Joshua Mast - U.S. Marine's Message to President Donald Trump | SRS #174

[Music]. Joshua and Stephanie Mast welcome to the. show it's good to be here yeah Sean we. really appreciate you having us man you. guys have uh one hell of a story here. and. um very. complicated doing the best can we're.

going to cover all of it it's probably. going to be a long show but uh you know. even though nobody knows what we're. about to talk about just yet I just want. to say like man you guys are like such. honorable people doing what you're doing. and um and I'm really excited to do this. and and to get this out into the world. so thank you guys for for what you're. doing and thank you for being here we. really appreciate it I mean honestly we. we feel blessed to have been a part of. this like we're very of it so U and we'd.

like to put the uh Spotlight on some. people who who've uh made it happen. along the way regular Americans doing. their thing at the ground level and and. uh it's really about them awesome. awesome well everybody gets an. introduction so major Joshua and. Stephanie Mast major Joshua Mast you're. United States Marine Judge Advocate. General with a law degree from Liberty. University and currently assigned as the. assistant operations operator officer.

uh Marine Raider support group marine. Special Forces operation command you've. served as a civil law attorney trial. counsel and prosecutor you deployed to. Afghanistan in 2019 and worked in the. res Resolute support headquarters office. of the Staff Judge Advocate where your. portfolio responsibilities included. targeting collateral damage estimation. and civilian casualty response you are. married to Stephanie who is a graduate.

of Thomas Edison State University and. has Master master's degrees from Liberty. University and the Academy of Art. University San Francisco California most. importantly you invest your time raising. your five children ages 13 10 6 5 and. four and I think you guys said. downstairs you've been married for 18. years years. congratulations and it's because of the. love you have for one of your children. that you're here with us today um so.

before we move on a couple caveats and. disclaimers before we begin we need to. make some important. clarifications Josh can I call you Josh. or do you prefer Joshua um you're an. active duty Marine Corps officer you can. clarify if you are speaking on can you. please clarify if you are speaking on. behalf of the Marine Corps Special. Operations Command Socom or the. Department of Defense no obviously this. is just my personal opinion um our our.

perspective on what's happened in the. last few years in our life and then um. normally I wouldn't even associate with. marso but they've recently um. acknowledged that I'm a member of the. command so that's that's allows us to be. here and be a able to acknowledge that. today okay what are the limitations on. what you both can say in this interview. due to classification operational. security Andor ongoing legal matters. okay so obviously we can't go into. classified information a lot of what.

we're going to talk about um has been. Declassified and authorized for release. into the public domain so we will talk. about that portion of it and then as far. as ongoing legal matters the only thing. we're not going to do is um some of the. uh the Afghans we've been in other. litigation with we're not allowed to. identify those people to third parties. or where they're from or where their. families are from and so we're not going. to do that it's really not even the. focus of today and then um there's a. restriction from commenting on some of. the state court proceedings so we're not. going to talk about what's happen in the.

state court but what we are going to. focus on today is uh there was a recent. Board of inquiry at marso that I went. through in October um and then for so. for the first time that was actually a. blessing and disguise for us because for. the first time we had some due process. rights to information that we've been. asking for for years um and it could be. discretionary uh denied before if it was. in a civil case but in this case because. they was putting your career on the line. they had to give you at least some of. that information and so a lot of this is.

going to focus on the board of inquiry. and then a little bit on some government. misconduct okay and I think you just. answered this but I just I don't want to. miss anything so can you comment on any. of the ongoing legal cases no we're not. going to well focus on the board of. inquiry and like I said some government. misconduct along the way Perfect all. right so I just want to give the. audience a this is super complicated. what's going on here so I want to give a. quick snapshot on what we're about to. cover so basically there was a Al-Qaeda.

raid conducted by the Rangers uh 100. plus enemy killed in action there was a. baby found on target with fractured with. a fractured skull fractured left femur. and second degree burns on her face and. neck from her mother blowing herself up. running at a ranger partner Force tried. to murder the baby because of her. foreign origin the Rangers brought the. baby back to the camp that means back to. base where they were the ranger who. saved.

