The two deputies reportedly arrived on a chartered plane and spent several hours at the Afghan capital’s airport, which has fallen into the hands of the extremist Islamist Taliban movement, as they work aggressively to evacuate foreigners.
“As members of Congress, it is our duty to supervise the activities of the government,” the soldiers who became soldiers in Latvia said in a joint statement. They added, “We did this visit secretly and only after we left we talked about reducing and disrupting the work of the people working on the site and because we went to gather information instead of the situation.” According to the two deputies, they set out on the way to
Persuading President Joe Biden to extend the August 31 deadline for the evacuation.
“After speaking to the commanders at the site and seeing the situation there, it became clear to us that since we started the evacuation late, whatever we did, We can’t evacuate everyone until 9/11.” Major and Moulton said.
Major, a US Army veteran, previously served in Iraq and later had a humanitarian job working for an NGO in Afghanistan. Moulton was with the Marine Corps and also served in Iraq. According to US officials with knowledge of the case, State Department, Pentagon and White House officials were also outraged by what happened, as the visit was not coordinated with the diplomats or military leaders who conducted the evacuation.
Biden announced Tuesday evening that the United States He adhered to the schedule and withdrew his forces by August 31. Biden declared, “We are currently maintaining the schedule so we can finish by August 31. The sooner we finish, the better. With each passing day, the danger to our teams increases.” He also noted that meeting the deadline also depends on further cooperation from the Taliban.
The US president also drew attention to the fact that jihadists from the Islamic State could assassinate the airport, putting soldiers and civilians at risk. He also reported that the US Air Force and its allies had evacuated 70,700 people from the South Asian country since August 14.
“I have asked the Pentagon and the State Department to develop contingency plans so that we can change the schedule if necessary. At the same time, I am determined to carry out our mission,” the US president said. “Today, we all agreed that we will stand with our closest partners to confront the current challenges in Afghanistan,” Biden added after consulting with leaders of the Group of Seven, which includes seven leading industrial powers.
US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed on Tuesday that the US military has already reduced the number of its contingent at Kabul airport by a few hundred. As he said, all this will not affect the course of the evacuation. He added that they were soldiers who performed maintenance work, among other things, and that their mandate at Kabul airport had expired.
Cover photo: Kabul, Getty Images,
