{"id":661789,"date":"2021-08-19T11:50:28","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T15:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=661789"},"modified":"2021-08-19T11:50:31","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T15:50:31","slug":"tom-cotton-helps-afghan-americans-get-home-after-media-matters-president-laughed-at-idea-senator-could-possibly-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tom-cotton-helps-afghan-americans-get-home-after-media-matters-president-laughed-at-idea-senator-could-possibly-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Cotton Helps Afghan Americans Get Home After Media Matters President Laughed At Idea Senator Could Possibly Help"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftom-cotton-helps-afghan-americans-get-home-after-media-matters-president-laughed-at-idea-senator-could-possibly-help%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=661789&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1177648381-scaled-e1616627999272.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>An Afghan American couple made it past Taliban and U.S. security checkpoints late Wednesday night with the aid of Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who has repeatedly offered his help to Americans and translators caught in the country.<\/p>\n<p>The couple, who live in the Washington, D.C., area, was visiting Afghanistan for a wedding but became trapped when the country fell to the Taliban, The New York Times (NYT) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2021\/08\/18\/world\/taliban-afghanistan-news\/an-american-couple-filmed-their-desperate-bid-to-escape-kabul\">reported<\/a>. After repeatedly failing to reach the airport, they reached out to Cotton\u2019s office, which gave them the name of a military contact at Hamid Karzai International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>Large crowds have amassed outside the airport, from where the U.S. is operating its embassy. The Taliban has set up <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/national-security\/568446-us-official-acknowledges-harassment-at-taliban-checkpoints-on-road\">checkpoints<\/a>, preventing Americans and cleared Afghans from reaching the airport. \u201cPushing through the crowd was like killing yourself,\u201d the wife reportedly said. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/16\/seven-killed-kabul-airport-chaos-ensues-evacuation-flights-suspended-resumed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: 7 Killed In Kabul Airport As Chaos Ensues. Flights Suspended, Then Restarted)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The couple requested that the NYT not name them until they exited the country. They will leave on a flight with American citizens and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders, who are often former military translators, contractors, or others who aided Americans in-country.<\/p>\n<p>Cotton was one of the first members of Congress to publicize his help for stranded Americans, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2021\/08\/16\/biden-must-rescue-thousands-us-citizens-trapped-afghanistan\/\">telling<\/a> The Washington Post on Monday that he had heard from at least 100 Americans.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"16.169381107492\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">If you\u2019re an American stranded in Afghanistan, or know one who is, please contact my office immediately:<\/p>\n<p>(501) 223-9081 or<br \/>evac@cotton.senate.gov<\/p>\n<p>The situation is dire, but we\u2019ll do everything in our power to help keep you informed and to help get you out.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenTomCotton\/status\/1426998629508784136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 15, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In response to Cotton publicizing his office\u2019s assistance, Media Matters for America CEO Angelo Carusone tweeted, \u201cImagine being trapped in Afghanistan in this moment..and thinking best person to call is Tom Cotton of all people.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"12.505617977528\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Imagine being trapped in Afghanistan in this moment..and thinking best person to call is Tom Cotton of all people.<\/p>\n<p>Honestly, if someone\u2019s in that situation where Tom Cotton is the only number they can call, they\u2019d be better off just calling NYC\u2019s 311. I mean really. Tom Cotton. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IHR3GhIdLK\">https:\/\/t.co\/IHR3GhIdLK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Angelo Carusone (@GoAngelo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GoAngelo\/status\/1427075735869607937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 16, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Carusone did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans and Democrats alike have been fielding calls from constituents who are either trapped in Afghanistan or have friends and colleagues who remain in-country. More than 10,000 Americans are trapped in Afghanistan, according to a State Department <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/18\/joe-biden-afghanistan-taliban-abc-interview-kabul-evacuation\/\">estimate<\/a>, and more than 80,000 SIV holders are still in-country.<\/p>\n<p>Republican New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis slammed the State Department\u2019s response to the crisis, <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/17\/afghanistan-state-department-malliotakis-sasse-hinson-cotton\/\">describing<\/a> it to the Daily Caller as \u201cdisorderly\u201d and \u201cvery unsatisfactory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan allegedly destroyed passports in its possession, Democratic New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/world\/live-news\/afghanistan-taliban-us-news-08-17-21\/h_dc5170c607274abd2a398dca39f213a3\">telling<\/a> constituents who reach out for help. Kim also <a href=\"https:\/\/kim.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/contact-information-people-stranded-afghanistan\">set<\/a> up an evacuation line to aid Americans and SIV holders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Afghan American couple made it past Taliban and U.S. security checkpoints late Wednesday night with the aid of Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who has repeatedly offered his help &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-661789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}