giuffre-v-prince-andrew-complaint.pdf

August 23, 2021 President Joseph R. Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Biden: On behalf of millions of America’s service members, veterans, survivors, military families, and organizations dedicated to serving these communities, we urgently request a meeting with you ahead of the full evacuation of American personnel in Afghanistan to discuss fulfilling our commitment to our Afghan allies. We are thankful for your recent announcement that evacuation operations will continue beyond the original August 31 deadline if necessary, but remain concerned about the fates of our wartime partners. Failing to meet our obligations to these Afghans would not only be a national security risk — harming America’s reputation abroad and eroding the trust in our armed forces that is critical for future operations — it would also condemn veterans and survivors of the conflict in Afghanistan to a lifetime of moral injury. We hope your efforts will not only underline that the U.S. meets its commitments, but also help veterans of this conflict avoid the pain and regret of personally making promises on behalf of our country only to have our political leadership fail to meet those commitments. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ recent commendable outreach to veterans who may be undergoing acute stress as events unfold in Afghanistan is proof of your administration’s understanding of its impact on our community. As a member of a military family with a deep commitment to our community through Joining Forces, you certainly understand our concern about such preventable moral injury. At our meeting, we will discuss your administration’s efforts to meet commitments we are duty- bound to fulfill: ● Ensuring the safe evacuation of our citizens, allies, and partners. ● Working to end the escalating humanitarian crisis across Afghanistan. ● Securing Kabul airport and routes to it, allowing for the safe and efficient passage of all U.S. citizens, allies, and partners for evacuation. ● Granting humanitarian parole status to as many at-risk Afghans without a visa who must be evacuated as possible. ● Ensuring that all Afghans arriving in the U.S. have access to the same resettlement benefits as refugees and SIV holders. ● Adequately funding refugee resettlement agencies that are struggling to rebuild after four years of downsizing. ● If Afghan evacuees must be processed in third countries, ensuring that this is accomplished as quickly as possible in countries that honor the Refugee Convention and have records of respecting human rights. To help ensure that your administration will accomplish these critical tasks, we commit to: ● Calling upon our membership to ensure that their Congressional representatives fully support these initiatives. ● Empowering our membership to educate Americans on the importance of maintaining our commitments to allies, and that America’s diversity is our greatest strength. ● Confronting those who politicize the issue of refugee resettlement and condemn those who slander our Afghan allies to undermine support for their resettlement. Due to the time-sensitive nature of this situation, and COVID-related risks associated with gatherings and travel, we kindly suggest that this meeting occur virtually. We appreciate your lifelong service to our community, and your family’s military service and sacrifices. We look forward to working with your Administration and stand ready to assist in your work to protect America’s heroes — all of them. Sincerely, AMVETS PROMOTE Leadership Association of Wartime Allies PsychArmor Atlas.vet Sikh American Veterans Alliance Battle Tested Veterans Soldiers’ Angels Black Veterans Empowerment Council Spartan Capital Intelligence, LLC Black Veterans Project Taking the Hill Common Defense The Lamia Afghan Foundation Elizabeth Dole Foundation The Lincoln Project Evocati Union Veterans Council Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative United Soldiers and Sailors of America Headstrong Project Veteran Esquire Legal Solutions, PLLC High Ground Veterans Advocacy Veteran Warriors Human Rights First Veterans for American Ideals Military Connected Capital Veterans for Common Sense Military Order of the Purple Heart Veterans for Responsible Leadership Military Veterans in Journalism Veterans for Smart Power Minority Veterans of America Veterans in Global Leadership Modern Military Association of America Veterans’ Voice of America NayceQuest Vietnam Veterans of America No One Left Behind VoteVets NYC Veterans Alliance With Honor Action Objective Zero Foundation Women Veteran Social Justice Network Project Sanctuary cc: The Honorables Dr. Jill Biden, Antony J. Blinken, Denis McDonough, Lloyd Austin, Rory Brosius, Jake Sullivan, Carlyn Reichel, Terri Tanielian, and Saki Ververis.