former commander of the British Army, a "complete abrogation of our responsibilities and decency."
The UK government, according to Air Marshal Edward Stringer, who oversaw Royal Air Force air operations during the Afghan conflict, is making a "weaselling distinction" regarding the pilot's military record.
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The UK "turning its back on a pilot" and failing to "do what is necessary to keep to the covenant that we protect his life as he helped to protect ours is shameful," according to former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.