Pentagon says the US military had to take 'time away' from Kabul evacuations to provide security for Rep. Meijer and Moulton's secret Afghanistan trip and Nancy Pelosi criticizes pair for going 'freelance'
The Pentagon said Wednesday it had to take 'time away' from helping Americans in Afghanistan and Afghan allies to protect a bipartisan pair of congressmen who secretly flew to Kabul to observe the US evacuation efforts.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the Defense Department had not been made aware of the visit, and 'we're obviously not encouraging VIP visits.'
'The secretary, I think would have appreciated the opportunity to have had a conversation before the visit took place.'
'To say there wasn't a need to alter the day's flow, including the need to have protection for these members of Congress, that wouldn't be a genuine thing for me to assert,' Kirby said.
'They certainly took time away from what we had been planning to do that day,' he continued.
Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Rep. Peter Meijer, a Republican from Michigan, flew in and out of Kabul airport on Tuesday, with both men adding that they boarded return flights with empty seats so as not to take away space from fleeing Americans and Afghans.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the White House had no knowledge the lawmakers were making the journey and reiterated that their message continues to be: 'now is not the time to travel to Afghanistan.'
The lawmakers took the trip after a stonewalling of facts on the ground by the Biden administration, which offered unclear numbers of Americans and Afghans who need to be evacuated, and claimed that American citizens were not having trouble getting to the airport when all reports on the ground asserted the contrary.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement urging members against traveling to the region after the news.
'Ensuring the safe and timely evacuation of individuals at risk requires the full focus and attention of the U.S. military and diplomatic teams on the ground in Afghanistan,' the California Democrat said.
'Member travel to the Afghanistan and the surrounding countries would unnecessarily divert needed resources from the priority mission of safely and expeditiously evacuating America and Afghans at risk from Afghanistan.'
'It was not, in my view, a good idea,' she said of the trip in her Wednesday morning press conference. She said the lawmakers were looking to 'freelance on their own' with the secret trip.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif, took a more sympathetic tone, saying he didn't think the trip was the 'best move' but he understood the concern of the lawmakers, both being combat veterans.
'They're both veterans, they're both frustrated….they feel frustrated to come back in a special session and no time is spent on ,' McCarthy told reporters. 'I don't think it's the best decision because you put people in Jeopardy as a member of Congress taking away the work, but I understand why they would want to go.'
The GOP leader added that he was urging members against taking a trip to Afghanistan.
'We conducted this visit in secret, speaking about it only after our departure, to minimize the risk and disruption to the people on the ground, and because we were there to gather information, not to grandstand,' the two said in a joint statement.
'As veterans, we care deeply about the situation on the ground at Hamid Karzai International Airport. America has a moral obligation to our citizens and loyal allies, and we must make sure that obligation is being kept.'
'Information we've gotten from the administration has lagged by days what's on Twitter,' Meijer said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal before their trip. 'It has transpired far more rapidly than senior officials could get their hands around.'
The lawmakers had traveled to Afghanistan wanting to make their case for Biden to extend the Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawal, but appeared to change their tune after the trip, saying it wouldn't matter if he extended the deadline - they'd never get everyone out.
'We came into this visit wanting, like most veterans, to push the president to extend the August 31st deadline,' Moulton wrote on Twitter.
'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. Sadly and frustratingly, getting our people out depends on maintaining the current, bizarre relationship with the Taliban.'
Biden has repeatedly said that the US will stick to the August 31 deadline to completely withdraw all US citizens and their allies out of Afghanistan.
US Representatives Peter Meijer, left, and Seth Moulton, who both served in Iraq and went aboard a secret trip to Afghanistan to monitor the evacuation efforts
Peter Meijer served in the US Army and went on to do humanitarian work in Afghanistan
Seth Moulton served in the Marine Corps and went on to host a TV show in Iraq
Both Congressmen insisted their trip was meant to help ensure the US was upholding its promises to evacuate Afghan people who'd aided its fight against the Taliban.
They paid for their own tickets to the United Arab Emirates, then boarded a US military plane bound for Kabul. Further details on how the men managed to get on board that aircraft have not been disclosed.
But the move left the State Department, Defense Department and White House officials furious, the Associated Press reported, as it was done without coordination with diplomats or military commanders directing the evacuation.
John Hudson, of the Washington Post, tweeted that anger against the representatives were mounting for their unauthorized trip, with one official calling the move 'as moronic as it is selfish.'
Fellow representative Ilhan Omar also criticized the trip, tweeting, 'What they thought could be gained by pulling this stunt is beyond me.'
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which would usually sign off on such trips, said the trip was 'irresponsible' and put an 'extra burden' on service members in Kabul.
Meijer served in Iraq and later did humanitarian related work with a nongovernmental organization in Afghanistan, delivering emergency assistance to aid workers after kidnappings and targeted killings.
Moulton served in the Marine Corps in Iraq and served four tours of duty as an infantry officer. He later worked to establish an independent media in central Iraq and became the host of the Moulton & Mohammed television show.
Moulton shared a tweet of the ongoing evacuation at the airport, calling the desperate scramble at Kabul 'raw and visceral.'
Moulton tweeted about his experience in Afghanistan on Tuesday
John Hudson, of the Washington Post, tweeted about State and Pentagon officials' anger over Moulton and Meijer's secret trip to Afghanistan
US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar criticized her fellow representative's actions
Families begin to board a US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport
Afghan passengers board a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III during the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai Airport
Afghans are being evacuated from Kabul airport at a 'war footing' pace with satellite images showing thousands queueing to leave the country as the August 31 deadline for flights to stop looms large.
The US said some 12,700 people boarded mercy flights in the last 24 hours bringing the total evacuated since August 14 to almost 60,000, while Britain managed to air-lift 2,000 in the last 24 hours bringing its total to 8,500.
But France, the UK and Spain have warned that - even at the current pace - some of those promised sanctuary will be left behind unless the August 31 deadline is extended.
Graph showing the number of people evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, by country as of August 23, 2021 at 1700 GMT
The US said some 16,000 people were flown out of Kabul between Sunday morning and Monday afternoon, with thousands more due to leave the country today (pictured, a satellite image shows people boarding a military plane)
Diplomats insist that the situation on the ground has improved since the weekend with more people being allowed into the airport, but satellite images showed huge crowds continuing to mass
A satellite image reveals thousands of people standing in huge queues trying to get into Kabul airport with just a week left until evacuation flights out of Afghanistan are due to stop
A source close to the evacuation operation told CNN that around 6,500 people were waiting for flights on Tuesday.
Democratic U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, told reporters after a briefing on Afghanistan by intelligence officials that he did not believe the evacuation could be completed in the eight remaining days.
'I think it's possible but I think it's very unlikely given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated,' Schiff said.
A Taliban official said on Monday an extension would not be granted, though he said foreign forces had not sought one. Washington said negotiations were continuing.
CIA Director William Burns is thought to have travelled to Kabul on Monday to meet with Taliban leaders, the Washington Post reported, in what would be the highest-level meeting between the Islamists and the Biden administration to date.
Sources told the paper that discussion topics included the troop withdrawal deadline, but the CIA refused to comment when asked.
A US Marine comforts an infant while they wait for the mother during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport
U.S. Marines provides sunscreen to a child during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan
People disembark at the arrival of a chartered Air Belgium airplane carrying evacuated people from Afghanistan, at the military airport in Melsbroek