killed Amir Omar the aqis Amir on the. next mission took a bullet to the neck. and ended up being treated next to her. in the. hospital and now we'll hear about the. long story and still incomplete Journey. basically you guys have adopted her and. uh there seems to be a lot of uh custody. issues going on in the courts and um and. that's what we're here to talk about. today so once again thank you guys for.

being here um couple things before we. get into the weeds here I have a patreon. account there are top supporters so. turned into quite the community and um. they've been here with me since the. beginning they're why I'm here and also. why you guys are here so uh one of the. things I do is I offer them the. opportunity to ask each and every guest. a question and so this is from Eric. AER major Mast beyond the legal in.

ethical questions this case has likely. put immense strain on your personal life. your marriage and your career of the. military what has this battle cost you. personally in ways that aren't in the. headlines and how have you reconciled. those sacrifices with your sense of Duty. and. Faith that's a great question um it's. pretty deep I appreciate it I think I'm. going to reverse that so I'm going to. answer it in reverse so the way I've. Justified the sacrifice is.

as an American you're constitutional. officer your your sworn UPS hold certain. values and we put on that uniform we go. downrange to represent American values. and so to me when you're acting in. accordance with those values the cost is. not relevant at least not and and this. was a very easy like a very easy call in. the moment the follow through has been. very difficult but um I mean from from. the Rangers on objective to the medical. staff who raised her and like really put. their career on the line to advocate for. her and and and to make sure she had a.

long-term safe solution um to us we're. the public face of that now but it was. dozens if not hundreds of Americans who. were who who sacrificed along the way. their peace um but none of them did that. selfishly like when I guess the best. analogy I can I can articulate is if you. see a car wreck and a car burning on the. along side of the road and you go and. help that person get them out you're not. thinking about you you're you're showing. I guess I guess you're showing. sacrificial love in the moment and then. whatever the follow through is is that. that's that's just part of the the.

decision-making process so so to me is. it has been hard it has been you know. strain in our marriage or um stress um. constant work um because as an attorney. like I'm thankful it was us because of. the skill set I have that I can work as. many hours as I can into the night um. and then I'm grateful um one of my my. best friends uh Hannah Wright is a was a. reservist in the Marine Corps and heard. about this and he volunteered his time. and he's fought with us like every step. of the way when for a long time it's. just and him fighting against some Mega.

law firms and some of this litigation. and um seeing those people like willing. to sacrifice their time and money to um. basically put their name on the line and. stand in the Gap with us it's just so. humbling so like there's there are low. points but but the people that come. along during that Journey have been just. such incredible people it's been an. encouragement um it it it's honestly. been an honor like it's been a fight and. and I don't say that light.

a literal fight for her life but that. the people we've gotten to meet along. the way have just been incredible even. like like this sitting here and talking. to you um and being able to speak. directly to Americans regular people uh. without the filter of some of this. Legacy Media folks or spins or agenda. you can just say hey this is this is. what happened this is who we're about. this is why we did what we did and we do. it again I I think that would be the. most surprising thing to people is like. we are extremely proud of all of the. decision making we've made and um.

I mean it is it is absolutely worth it I. guess to um to see to see her flourish. and safe and home and loved and have a. family and a life um we're we're very. grateful for that yeah um I don't know. if I I answered all of his his uh. prompts but um do you have anything to. add to that I would say I I would. acknowledge I think for there was a. period of time just because we were we. were in a fight we were like we're okay. we're okay we're strong we we've got. this we've got this and as the fight has.

you dragg on for almost 5 years now like. the whole process um it it has I mean. I've realized we've come realize that we. can acknowledge that it has been hard or. challenging and that it it has put. stress on our our family life and just. as we were average Americans raising. young children just trying to keep up. juggle normal life and then this on the. side you know this as well and so it. certainly has been a challenge but I. think it has CH it's made all all of us. including our children grow through this.

whole process and that and strengthen Us. in ways that I mean if our honest life. is uncomfortable at times it's. challenging at times but uh it is making. us rise to I think a different level of. working together and trusting each other. that um had we not gone through it I. don't think we would be as strong as we. are we're. becoming and I would add one other thing. to that is one benefit that's come from.

