ICYMI: Cotton, American Citizen Share Evacuation Success Story
In case you missed it: Senator Tom Cotton today joined Fox & Friends to share the success story of a man his office helped to safely evacuate Afghanistan.
Text of the interview is below. The full interview may be found HERE
Haroon: Good morning, everybody. First of all, I should appreciate Mr. Tom Cotton. He really helped us get out of there. Without him it was impossible.
Yes, I just got landed to Washington, D.C. Dulles Airport. Everything is fine, we’re feeling safe and happy. A little tired, we haven’t been sleeping more than 36-40 hours. But, yeah, we made it here. Thank you all.
Steve Doocy: Haroon, when we talked to you last week and you told us the harrowing story about how you had gone to the airport twice and there were just thousands of people. You were reluctant to show your American passport because you were worried that the Taliban would see that and then follow you to your parent’s home and kill your whole family. Tell us about the day you finally made it through the checkpoints and go to the planes.
Haroon: Eventually I had to do that. Even my parents, as you just mentioned, they had to show the Taliban all of the paperwork that he had in his hand. Otherwise, they were asking where you were going and stuff like that. Even myself, I did show them my passport to be honest that I am an American and I want to go inside.
So, the last day Mr. Tom Cotton he tried his best and his people they did their best to help me get out and they gave me a ride from home to the gate and from the gate, somehow they had connections, without going through that crowd, they put me all the way to the front and I got a chance to talk to one of the Americans so that I could show my passport and they got my kids from over the fence and then I went behind the wall. They gave me a letter to get in. So, this is how I got in the last time when Mr. Cotton and his people helped me to get in.
Pete Hegseth: Haroon, we’re glad you’re here, and thank you for your service to our country as a U.S. citizen, now earned that citizenship.
Senator, I see you smiling there, to get that kind of mission accomplished means a great deal personally I know to you.
But Haroon had the good fortune of being a translator for a future American U.S. Senator. What’s it like for other Haroons who don’t have that connection? What’s the process like?
Senator Cotton: Well Pete, first off, Haroon was not my translator, but he did contact our office last week and we gave him what we gave so many other Americans who have been in touch with us. The information they needed about where to go to the airport, how to be prepared for the long waits in the hot sun. Sometimes we’re able to connect these folks to friends that we have inside the airport who are able to direct them to the right location where there was the least amount of crowding, the least risk of attack.
So, we’re very grateful that Haroon came back, but, as you said, there are hundreds and thousands of other Haroons all around Kabul and all around Afghanistan, Americans who are standing by who need help from our government to help get them inside the wire and get back to their country. And it’s pretty disappointing that it took a freelancing United States Senate office who’s been working around the clock with all of my young men and women on my team to help get Haroon out and so many others, when it should be the State Department who is providing this information and are helping them get out. We are still going to do everything we can for as long as we can, but it really goes back to Joe Biden making the announcement that we’ll stay in Afghanistan to get our people out for as long as our people are there. That’s what we owe our fellow countrymen.
Ainsley Earhardt: Haroon, last week we talked to Marcus Luttrell, I don’t know if you know who he is but he’s an American hero, a soldier, was a Navy SEAL, and was trapped in Afghanistan by himself. He wrote the book “Lone Survivor.” And we sent in troops and we got him out. He was hiding in a bunker, or buried under sand, and we found him. And he said all he kept thinking about is getting back to American soil. You’ve taken a similar journey, you were fearful of death, feared that your whole family was going to be killed. What is it like to be safe on American soil again?
Haroon: True, so this is how I was feeling. So, all I was feeling was about was to get out myself and to get out my family, I mean my family my kids. So, I was worrying about them, they were my first priority. So, this is what I did, and thanks Mr. Tom again, so he helped us get out of here, as he mentioned he did help other families that I saw. Other families that I saw that were with us. They were trying to get in, so it was not just me he was trying to help, there was other families. Especially myself, my parents I left them behind, my wife’s parents they are still in Afghanistan. I’m happy that I’m here, I saved my kids, but mentally, still, I am gone. I am lost still. So, I’m worrying about those, and they’ve been working for Americans for nine years, both sides my parents. So, like, now I’m just worrying about them. And, Mr. Tom Cotton I appreciate your help and I wish you keep helping everyone like me. My parents, whoever else is there, and I will appreciate that.
Steve Doocy: Haroon, are your parents and your wife’s parents worried about life under the Taliban, what that’s going to be like?
Harroon: Of course, yes, because they been going to that gate every day with me so they have to show their documents that they did work with Americans, they got the visas sending by the Embassy that they didn’t get the approval, but they have the documents to show that they can go inside to get passes. So, now the Taliban is checking every checkpoint that they see them, they know them, and my dad was in one of the other news I was in with interview their picture been posted from my Facebook, which I was not aware to be honest. They’re targeted already, so, like, I am really trying to get them out as soon as possible. As soon as Americans leave, you know what’s going to happen, everyone does.
Steve Doocy: Senator, what is going to happen?
