Joe Biden forsakes an Afghan interpreter who took part in the rescue that saved him and other senators in 2008. The interpreter is only one of many left behind as the deadline for the US came to pass; many of them who worked with Americans might be facing reprisals.
The unnamed interpreter helped rescue Biden in a far-off Afghan valley in 2008 when the Blackhawk he was riding went down due to a snowstorm. But on Monday, the last flight left without him and his family, to be left behind enemy lines.
Afghan interpreter got left behind by US
The interpreter is only known as Mohammed, which is not his full name, is now in hiding in Kabul with his wife and four kids. It has been several years since he applied for the US, never getting out of the country, reported the Daily Mail.
He was assisting the US Army in the struggle against the Taliban, an integral character in the story told by the destined to be president someday. In his vice presidential run, Biden would often relate the story.
Several US senators were onboard the helicopters that had gone down in a snowstorm in an emergency landing. That time, Biden was with John Kerry, and Chuck Hagel when it happened, cited Eminetra. Accompanying the senators were contractors from the Blackwater firm, troopers looking out for Taliban ambushers. Blackhawk sent out a mayday to Bagram Air Base. Mohammed joined them in the Hummer as they rode.
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Members of the 82nd Airborne Division kept an eye on them until out of the hostile territory. The three senators were on the convoy heading to the base. The area where the choppers had to land was not the enemy's territory, though a day before, there were 24 Taliban insurgents killed about 10 miles away from the area.
John Kerry joke that Biden will use snowballs to fight the Talibs, but they got out in one piece due to the contractors, troopers, and Mohammed. This trip was related to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, with Hagel and Kerry. All of them rose to significant positions in the Obama administration.
Mohammed's plea to save his family
According to the Wall Street Journal, the interpreter sent a message to President Biden, asking him to save him and his family, appealing that he be not left behind enemy lines. He cannot even go out of his residence, mentioned last Tuesday, fearing he will die. One of the reasons he never got processed for leaving for the US is that his employers had lost his records.
On August 15, when the Taliban controlled Kabul, he attempted to escape but was forced away from the gate by US soldiers. He chooses to stay with his family instead of leaving. The possible survival of his family gets less every day when the deadline comes.
US troopers say the interpreter was with them in about 100 encounters with the Jihadis. Despite pleas on Mohammed's behalf, Joe Biden forsakes Afghan interpreters to the Taliban like many as America left Afghanistan. Biden's rescuer is only of the many left behind because of the decision to keep the August 31 deadline. Of all the 8,000 SIV applicants, only 6,000 were able to leave the doomed country.