this is when you when you're faced with. a lot of criticism and you know it's. unjust but over time what you do is you. look internally like hey did I did I. make that decision right was I was I. operating is any of this stuff true and. having to do that soul searching and. being like it's just a nature of the. Beast are getting criticized for the. first time really in a public way and um. and going internal and like okay this is. my worldview these are my beliefs these. are the facts and especially in this. board when you actually get to go back. that's the first time I've actually gone. back and looked at some of the in 5. years and you're like holy cow.

absolutely we made the right call that. we did the right thing and so did these. regular Americans and um it it's just. interesting you're almost getting gas. lit on history of what actually happened. and um and going back and having to go. and granular details it's it's honestly. it's difficult because there's so much. trauma when you have to go back and. think especially with the fall like I. cry like a baby every time I think about. that period of my life and I wasn't even. there but you know you're connected with. these people on the ground and you're. trying to get vulnerable people out and.

you're trying to get your little girl. out like last chance before the Taliban. take over and so like a lot of that. stuff reflecting on it is difficult but. it is absolutely reinforced like the. Paradigm that we made these decisions in. and and I'm excited to kind of talk. through what those were yeah you know as. far as the the faith aspect of the the. question there I mean I know you both. have a lot of fear. that just might not turn out you know. and and you or your daughter's favor but.

you know the conversation we had right. before the camera started rolling is. that you both realize there is a bigger. picture and then a lot of the. stuff a lot of the positive stuff would. not even happen it's in God's hands and. and um so it doesn't so kind of what I'm. getting at here is it doesn't sound like. it's really maybe it strengthened your. faith absolutely rather than it yeah so. I would 100% say it is it when you get. to see um. deliverance and the faithfulness of God.

over time it encourages you um to to. just trust him for the future and like. she should have been dead so many times. over and we should have been crushed by. the weight of this so many times over. and that it's always been just enough. and so we're confident however that. comes it will come and she'll be safe. forever I would say absolutely put our. faith to the test and before you know. before this period in our lives we were. cruising right along and things were. kind of going the way we expected it to.

go and this has brought us to the very. end of ourselves where I mean like we. beyond us yeah Beyond us like our. personal capacity and both of us are. pretty hard workers and determined and. so for the most part we're able to. accomplish what we put our minds to but. this has been this process has been so. much be bigger than that that it's made. us more reline on our faith and um. because we realize that we are not. capable of doing it it's ask others for. help like we've learned that like we've.

never asked for help ever but when. you're when it's so far beyond you and. you can't do it yourself like that's a. bit like that's one of my first things. in life where it's like you can't. between the two of us figure it out or. pull it off or afford it or like those. types of things but then when you have. so many good people come along and and. help you through those it just totally. unexpected a lot of the times and this. has gained momentum now where're where. it's more of a national news story but. at the beginning people without any. recognition were were coming in stepping. and helping us and they have literally.

saved our lives and her life wow we're. thankful for that wow and then and then. before we move on I just I want to make. a couple things clear at the very. beginning and so this is a custody. battle between you guys and who well um. so in reality I think is it the Taliban. yes I think so this is a custody battle. between I don't want to over complicate. anything yet don't go all attorney on me. Absol easy to do but this is this is. this is a custody battle between you.

guys and the Taliban a terrorist. organization and so I just I want to set. the tone here the weight of this. interview that way it's right off the. bat people understand the importance of. it and um so we'll go from there yeah. and and I think that for people to. understand it's it's essentially a. Taliban El and Gonzalez situation that's. how we've kind of boiled it down at a. one sentence thing because we're not. really litigating its um these these.

Afghans that we've been in in litigation. with because they wouldn't actually be. in control of this child if she if she. was ever in their custody um there would. be someone above them that would be. calling the shots and um and I believe. that's the. Talman not sleeping well can negatively. impact your quality of life and it's. really no secret that getting a good. night's sleep makes a huge difference. ever since Helix sent me a mattress to. try I've been getting the best sleep of.

