Biden picks Wolosky to help coordinate resettlement of Afghan refugees

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden has selected veteran diplomat Lee Wolosky to coordinate the relocation of refugees from the war in Afghanistan, a government official said Wednesday.

Wolosky will serve in the White House Legal Aid office, working with National Security Council officials and other senior administrative officials to provide legal expertise on relocation issues, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The United States evacuated tens of thousands of Afghans from their homeland during Biden’s withdrawal from that country after 20 years of war, a hasty withdrawal that has drawn sharp criticism.

Wolosky was previously the US special envoy to then-President Barack Obama in his efforts to close the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was in office from July 2015 to January 2017.

During his tenure, Wolosky was negotiating the repatriation or relocation of dozens of inmates with a number of countries when the government unsuccessfully attempted to empty the facility before Obama’s successor Donald Trump took office.

Wolosky helped Obama reduce the number of inmates there to just 41 by the end of his term, but still under the Democratic President’s promise to close the prison from his 2008 presidential campaign. 39 prisoners are currently being held in Guantanamo.

Wolosky served as director of transnational threats on the National Security Council for both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush during their presidency.

Wolosky was also the attorney for Fiona Hill, a Russia specialist who worked for Trump on the National Security Council, when she testified in the impeachment investigation into whether Trump had asked Ukraine to take action against Biden in return for a meeting in the White House or US Security Assistance to determine the release.

Reporting by Steve Holland and Matt Spetalnick; Adaptation by Jonathan Oatis