Rep. Seth Moulton: ‘We Have to Have a Productive Relationship With The Taliban Going Forward’ To Make Sure We Can Get Everyone Out
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) was unapologetic about the surprise trip he and Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) took to Kabul, Afghanistan earlier this week, telling CNN’s Chris Cuomo that he had learned that there was no way the U.S. would be able to get everyone out of Afghanistan, no matter the deadline, so it was important for us to have a “productive relationship with the Taliban going forward.”
The unannounced congressional travel reportedly shocked officials in the State Department and Defense Department, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) publicly criticized the pair.
Moulton described for Cuomo the “absolutely extraordinary” and “truly Herculean task” that the U.S. troops had been given, to shift “through this literal sea of humanity,” “putting themselves at tremendous risk and saving thousands, thousands of lives in the process.”
The congressman told Cuomo that when he had served in Iraq, he felt “abandoned” by Congress because he saw “countless decisions made by people in Washington who had no idea what it was like on the ground,” and he had vowed that he would operate that way as a member of Congress himself.
“What we have to come to terms with as a country is that we’re not going to get everybody out with the time line we have,” Moulton said. “That’s one of the most important things I learned on the ground.”
Cuomo asked why the military leaders were sticking with the August 31st deadline if we couldn’t get everyone out by then.
“That’s exactly what I thought when I went over there,” replied Moulton, but what he learned from the commanders on the ground was that even if we delay until September 11, “we’re not going to get everybody out in time, so we have to have a productive relationship with the Taliban going forward, as bizarre as that sounds.”
“We have to have a productive relationship with the Taliban going forward if we have any chance of getting the thousands that we leave behind, when we do go, out in the future,” he continued. “And the only way we can do that is if we abide by the agreement that’s been negotiated at this point, which is to leave on August 31st.”
“It’s heartbreaking,” Moulton said. “But that’s the position that we’ve been in. And that’s the position that people in Washington have put our troops in.”
Cuomo brought up the criticism from Pelosi and others in Washington about the trip. “You say we weren’t there to grandstand. Nobody knew we were there until we left. The pushback is, yeah, but then the military on the ground had to protect you guys, and that was reckless of you. What do you make of the criticism that you shouldn’t have been there?”
“I don’t care what people are saying in Washington,” Moulton answered. “What I care about is saving lives. I care about doing my job by the Marines and Sailors, and Airmen, and the Afghans we are trying to save.”
Watch the video above, via CNN.