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movement that stands for you your family. and your. future and. then well real quick this will be the. only light part of the interview I'm. sure but uh everybody gets a gift all. right gummy bears vigilance League gummy. bears made in the US just candy there's. no funny business in there wor about. analysis okay got it you're you're going. to pass your drug.

test well our kids will probably. confiscate them well um Sean we actually. um I I I saw this I watched a couple. episodes and um saw the gummy bears so. we actually got a gift for you uh to. kind of reciprocate um this is. uh this was made by one of our community. resource coordinator at marso her. husband does these for the Marines he. does a really great job oh D This Is A. Kar so I have a tradition at the end of. an appointment to uh uh find someone.

that's impacted me and and um give my. knife and so I got this for you and the. uh the quote says um live for an. audience of one and site 2 Corinthians. 510 and that was on my email Sig block. back in the day and um it's it's more of. a reminder to just do the right thing. for the right reasons and with with. someone like you who has such an. audience it's a good it's a good quote. wow maybe maybe it'll make make the cut. for the manave hopefully it's definitely. going to make the cut live for an. audience of one man that is.

uh man that's fitting that's awesome. thank you yeah this is this is going to. look awesome we're actually building a. new studio okay good yeah it's going to. be good timing yeah this will be perfect. in there but we really do appreciate you. um giving us an opportunity man thank. you this means a lot thank. you all right. so here we go so tell me a little bit. just tell me a little bit about both of.

your guys's backgrounds okay um let's. start yeah let's start with you so I. never intended to be a lawyer um my. family business is golf um my dad played. the PJ tour for 40 years um Champions. Tour I grew up playing golf um his his. his father my grandfather built a golf. course when he was a child that's how he. got into golf and so golf was kind of. our family business one of my my. brothers a golf role I played D1 in. college I even played on the mini tours. for a little bit out of college um but. raised in a very traditional uh family.

um and I always wanted to go on the. Marine Corps if I didn't do golf and so. we were actually married before I. decided to go in the Marine Corps um I. was working I was playing some golf and. the mini tours and um in Florida and uh. decided to decided to try to go to the. Marine Corp was one conversation we were. dve a road trip of somewhere yeah and. you're were talking about the risk and. yeah so basically like hey you want to. have a life that matters you want to. have a life that um you can be a.

positive influence an opportunity to. lead and be led and so the Marine Corps. seemed like a good uh good fit for that. and I was I was thinking of either doing. law school or the Marine Corps mostly. the Marine Corps and so I talked to her. uh officer selection officer for the. first time on a Tuesday and they're like. call back next year like our slots are. full and I was like no I want to go in. this year and so they're like uh and. then I mentioned I I had a elsat score. and they're like oh rankor needs lawyers. but the deadline's Friday and so uh it. was Tuesday like you got any tattoos I'm. like nope and they you got any medical.

issues like I don't think so so they're. like okay we'll show up maps tomorrow at. 5: and then come R your PFT and then. we'll see if we can get your application. in and oh by the way you have to be. accepted to law school so I actually. applied and was accepted to the Marine. Corps and Law School in that four-day. period are you serious and then I. shipped six weeks later to OCS and I. knew nothing about the Marine Corps and. I just kind of just did what they told. me to do and stayed you know in the lane. and uh I was fit enough from from. professional Athletics what year is this. this was 2010 is when I went on the M.

cor 2010 yep so it was a it was a break. from that and go big golf has been great. like they they a lot of times will. assign me to play with the general if I. if somebody's in town or run the golf. tournament so it's been a convenient uh. thing and I CAD from my father like I. probably done several hundred events on. either the PJ tour or the champions tour. as a caddy so you know hiking with a. pack was no problem um I've done that my. whole life um so it it was a really. great time though to way to grow up with. my dad and traveling and um you know. different parts of the world and. different parts of the country so it's.

been helpful with my Marines to be able. to identify like a lot of times I've. been to their state or their Hometown or. wherever and so it's it's been a a big. um I guess ice breaker um throughout my. career so wow it's not your not average. but very interesting did you grow up in. Florida yeah I was born and raised in. Orlando Florida uh because of the. weather mostly uh because it was a Year. Round Golf and then um my I have five. brothers so I'm one of six boys I'm. Number Two um um and so we grew up. traveling 20 plus weeks out of the year.

with my father uh on the tour and so we. had a we had a big RV and Toad to car. and like San national parks growing up. and all the battlefields and museums and. it was a great way to grow up like. learning history by seeing the places so. um um and my mom um because we couldn't. be at home in school she she she. homeschooled us most of our our uh like. from probably third grade on so uh I. I'll blame it all in homes School. interesting did you guys grow up. together we did I was 11 I met him when.

