Former CIA officer blasts two ‘reprehensible’ congressmen who made surprise visit to Kabul airport on ‘Instagram trip’

Counterterrorism analyst says congressmen travelled ‘to Afghanistan because they want some eye candy for a bunch of constituents’

Two congressmen have come under fire for going on an unannounced trip to Kabul airport to “conduct oversight” of the evacuation process.

Democrat Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Republican Peter Meijer of Michigan said in a joint statement that as members of Congress they “have a duty to provide oversight on the executive branch”.

“We conducted this visit in secret, speaking about it only after our departure, to minimize the risk and disruption to the people on the ground, and because we were there to gather information, not to grandstand,” they added.

Former CIA analyst and FBI Senior Intelligence Adviser Philip Mudd told CNN that the congressmen, without the support of their leadership, decided to “bypass Disneyland and take an Instagram trip to Afghanistan because they want some eye candy for a bunch of constituents,” urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to remove Mr Moulton and Mr Meijer from their committees and calling the visit “reprehensible”.

US officials said the State Department and the US military had to use some of their resources to ensure their security and to provide information to Mr Moulton and Mr Meijer, the AP reported.

The congressmen stayed at the airport for several hours, flying in and out on charter aircraft.

President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that his administration would be sticking to its self-imposed 31 August deadline for US troop withdrawal and that evacuations of Americans and some Afghans would be finished by then.

Mr Moulton tweeted that he and Mr Meijer, both veterans of the Iraq War, came to Kabul “wanting, like most veterans, to push the president to extend” the deadline.

“We did this visit in secret to reduce risks and impact on the mission and we insisted on leaving in a plane that was not full, in a seat designated for crew so that we didn’t take a seat from someone else,” Mr Moulton added.

“After talking with commanders on the ground and seeing the situation here, it is obvious that because we started the evacuation so late, that no matter what we do, we won’t get everyone out on time, even by September 11. Sadly and frustratingly, getting our people out depends on maintaining the current, bizarre relationship with the Taliban,” Mr Moulton said.

“After meeting Marines, soldiers, [and] dedicated State [Department] officials on the ground — we want the world to know first [and] foremost we have never been prouder to be Americans,” he added.

“Washington should be ashamed of the position we put our service members in, but they represent the best in America,” the representatives said in their statement.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that the Biden administration is advising “against any Americans, whether elected or not, attempting to travel to Kabul right now”.

After requests from the departments of Defence and State, Ms Pelosi wrote a letter to colleagues on Tuesday urging them not to go to Afghanistan.

“Member travel to ... Afghanistan and the surrounding countries would unnecessarily divert needed resources from the priority mission of safely and expeditiously evacuating America and Afghans at risk from Afghanistan,” she said.

Mr Moulton, a former US Marine, has been a vocal critic of the Iraq War. Mr Meijer was sent to Iraq as a part of the Army Reserves and later did humanitarian work in Afghanistan with an NGO.

State Department, Defense Department and White House officials were infuriated by the trip because of its lack of coordination with diplomats and military commanders, according to three officials familiar with the matter, the AP reported.

The officials said the members of the military on the ground were informed of the lawmakers’ visit as their flight was about to arrive.

Administration officials said the visit was seen as unhelpful and a distraction for troops on the ground trying to get people out.

Ms Pelosi said in her statement that she wanted to “reiterate that the Departments of Defense and State have requested that Members not travel to Afghanistan and the region during this time of danger. Ensuring the safe and timely evacuation of individuals at risk requires the full focus and attention of the US military and diplomatic teams on the ground in Afghanistan”.

Tim Biba, a spokesman for Mr Moulton, said the representatives paid out of pocket for flights to the United Arab Emirates and took military flights from there to Kabul, Politico reported.

House Foreign Affairs Committee member and former State Department official Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat, tweeted: “Whether it is Haiti or Afghanistan, taking up space in a disaster zone for your own ego helps no one.”

The Independent has reached out to Mr Moulton and Mr Meijer for comment.