2 members of Congress flew directly into Kabul on a 'secret' informational trip amid the chaotic evacuation
Erin Snodgrass | Publié le | Mis à jour le
- Two members of Congress chartered an airplane to the Kabul airport amid the choatic evacuation of Americans and Afghans.
- Rep. Seth Moulton and Rep. Peter Meijer, both veterans, stayed for several hours before boarding a flight back.
- The unannounced trip reportedly angered government officials who were not made aware of the men's travels.
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Two Congressional lawmakers flew into the Kabul airport amid the ongoing evacuation spurred by the Taliban takeover earlier this month, angering the State Department and US military personnel who were forced to provide last-minute security measures for the two legislators, The Associated Press reported.
Officials told the outlet that Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and former US Marine, and Rep. Peter Meijer, a Michigan Republican and former US Army reservist, chartered an airplane to the Kabul airport, where they stayed for several hours.
The congressmen released a joint statement Tuesday evening, confirming the "secret" trip as a method of providing Congressional oversight to the executive branch.
"There is no place in the world right now where oversight matters more," the statement said.
"We conducted this trip in secret, speaking about it only after our departure, to minimize the risk and disruption to people on the ground, and because we were there to gether information, not grandstand," the lawmakers added.
The two men, who both served in Iraq, have been critical of how the Biden administration executed the troop drawdown in Afghanistan and have called for more Afghans to be evacuated.
"Washington should be ashamed of the position we put our service members in, but they represent the best in America," Moulton and Meijer said.
According to the AP, the congressmen reportedly left the capital city on another charter aircraft, which led to frustration among officials who argued the men's seats could have taken other Americans or fleeing Afghans out of the country.
But Moulton and Meijer said they left on a plane with empty seats and were seated in crew-only seats to ensure they weren't taking a coveted spot from anyone else.
According to the AP, the State Department, Defense Department, and White House officials "were furious" about the unannounced trip, which was planned without any coordination among diplomats or the military personnel who have been leading the evacuation on the ground for the last week.
The US military only found out about the congressmen's impending arrival as their plane was inbound for Kabul, the outlet reported.
Moulton and Meijer said they went into the trip hoping to push Biden into extending the August 31 evacuation deadline, but after their visit, believe a full evacuation is impossible.
"After talking with commanders on the ground and seeing the situation here, it is obvious that because we started the evacuation so late, that no matter what we do, we won't get everyone out on time, even by September 11," they said.
Neither Moulton nor Meijer's offices immediately responded to Insider's request for comment.
The White House and the State Department also did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
Via PakApNews