President Biden’s 2008 Savior Rescued from Afghanistan

Aman Khalili and his family safely moved out of Afghanistan to Pakistan and then on to an undisclosed destination, after pleading for assistance from President Biden during the Taliban takeover of the country in September 2021.

snow rescue

The Afghan interpreter rescued then-Senator Joe Biden, along with Senators John Kerry and Chuck Hagel, when their aircraft made an emergency landing during a snow storm in 2008. Khalili, at the time going by the name Mohammed, was working as an interpreter for the U.S. Army; he and other rescuers drove for several hours through the snow and treacherous conditions to find the helicopters carrying the senators.

Khalili originally applied for a Special Immigrant Visa, but the relevant paperwork got lost. He and 200 other Afghani citizens were considered to be “at-risk” of targeted retaliation by the new regime in their country. The rescue was a partnership between the State Department and the Human First Coalition.

Dan Kazan

Dan Kazan has had years of experience writing for some of the largest newspapers and magazines in the USA. He was one of the first pioneers in bringing the news online and has focused most of his recent energies into making Left Justified the high quality online news and opinion site which it is.Dan can be reached at dankazan(at)leftjustified.com.

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