Afghani Who Helped Rescue Sen. Biden From Snowfilled Valley In 2008 Asks US To Help Him Leave Country

NEW YORK (VINnews) — An Afghan interpreter who helped rescue then-senator Joe Biden and two other senators from a remote valley in Afghanistan during a 2008 snowstorm has reached out to the US asking for help in escaping from his home country, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The White House responded by reiterating the president’s pledge to help evacuate all remaining allies in Afghanistan who wish to leave and by giving a special message to the interpreter himself:

“Our message to him is: Thank you for fighting by our side for the last 20 years. Thank you for the role you played in helping a number of my favorite people out of a snowstorm and for all the work you did. And our commitment is enduring, not just to American citizens but to our Afghan partners who have fought by our side,” White house press secretary Jen Psaki said.

The interpreter, only named as Mohammed for his safety, has apparently been trying to leave the country with his wife and four children for years and is now hiding out from the Taliban as a known American sympathizer. After the final American troops left Afghanistan on Tuesday, Mohammed asked Biden to save his family.

When he was 36 years old, the newspaper reported, Mohammed rode with U.S. troops into blinding snow in search of two U.S Army Black Hawk helicopters carrying Biden – then a senator from Delaware – and former Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass. and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., that were forced to make emergency landings in a remote Afghanistan valley.

Mohammed, who was stationed at Bagram Air Field, responded to a call for help and joined Army Humvees and three Blackwater SUVs to look for the helicopters. At the scene, Mohammed stood guard with Afghan Army soldiers on one side of the helicopter, according to the Journal, and used a blow horn to shoo off spectators.

The Biden administration claims to have evacuated more than 100,000 Afghans during their evacuation operation. In a speech Tuesday, President Biden said that the US had helped evacuate “thousands of Afghan translators and interpreters and others who supported the United States out as well.” Biden also pledged to continue to aid the evacuation of people stuck in Afghanistan who are at risk. “We’re far from done”, the president concluded.