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By Devan Cole, Ryan Nobles, Zachary Cohen and Oren Liebermann, CNN
On Tuesday, two members of the United States Congress paid an unannounced visit to Afghanistan as the American races to evacuate as many people as possible from the country in the last days of the US military presence there, taking Democratic leaders by surprise and sparking quick criticism.
Representatives Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Peter Meijer, a Republican from Michigan, said in a joint statement Tuesday that they had traveled to Kabul “to oversee the evacuation mission of the Americans and our allies.” and that the trip had been conducted in secret “to minimize risk and disruption to those on the ground”.
“As members of Congress, we have a duty to monitor the executive branch,” said Moulton and Meijer, both military veterans who had served in the Middle East. The couple said they traveled to Afghanistan “in a plane with empty seats, sitting in reserved crew seats to ensure that no one who needed a seat loses one. because of our presence “.
But the trip, apparently a typical Congressional fact-finding mission, caught the House leadership and the House armed services committee by surprise, according to a senior official in the Democratic leadership, as well as the White House, according to a report. source close to the file.
The Associated Press first reported travelling.
A US official called the visit an “unnecessary distraction,” telling CNN on Tuesday that the Defense Department had also not been given advance notice that members of Congress would be traveling to Afghanistan.
The visit came as US officials scrambled to ramp up the pace of evacuation flights, and the unexpected arrival of US politicians in the midst of a war zone would have taken scarce resources and personnel away from the mission. evacuation – especially amid a continuing terrorist threat from ISIS-K and other groups seeking to target US and coalition forces.
In a letter which was sent to House members on Tuesday while members of Congress were in Afghanistan, according to a source close to the timeline, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – without explicitly referring to the trip – has discouraged lawmakers from visiting the country, arguing that such a trip “would unnecessarily divert resource needs” from the evacuation efforts.
“I am writing to reiterate that the Defense and State Departments have asked members not to travel to Afghanistan and the region during this time of danger,” wrote the California Democrat. “Ensuring the safe and rapid evacuation of those at risk requires the full focus and attention of US military and diplomatic teams on the ground in Afghanistan. “
Democratic Representative Sara Jacobs of California, a member of the Armed Services Committee, also criticized her colleagues’ decision to travel overseas, saying in a Tweeter : “Whether in Haiti or Afghanistan, taking space in a disaster area for one’s own ego doesn’t help anyone. “
The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Phil Mattingly and Annie Grayer contributed to this report.
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