Pelosi and other lawmakers slam unauthorized travel to Afghanistan

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“We don’t want anyone to think it was a good idea. There is real concern about the presence of members in the area,” Pelosi said of the unauthorized trip of Democratic Representative Seth Moulton from Massachusetts and Republican Representative Peter. Meijer from Michigan. taken to Afghanistan, taking both House and White House leaders by surprise.

Moulton and Meijer announced Tuesday evening that they had secretly traveled to Afghanistan to see the situation for themselves. The two Iraq war veterans said in a joint statement that they made the trip “to monitor the evacuation mission of the Americans and our allies”, adding that the trip was made in secret “to minimize risk and disruption to people on the ground. “

But Pelosi and other congressional leaders said the trip was dangerous and strained the military on the ground as it frantically scrambled to evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghans from Kabul before the deadline of 31. August for the United States to complete its withdrawal.

“There is a lot of work for men and women in the military to do. I think it places an additional burden on them,” said House of Foreign Affairs Speaker Gregory Meeks of New York. “I don’t think it necessarily helps us to go out there, and we’re trying to get people out of there.”

When asked if the trip was irresponsible, Meeks replied, “It doesn’t help the mission.”

Before Moulton and Meijer’s trip was disclosed on Tuesday, Pelosi sent lawmakers a letter discouraging them from traveling to Afghanistan. Pelosi said on Wednesday she learned of the trip “shortly before it was in the public domain.”

But she said security concerns for the two caused the initial silence, saying: “We have not made it known because it would be dangerous for them.”

“Until they were in the air it would not have been safe for them,” she said. “It’s not just about going to Afghanistan, going to the region, there is also a cost on our resources. It is extremely serious.”

Pelosi also said trips like the one Meijer and Moulton took require the approval of their committee chairs, and Moulton did not get approval from House Armed Services president Adam Smith of Washington. She said she was unsure whether Meijer had sought approval from Meeks, who said on Wednesday he was “surprised and shocked” to learn of the trip.

Rep. Brian Mast, a Florida Republican and Afghanistan veteran, said he asked the State Department if a trip to Congress himself was possible, but was told it wasn’t not the case. Mast respected “their desire to go out there and witness” what was happening on the ground, but noted that having two lawmakers there created a security “headache”. for the military in a chaotic and dangerous situation around Kabul airport.

“You put two members of Congress on the ground unexpectedly, and you find yourself in a situation where all of a sudden they’re fighting for the safety of these people and that can create a dangerous situation or obviously some other harm. head for them. manage mounted the mountain of headaches they face, “Mast said.

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