Oklahoma Lawmaker, Who Went Dark During Rogue Mission to Rescue 5 Americans in Afghanistan, Says He's Safe
An Oklahoma lawmaker, who went "dark" during a rogue mission to rescue five Americans in Afghanistan, said Wednesday that he's safe and on his way back to the U.S.
New York Daily News reported that Rep. Markwayne Mullin said he's returning to the U.S. after diplomats and the Pentagon told him to leave the evacuations to the professionals. The Republican lawmaker posted a message on Instagram to announce that he's heading home.
"I am heading home... Have we been helping get Americans out of Afghanistan, yes. Is the mission continuing, yes. Am I missing, no," Mullin said. He added that he did "go dark for a little" because "it wasn't safe to communicate."
The Blaze reported that the Pentagon earlier denied the Oklahoma lawmaker's request to travel to Afghanistan from Greece last week. The congressman tried again on Monday and allegedly threatened U.S. Embassy officials when they turned him down.
Reports said the Oklahoma lawmaker planned to charter a helicopter and visit Afghanistan from neighboring Tajikistan to rescue five Americans who were left behind.
Oklahoma Rep. Markwayne Mullin Slams Joe Biden for His Handling of the Afghanistan Evacuation
In his Instagram post, Markwayne Mullin has criticized President Joe Biden for his handling of the evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies during the U.S. military's withdrawal in Afghanistan.
The Republican lawmaker noted that the Biden administration lied to the American people about Americans being left behind in Afghanistan.
Mullin's communications director Meredith Blanford said that the Oklahoma lawmaker was never in danger, Fox News reported.
Blanford noted that Markwayne Mullin and the Office of Oklahoma's Second District would continue to do anything in their power to bring home all Americans from the war zone.
The communications director also said that Mullin's top priority will always be the safety and security of the American people.
Markwayne Mullin had traveled to Afghanistan through Tajikistan. He then ran into trouble at the U.S. embassy when he tried to get a large sum of cash into Afghanistan, so he could hire a helicopter to enter Afghanistan in hopes of rescuing a woman, who is a U.S. citizen, and her four children.
Mullin had reportedly sought the ambassador's assistance in bypassing Tajikistan's laws on cash limits and had allegedly threatened the ambassador and staff when they refused him.
According to the Georgian Embassy, the Oklahoma lawmaker was reported to be at Tbilisi in the country of Georgia over the weekend.
Americans in Afghanistan
Samiullah Naderi is among the U.S. citizens or possibly among thousands of green card holders stranded in Afghanistan. Naderi and his family returned to Kabul with no clear plan on how to get back to Philadelphia.
He was told that no more people would be allowed to enter the Kabul airport gates on Monday, The New York Times reported. Naderi noted that all flights were closed and that he was scared.
Joe Biden said 90 percent of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to go. The White House later corrected it to 98 percent.
Joe Biden noted that the U.S. government had warned Americans several times, 19 to be exact, to leave Afghanistan since March.
U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken said that about 6,000 Americans had been evacuated after August 14. The huge majority of those were dual U.S.-Afghan citizens.
However, that was not the case for Naderi. Immigration and refugee advocacy groups estimated that thousands still remained in the country.
Congress has demanded the U.S. military to stay in the war-torn country until all U.S. citizens, and those Afghans eligible for special U.S. visas have been evacuated.
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Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Oklahoma Congressman Mullin Safe - From KJRH -TV