House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has rebuked two members of Congress who flew into Kabul for an unannounced visit during the evacuation of American citizens and Afghans.
Representatives Seth Moulton, a Democrat, and Peter Meijer, a Republican, traveled to Afghanistan on Tuesday on a chartered flight and stayed on the ground for several hours before leaving on another flight.
US officials were stunned when Moulton and Meijer, both of whom served in the Iraq war before running for Congress, flew into the war-torn country.
The two lawmakers, who have been critical of the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, said in a statement they traveled to Kabul to gather information as part of Congress’ oversight role.
“America has a moral obligation to our citizens and loyal allies, and we must make sure that obligation is being kept,” they said in a statement released after they left Kabul.
The White House and the State Department were furious as the two lawmakers did not coordinate the trip with diplomats or military commanders in charge of the chaotic situation at the international airport, according to the Associated Press.
Following their visit, Pelosi sent a letter to House members, cautioning the Pentagon and the State Department had asked lawmakers not to travel to Afghanistan “during this time of danger.”
“Given the urgency of this situation, the desire of some Members to travel to Afghanistan and the surrounding areas is understandable and reflective of the high priority that we place on the lives of those on the ground,” Pelosi wrote in the letter, according to Politico.
“Member travel to 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,” she said.
Before visiting Afghanistan, Moulton and Meijer had said they wanted President Joe Biden to extend his Aug. 31 deadline for the evacuation to conclude and US troops to leave the country.
“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.
Biden has faced growing calls from Washington’s allies to negotiate more time for the evacuations following the hasty withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan and the ensuing Taliban’s takeover of the country.
He said on Tuesday that American forces had now helped evacuate 70,700 people since Aug. 14, adding the US is on pace to finish evacuations from Afghanistan by Aug. 31 but that achieving that goal was dependent on continued cooperation from the Taliban.
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The Taliban on Tuesday rejected the potential extension of the deadline for the US and other foreign troops to completely withdraw from Afghanistan and called on Washington to stop evacuating skilled Afghans.
“We ask them to stop this process….This country needs its expertise. They should not be taken to other countries,” the Taliban’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at a news conference in the capital.
The US-led invasion of Afghanistan removed the Taliban from power 20 years ago, but it worsened the security situation in the country. The militants intensified their offensive and rapidly overran major cities in recent weeks, as the US-led foreign forces enforced what was seen as a hasty withdrawal.
The Taliban laid siege to Kabul on August 15 shortly after then-Afghan president Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
For the past two weeks, Kabul’s airport has been the scene of chaos and sporadic violence, with panicked Afghan and foreign nationals desperately trying to catch evacuation flights out of the country, prompting officials there to enforce restrictions.
