Rescue Operation Organizer Says U.S. State Department 'Exaggerating' Role in Rescuing 4 Americans From Afghanistan
Refugees disembark from a US air force aircraft after an evacuation flight from Kabul at the Rota naval base in Rota, southern Spain, on August 31, 2021. CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images

The organizer in a private operation to rescue four Americans from Afghanistan claimed slammed the U.S. State Department on Monday, claiming that the agency is "exaggerating" its role in the rescue effort despite playing little to no part.

Multiple sources told Fox News that organizer Cory Mills and a private team of military veterans led the effort to rescue American mom, Mariam, and her three kids from Afghanistan, where the Biden administration had left them behind.

Mills and his team reportedly drew on funding from private donors, including the Sentinel Foundation. Reports noted that Mills and his team worked for weeks to get Miriam and her children out of Afghanistan after Representative Ronny Jackson informed him about the family's dilemma.

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U.S. State Department Criticized by Rescue Operations Organizer, Representatives After Taking Credit in Rescue of 4 Americans

In an email, a spokesperson from the U.S. State Department claimed that they assisted four Americans out of Afghanistan through an overland route on Monday. The unnamed spokesperson further noted that they provided guidance and facilitated a safe passage for the Americans.

But in an interview with Fox News on Monday, Mills called the department's claims "absolute nonsense." Mills pointed out that the State Department was trying to claim 100 percent credit when the agency did not track Miriam's family and offered no help when the American mother, who was "under extreme stress," tried to reach out to the said department multiple times.

Mills also said the State Department had little to do with the rescue mission until the most dangerous part was completed, and that's getting Mariam and her kids across the border.

"This is an attempt to save face by the administration for the Americans the left behind... It's like we carried the ball to the 99-and-a-half yard line and them taking it that last half yard and being like 'look what we did," Mills noted.

Representatives Ronny Jackson and Markwayne Mullin also criticized the department for taking credit for the rescue of the four Americans. Jackson said the States Department did not do anything in the span of two weeks except put his "constituents in danger and leave them stranded."

"Cory and his team are brave patriots. Praise God that American veterans have more resolve than Joe Biden or his State Department," Jackson noted.

Meanwhile, Mullin called the department's claims a "flat out lie," adding that the credit belonged to Mills' group who worked for two weeks to get Miriam and her three children out of Afghanistan, "despite the many roadblocks from the State Department."

4 Americans Rescued From Afghanistan

According to Mills, the four Americans rescued from Afghanistan included three children aged two to 15 years old. Jackson said the four are from his district.

Mills said they tried different ways to rescue Miriam and her family by utilizing a private charter flight and traveling overland to a neighboring country. Mills further noted that the four Americans tried to enter the Kabul airport several times.

Mills compared the rescue of the American family to a "shell game." But he said Miriam's family finally crossed the border on Monday, moments before the Taliban closed the checkpoint to prevent Americans from escaping.

A senior States Department official said the Taliban did not obstruct the transit of the four Americans, adding that the family was in good condition. The said rescue was the first evacuation of Americans from Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal on August 31.

On Sunday, Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, a top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Taliban was stopping a half dozen planes with Americans onboard from leaving Afghanistan.

McCaul noted that Americans and Afghan interpreters were being held "hostage" at the Mazar-i-Sharif airport in northern Afghanistan by the Taliban.

He said the six airplanes could not take off because they had not received clearance from the Taliban. He noted that the Taliban wants the U.S. to acknowledge them as the legitimate governing authority in the country.

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Written By: Joshua Summers

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