I was 11 and he was 12 and uh just grew. up together family friends and uh. eventually High School sweethearts but. uh yeah so we've pretty much known each. other our whole life yeah you guys have. known each other since you were 11 yeah. she's the only girl I ever dated um and. I I I slapped the table pretty early and. then it took her a little lot while to. you know like me um no she um uh she's. the only girl ever dated um we we've. been blessed honestly grew up in church.

together uh part of the same youth group. it was a really close-knit group. community and just best friends yeah wow. been best friends for a long time so uh. and she's put up with me so I don't know. if she should probably get looked at for. that golfer too you know what I have the. head knowledge um I used to go to all. this gol golf lessons when we were. dating but uh I cannot play golf to save. my life so I I did I join when he's got. into CrossFit I joined him in CrossFit. so I had another way to keep up with him. the golf course was not it so I was the. cheerleader I would ride along and watch.

him play right on right on so when did. you guys when did you guys decided to. get married um in so I was finishing up. my last year at college and she was in. grad school and um 20 that's when we got. married yeah so we both went to Liberty. she wor she worked for the Golf Channel. or she worked for the Golf Channel when. we first got married and we traveled a. year with my dad just so she could kind. of see the tour and like we went to what. 38 States or something in a uh driving. so wow yeah we got to we got to really.

know each other at that point right when. you've been driving on I40 for I don't. know 1,200 miles yeah going Coast to. Coast what are your master's degrees in. uh Communications and mass media and. photography so oh nice nice perfect. which uh she was finishing up during my. deployment to Afghanistan in 2019 so I. don't recommend doing master's degrees. mploy Yeah employment and yeah these. projects raising the kids and so what is. uh what is kind of what is the home life.

like now with with five five kids five. kids four boys one girl it is crazy as. you imagine it's loud and very you're a. stay at home mom yes I am I am so. full-time uh full-time stay home mom uh. and there's never a dull moment we have. no wall flowers in our house so they are. all very big personalities and very. confident we joke that's the mass. confidence that they just they all very. confident. determined and I mean wonderful kids but.

definitely they keep me on my toes are. they what do they what do they like. doing are they in sports are they. involved are they homeschooled they are. now they are now they all homeschooled. yes well originally they were going to. private school but with all of the. travel that was required with the. litigation um it was we couldn't take. them out of school that much and also. just for security concerns and. everything we decided to take them home. 3 years ago and so I never myself being. a homeschool parent but here we are and.

it's it's been good it's made us. stronger as a family and come I mean you. have to live with each other you're. around each other all day so it's great. conflict resolution and learning how to. get along and it's it's been a good. process do they like homeschool they do. I was surprised they do they uh probably. because they know that once they get. through their school then they have more. free time so there's that's a that's. pretty good motivation but they're older. too play lacrosse and then the younger. three play soccer oh wow cool we have a.

pretty strong Church community too and. then with our in our neighborhood. there's a lot of marine family so like. there's always neighbor kids there's. there's like eight or 10 kids in my. backyard every day so yeah we have a. house loaded with Nerf guns so we're. like the cool boy house so and the. swings in the backyard so the kids will. come and congregate so it's it's very. loud at our home it cool yes that's. awesome so you're the hangout yes you. guys are the Hang yes for neigh think.

every parent D strives at least all the. good ones strive to be the hangout they. want to be the hangout we try to keep it. in the backyard as much as possible but. there's a Lego room upstairs and like. it's just there's a lot of a lot of. children MH yeah we're thinking about I. we're going to do the homeschool thing. we talk about it all the time we don't. know what we're getting into but if you. guys can do it with five then we could. do it with two absolutely go could go. yeah right one at a time right goow. along with it yeah yeah do you guys do. the co-op thing at all is that we.

