Skip to main content

Biden abandons Afghan interpreter who RESCUED him when his Blackhawk was forced to land in a snowstorm in 2008: Translator asked president to save him from the Taliban

The Afghan interpreter who helped rescue President Biden from a remote Afghan valley in 2008 has been left behind after the last US evacuation flight took off on Monday, according to a report. 

Mohammed, going only by his first name for safety reasons, is hiding from the Taliban with his wife and four children after trying for years to get out of Afghanistan to no avail.  

Mohammed, while working for the US Army, had a key role in a story often repeated - and embellished - by Biden during his 2008 run for vice president. 

As senator, Biden was on board one of two Blackhawk helicopters that made an emergency landing in a blinding snowstorm, alongside then-Sens. John Kerry D-Mass., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. 

Mohammed is one of the thousands of SIV applicants left behind. There were 88,000 SIV applicants and as of last week only 6,000 had gotten out. 

Then-Senators Joe Biden, John Kerry, and Chuck Hagel in Kunar Province in eastern Afghanistan, February 20, 2008

Then-Senators Joe Biden, John Kerry, and Chuck Hagel in Kunar Province in eastern Afghanistan, February 20, 2008

Kerry, left, is seen with Biden, right, during their visiting to the governor's office in Asad Abad, the provincial capital of Kunar province east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008

Kerry, left, is seen with Biden, right, during their visiting to the governor's office in Asad Abad, the provincial capital of Kunar province east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008

Badri 313 units post for the cameras at Kabul airport today, carrying American-made rifles and wearing US military gear

Badri 313 units post for the cameras at Kabul airport today, carrying American-made rifles and wearing US military gear

A private security team with the former firm Blackwater and US Army soldiers stood watch for Taliban fighters as the crew called Bagram Air Base for help, where Mohammed jumped in a Humvee along with a force from the 82nd Airborne Division and drove hours into the mountains to rescue them. 

The three senators were driven back to the base with the convoy. 

'Hello Mr. President: Save me and my family,' Mohammed said, according to the Wall Street Journal.  'Don't forget me here.'

'I can't leave my house,' he said on Tuesday. 'I'm very scared.' 

Mohammed's visa application reportedly stalled when the defense contractor he worked for lost records needed for his visa application. As the Taliban seized control on Aug. 15, Mohammed tried his luck at the Kabul airport gates but was turned away by US forces. They told him he could go but he'd have to leave behind his wife and children. 

US soldiers say Mohammed was there alongside them for over 100 firefights. 

The area of the rescue was not under Taliban control, but just one day before the three then-senators' choppers went down, Taliban had killed nearly two dozen Taliban insurgents just 10 miles away. 

'We were going to send Biden out to fight the Taliban with snowballs, but we didn't have to do it,' Kerry joked after the senators' rescue.  

The trip was one of many that Biden, then chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, took overseas with Kerry and Hagel, who went on to become secretaries of state and defense respectively under President Obama. 

In a speech on the campaign trail, Biden said in 2008: 'If you want to know where Al Qaeda lives, you want to know where bin Laden is, come back to Afghanistan with me. Come back to the area where my helicopter was forced down with a three-star general and three senators at 10,500 feet in the middle of those mountains. I can tell you where they are.' 

'It's in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan,' he said, 'where my helicopter was recently forced down.' 

Army veterans have stepped in on Mohammed's behalf to call for help. 'If you can only help one Afghan, choose ,' wrote Shawn O'Brien, an Army combat veteran who worked with him in Afghanistan in 2008. 'He earned it.' 

The US has evacuated over 120,000 from Taliban rule since Aug. 14, including 5,500 Americans, but left behind somewhere between 100 and 200 Americans and thousands of Afghan interpreters who worked with the US military in its hasty exit.  

The State Department has promised to use all diplomatic channels to continue evacuations without a troop or embassy presence. 

A White House official declined to comment on Mohammed's case for confidentiality reasons.  

The 'biggest airlift in history' that left at least 250 Americans and thousands of Afghan allies stranded in Kabul  

Head of US Central Command General Kenneth Frank McKenzie admitted the US military 'did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out' when he announced the final US troops had left Afghanistan on Monday.

He also defended the the decision to withdraw early by saying: 'But I think if we'd stayed another 10 days, we wouldn't have gotten everybody out that we wanted to get out and there still would've been people who would've been disappointed with that. It's a tough situation.'

Since July the US has evacuated 122,000 people out of Kabul including 5,400 Americans. The State Department said on Monday there were at least 250 US citizens who wanted to get out who were still stranded.

Later on Monday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the number was between 200 and 100, but still couldn't put an exact number on it.

He also admitted that Afghan SIV applicants who fought alongside US troops were left behind, but again didn't give a number, and it could be in the thousands.

As of August 26, just 5,000 SIV applicants had been flown out compared to the 88,000 who are desperately trying to flee the Taliban. 

In the last 18 days, 7,500 people have been flown out on flights each day, with evacuations halted for two of those days because of threats on the airport and the Kabul suicide attack.

The highest number of evacuations was 19,000 in a day - but the numbers have dwindled in the final days of the US military operation. 

The White House and The State Department have been vague on how many SIV applicants or vulnerable Afghans are still trying to leave, but have promised to 'help', even though the military has gone. 

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o