Interpreter who helped Joe Biden escape Afghanistan arrives in U.S.: ‘I’m totally free’

February 7, 2022:

The former Afghan interpreter who helped then-Senator Joe Biden escape Afghanistan in 2008 finally arrived in the U.S. after a long journey trying to flee the Taliban-controlled nation.

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Former interpreter Mohammad Aman Khalili and Brian Genthe, the Purple Heart veteran who helped him flee, joined “Fox & Friends First” on Monday to discuss Khalili’s departure and his arrival in the United States.

“I’m totally free. I am so excited. … It was a long trip as a start from the north of Afghanistan, right to the border of Pakistan,” Khalili told co-host Todd Piro in an exclusive interview, adding he felt betrayed by the U.S. government when American forces withdrew.

An Afghan interpreter that helped rescue then-Sen. Joe Biden and two other senators from Afghanistan arrived in the U.S.
(State Department/John Silson)

“It took me a long, long time. It was very scary on the roads because it was new power, a new changing situation in Afghanistan.”

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“The Taliban were on the roads, and they were checking and watching, as everybody is to find out their opponent and arrest them,” he continued.

“I had worked with the U.S. forces for about 13 years. It was egregious for me.”

In 2008, Khalili was part of a team that deployed to rescue a group of U.S. senators, including Joe Biden, after their Black Hawk helicopters were forced to land during bad weather.

Genthe recounted the journey it took to secure Khalili’s safe departure from the war-torn country, five months after the U.S. withdrawal that left 13 service members dead.

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Evacuees wait to board a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 23.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Isaiah Campbell)

“He was in the one house, one room, a room in Kabul, scared every single day,” Genthe stated. “He was, you know, contacting me… it wasn’t a good situation… I’m just glad I got the opportunity to do this.”

Khalili was ultimately able to flee Afghanistan back in October after weeks of fearing for his life, but did not arrive in America until recently.

He recounted pleading to Biden for help through the press, as the White House has come under fire for not doing enough to help those left behind after the departure of American forces.

“I asked him, please do not forget me and my family as I helped you, and you need [to] help me,” Khalili said.

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