BOSTON (WHDH) - Congressman Seth Moulton spoke to CNN Thursday night about his controversial trip to look at the evacuation efforts in Afghanistan earlier this week.
“I don’t care what people are saying in Washington. What I care about is saving lives, I care about doing my job by the Marines and sailors, and Airmen and by the Afghans we are trying to save,” he said.
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Moulton and Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer, flew out to Afghanistan earlier this week and returned 24 hours later on a military flight used for evacuations.
Moulton said he initially made the trip to convince President Biden to keep troops in Afghanistan past the August 31st deadline. Now he said he realizes that is not possible.
“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. And the only way we can do that is if we abide by the agreement that’s been negotiated at this point,” he said. ” My opinion on the 31st was totally changed by my time there.”
The Massachusetts congressman said he also learned that sending names to troops on the ground to try to get people out was actually distracting from the evacuation mission.
This comes as President Joe Biden announced he would complete the evacuation of American citizens and others from Afghanistan despite the day’s deadly suicide bomb attack at the Kabul airport.
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