Congressman Rambo? GOP lawmaker tried to take helicopter into Afghanistan as part of rogue evacuation mission reports

A Republican congressman who fought against the evacuation of the Biden administration in Kabul has reportedly traveled to Georgia (the country) as part of an unauthorized operation to evacuate Americans still stranded in Afghanistan.

The daring rescue mission, which reads like a script for a corn-fed Hollywood action movie, was first reported by the Washington Post. According to per. Called Oklahoma Rep. Markwayne Mullin the US Ambassador to Tajikistan on Monday with an urgent and extremely unusual request: he planned to fly from Tbilisi, Georgia, to the city of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, in the next few hours, and needed help to safely transport a large amount of cash over the border. The GOP legislator explained that he would then take a helicopter into Afghanistan as part of a self-initiated mission to rescue five U.S. citizens — a woman and her four children — who were trying to get out of the country.

Embassy staff in Dushanbe reportedly rejected the request, saying they were unwilling to help the congressman circumvent Tajikistan’s laws restricting the movement of cash, especially as his final destination would be Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

According to officials familiar with the matter, Mullin was furious at the decision and used threatening language directed at Washington’s envoy to Tajikistan, John Mark Pommersheim.

Mullin’s current whereabouts are still unknown, but his office released a statement saying he was “safe” and that the legislature would “Keep doing anything … to bring all Americans home from the war zone."

Fantastic new statement from Congressman Mullin’s office does not mention where he is at the moment, but says he is “safe” and “will continue to do everything … to bring all Americans home from the war zone” … “We has no further comments " pic.twitter.com/F31Zewz0PG

- John Hudson (@John_Hudson) September 1, 2021

The State Department declined to comment on Mullin’s one-man mission or his interactions with the U.S. embassy in Tajikistan. The White House also declined to comment, but pointed to a government bulletin urging U.S. citizens not to travel to Afghanistan.

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The U.S. military completed its full withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, just before the August 31 deadline. An insane evacuation from Kabul airport was dampened by storms, shootings and suicide bombings, killing a total of more than 100 civilians and 13 U.S. service members. It is believed that hundreds of Americans may still be in the country, even though the White House has insisted that many of them chose to stay in Afghanistan.

Mullin’s counter-rescue mission marked his second attempt to enter Afghanistan in two weeks. Last week, a congressman in Oklahoma traveled to Greece, asking the Pentagon for permission to visit Kabul. His request was denied.

“This is a sad day for our country," Mullin said in a statement Monday night, adding “The Americans have been stranded in Afghanistan by the Biden administration and are now back to defend themselves against terrorists crossing the country."

Two of his congressional colleagues had greater success getting into Afghanistan. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts) and Peter Meijer (R-Michigan) traveled to Kabul last week. Their unauthorized trip angered U.S. officials, accusing lawmakers of performing a publicity stunt at a time when all available resources and manpower were needed to help with evacuation efforts.

U.S. citizens are not the only ones reportedly left behind by the U.S. military: Numerous stories describe how Afghans who worked for U.S. and allied forces during the nearly 20-year war have now been defeated by the Taliban.

An Afghan interpreter who helped retrieve then-Senator Joe Biden from the mountains of Afghanistan in 2008 has allegedly begged the White House for help getting out of the country after failing to secure a flight out of Kabul during the evacuation.

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