Haroon: Of course, they’re going to go after them, and I already seen some family they’ve been already asked questions by my neighbors. They’re like “Oh, your son is still here? Why is he not going to America?” It was a guy that we didn’t know, like my brother came and someone asked him “Is still your brother here? When is he going to go? Because I heard you guys went to the back of the airport but you guys didn’t make it.” Stuff like that, these questions are scary.
Pete Hegseth: I can’t imagine. Senator, how much time is your staff—I’ve been in touch with, you know, a lot of it is other veterans who are members of Congress, whether it is Col. Michael Waltz or Senator Lindsey Graham, and it’s not just vets—but how much of your time as a staff in your office is being spent on case by case, working with translators and others, Senator?
Senator Cotton: Well Pete, really since last weekend this is what most of my staff has been doing around the clock. We’ve had hundreds and hundreds of cases open to help thousands of folks who are trying to get back to America. We have a lot of young veterans on my staff, or veterans in my alumni network, who have connected us to friends that we have at the airport in Kabul or connected us to Americans around the country who have family who are trying to get back, like Haroon was after visiting his family, to the United States. So, we’ve set most of our work aside over the last week to try to help all our fellow countrymen get back to this country, and I couldn’t be prouder of the young men and women who work for me.
Ainsley Earhardt: How did you know about Haroon’s story? Watching Fox?
Senator Cotton: He contacted us early last week. So, in many cases, Ainsley, what we can provide the Americans who are trying to get back to this country is simply a human being who will be there on the phone or responding to their email promptly, so they know that someone back home is aware of their plight, is trying to help them, is getting them out, as opposed to a random website the State Department was sending American citizens to last week. So, we can provide them the information, give them some coaching about what to do at the airport. Sometimes we’ve been able to connect them with friends we have inside the airport to direct them to the best gate at the moment to get inside. So, there’s a lot of different techniques we’ve used to help these Americans, and we just couldn’t be happier that so many of them are back—but again, there are a lot of people like Haroon around the city and around the country and it’s time the administration make it clear that we will not leave any of them behind.
Steve Doocy: Well, Haroon is an American citizen, but, you know, he’s got members of his family who have worked with the Americans over the last 20 years, and they still need to get out. Haroon, the president said yesterday yeah, we might have to extend the deadline past the end of this month. But the Taliban came out and said you can’t do it because that’s going to be a redline, you can’t cross it. What’s going to happen at the end of the month to those tens of thousands of Afghans who will not be on the road to freedom?
Haroon: Well, I want to say for Mr. Joe Biden, if he’s trying to do that, please do it this way. At least the rest of the people that we have, do not bring the people in that they don’t have any documentation, they haven’t been working with Americans, they are just scared of the Taliban to get out. But we don’t need to bring those people in, bring the people that have the proof that they did work for nine or seven years, more than that, like my dad, my family, they did work for Americans for many years. So this thing on all the other back on the land to keep bringing people from outside in, which they haven’t been working.
I was on the flight, I’ve seen a lot of people in the airport. They have only the bill, the registration bill. So they show that again. Don’t bring those people in, bring the people, the priority—whoever did work for you. Their lives are in danger. So, like everyone else. There are thousands of them like my dad.
Steve Doocy: So, Haroon, you’re saying, there are a lot of Afghans who have no connections to Americans but just want to get out before the Taliban takes over.
Haroon: Exactly. Like the most people, the American they already brought in America or let them go in the airport at least, I know a lot of people that were there that they didn’t have even anything, they had no proof that they worked with Americans. But they want to save their lives. I’m not against those people, but if it’s a limit, a limit of time, we are running out of time, so please bring the people for real their life is in danger and at risk. Not all of them.
Pete Hegseth: Haroon, with this chaos, have you heard from any other of your fellow Afghans who have worked with Americans saying, questioning whether it was worth it? Whether we really were committed to having their backs the entire time? Does anyone regret it?
Haroon: Yeah, of course, especially whoever right now, I should say the Americans doing this right now, it’s great, like Mr. Tom Cotton, his people took us out, and all other Afghans as I know, they are waiting for this. They are hoping that someone can help them to get out of Afghanistan at the moment. As I mentioned earlier, it should be only people who did work for Americans. There are still people I know that have their green carsd and visa, they cannot make it in and they are still in Afghanistan. Like, my family is there. My cousins and relatives are living in Denver but they are still in Afghanistan they couldn’t make it in.
Ainsley Earhardt: Haroon, really quickly, why didn’t your parents come with you?
Haroon: They were trying to, but as Mr. Tom Cotton is aware, the people, they guys who helped me to get in, they were asking for four of us like me, my wife, and my two children. So that’s how much they could fit in their car. So, they told us we cannot take all of you at once. That’s a problem, we’ll have to take you four first, and then your family will figure it out. You’ll have to talk to the office of Mr. Tom Cotton.
Steve Doocy: Well, welcome home. We’re glad you’re back.
Pete Hegseth: And Senator Tom Cotton, thank you for all your work and for your insight this morning.
Ainsley Earhardt: God bless you both. An answered prayer, Haroon, a lot of people praying for you.
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