Republican members of Congress are celebrating their successful rescue efforts of an American mother and her young children stranded in Afghanistan after President Joe Biden’s chaotic military evacuation abandoned up to 200 American citizens and thousands of Afghan special immigrant visa applicants.
US officials confirmed it was the first successful government-led land evacuation since the withdrawal effort began.
Oklahoma conservative Rep. Markwayne Mullin posted a photo on Twitter Monday morning of an American citizen named Mariam surrounded by her three small children.
Mullin said he had been contacted by a friend ‘a little over three weeks ago’ asking if he could do anything to help the young mother and her three children, who also hold US passports.
‘Mariam had gone to visit her parents for the first time with the kids and became trapped in Kabul when the Taliban overran the city. We left two weeks ago today to get her, the children, and others out,’ the lawmaker wrote.
The father of six said his team worked ‘around the clock’ and encountered numerous setbacks but perservered.
Mariam and her family were abandoned in Afghanistan when the US military withdrew from Kabul last week. US officials confirmed they were the first Americans rescued by the government by land since the Taliban took the country
Rep. Markwayne Mullin described Mariam’s rescue with as many details and he could without compromising security in a celebratory Twitter post Monday
Mariam and her children, Mullin said, came close to death multiple times ‘including again today’ – but he didn’t elaborate further.
‘This morning at 05:32ETC they got out of Afghanistan. Praise the Lord!’ Mullin wrote.
He added: ‘There are still many families like Mariam’s who are desperately wanting and waiting to get out. American cannot rest until we get them all home.’
US officials announced Monday morning that a US citizen and their relatives escaped Afghanistan through an overland route to a neighboring country.
Mullin’s office confirmed to DailyMail.com that it was Mariam and her young family.
She and her children ‘successfully departed Afghanistan using an overland route’ and were met by US embassy staff at the border.
The official would not speak to details of the evacuation or to the country in which they arrived, citing security reasons and the need to preserve the viability of the route for possible future efforts.
The evacuation is the first overland extraction the US government has confirmed since it ended its air evacuation effort last week with the final withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.
Rep. Ronny Jackson celebrated their rescue on Twitter and revealed Mariam and her children are his constituents in Texas’s 13th Congressional district
Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas also celebrated Mariam’s rescue on Twitter Monday morning and revealed she was one of his own constituents from Texas’s 13th district.
‘After 2 weeks & multiple life threatening attempts, I am overjoyed to share that 4 U.S. citizens from #TX13 were part of the first successful ground evacuation since the U.S. left Kabul,’ Jackson wrote.
‘Thank you to Cory Mills & the other patriots on his team for saving these BRAVE Americans!’
Mills, a combat veteran running for a House seat in Florida, is in the Middle East apparently aiding in the covert rescue effort. He was pictured at the Afghanistan border with Mariam and her family.
Meanwhile the Biden administration hit a snag in its ‘diplomatic mission’ to rescue Americans and Afghan allies still stranded after negotiations between the State Department and Taliban officials reportedly broke down over the weekend.
Six private charter planes sent to the city of Mazar-i-Sharif to evacuate at least 1,000 people have been grounded 260 miles north of Kabul.
The flights were chartered by Mercury One, a charity founded by right-wing commentator Glenn Beck, Newsweek reports.
Beck’s fleet of two Airbus 340s and four Boeing 737s from Kam Air are sitting empty in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif as their passengers – including at least 142 Americans.
One NGO official told the outlet the remaining passengers are special immigrant visa applicants and that everyone is ‘waiting in their safe houses for clearance for takeoff from the Taliban’ amid the diplomatic stalemate.
A family from Afghanistan walk next to fence to cross into Pakistan at the Friendship Gate crossing point
The evacuation flights reportedly cost Beck’s charity $750,000 each.
On Sunday, Reuters reported that the delay had been caused by Biden administration officials not telling Taliban leaders it had approved the departures of the chartered flights from Mazar-i-Sharif.
An exasperated flight organizer hit out at the State Department over the fiasco, saying: ‘They need to be held accountable for putting these people’s lives in danger.’
Other groups trying to organize their own chartered flights have also hit out at the State Department, with Rick Clay from private rescue firm PlanB claiming it’s the only thing stopping him fulfilling his brief.
Two other organizers have also torn into the State Department, with one – who didn’t give their name – telling Fox: ‘This is zero place to be negotiating with American lives. Those are our people standing on the tarmac and all it takes is a f****ing phone call.
‘If one life is lost as a result of this, the blood is on the White House’s hands. The blood is on their hands. It is not the Taliban that is holding this up – as much as it sickens me to say that – it is the United States government.’
Further details on the reason for the delay in discussions has not been disclosed. although Blinken jetted to Qatar on Sunday to discuss the issue with leaders there.
This handout satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows satellite imagery of the Mazar-i-Sharif and grounded planes at the airport in northern Afghanistan on September 3
Antony Blinken rushed to Qatar Sunday amid the unfolding crisis in Mazar-i-Sharif
As the situation developed over the weekend, Texas Rep. Michael McCaul told Fox News earlier Sunday that the Taliban was holding the planes hostage.
‘We have six airplanes at Mazar Sharif Airport, six airplanes with American citizens on them as I speak, also with these interpreters, and the Taliban is holding them hostage for demands right now,’
‘The state has cleared these flights and the Taliban will not let them leave the airport,’ he detailed.
McCaul went on to claim that the flights were being used by the Islamic extremist group as a bargaining chip with the US, in return for full recognition.
The top Republican on the US House Foreign Affairs Committee said that since the total troop US withdrawal from Afghanistan, no Americans have been evacuated from the country.
‘Since we left the country on Friday, how many Americans have gotten out of Afghanistan?’ anchor Chris Wallace asked. ‘Since we pulled out, how many Afghan allies have gotten out since the Taliban was in complete control of the country?’
‘Zero,’ McCaul shot back. ‘I’m sorry, the answer to your question is zero.’
But due to Congressional efforts, at least four people who were stranded can be counted as safe.