haven't yet Ian we thought about it um. again because of the traveling we. haven't been able to commit to like that. type of a routine yet um but we're you. know I think everybody evolves through. the process like hey I can do it better. this year and and try to incorporate new. things and we we've done that um Sports. have been great um with with the boys. and the little ones uh my my. four-year-old starting soccer this year. so we're really excited about that the. other two have played a couple of. Seasons but he is ready to go like he's. got the cleats he's he's yeah. enthusiastic how long how long have you. guys been homeschooling this is our.

third year so and we do an online format. so I don't have to do the grading or the. lesson planning it's all done for me so. I really because we we liter I mean life. was happening so fast at that time. between the traveling that we were doing. for the litigation and we moved and then. started homeschooling like all within a. couple month period so we needed. something that was very uh just just. open it and go and so that's what we've. been doing and the kids like it so what.

what is the most challenging thing about. homeschooling well I'm a very structured. person by Nature so uh for me personally. it was because they were going to school. beforehand so the school everybody that. was the structure so all a sudden for. that to be put on me and I mean I pretty. much adopted the same Rhythm as a school. but me setting the structure that was a. learning process for me and then also. just juggling bouncing back back and. forth between 8th grade science and then.

kindergarten reading and phonics like. that can bend your that can be a little. bit challenging switching back and forth. in between different grades and modes at. time and answering questions but um I'm. I'm getting the hang of it. still right on are you involved in this. too you're pretty grade math is his yes. I I do math in the mornings before I go. do to uh go to work uh with my my oldest. and then um I do PE very well I'm I'm an. excellent PE teacher when I get home. right on but I I'm a che leader I I'm.

humbled by how much work she puts into. that it's a it's like for moms out there. who who who are are are home like that. is the hardest job that I could possibly. imagine yeah so U my hats off yeah for. her and other mothers out there and so. how much are you guys traveling for the. litigation it slowed down a little bit. um but his in as far as the traveling. goes but as far as for this recent Board. of inquiry that was a grind for months. of prep like it's like having a second. and third job yeah outside of like you.

do your normal job and then you uh you. know stay up late or get up early well. the nature of your work that you don't. have your devices yeah and we're we're. in a um open storage environment so we. don't have cell phones or personal. computers so it really um all your phone. calls or whatever you have to go outside. or you have to do it outside of work. hours if you're meeting with attorneys. or meeting with you know uh Advocates or. folks trying to help you it's all. outside of work hour so it kind of takes. up it sucks up your bandwidth for family. and other extracurriculars and so we're.

looking forward to getting through this. on the other side be able to to have. like a little bit of Peace yeah normal. yeah yeah and how long has this been. dragging on um it's been since the fall. of Afghanistan so uh since. 2021 wow so four four years and and. really it started in 2019 so for me it. feels like I'm about to finish up my. deployment to Afghanistan geez um it's. been a fiveyear one so uh we're so this. this all kicked off in September of 2019.

so till today so and you had mentioned. uh you had mentioned you brought him. into home school because of security. concerns what kind of security concerns. are you guys facing well the uh because. of the um this kind of false information. operation campaign in the media uh. that's uh out there the Taliban called. us out by name uh put us up on their. website made a little video about it um. yeah it's it's Unique to see some you. know terrorist spokesman like your name. on National Television oh yeah we've.

seen it I had to hire a whole security. team because of this [ __ ] because um. because of the the the withdraw thing. you know what I mean or not the withdraw. thing sorry the funding the the US I. don't know they decided to fund the. Taliban 4 to 87 million a week yeah I. saw those episodes with uh sah Adams and. just unbelievable I can't believe that. that Americans would even think like how. does that even cross your mind. yeah yeah um after what these what these.

people have done for 20 years and. oppressing their own people even not to. mention oh by the way we've been. fighting them for 20 years yeah do you. guys have any do you guys have you. guys we sold our first so when when our. first or our our address became publicly. um available um through some of this. litigation we moved um talked to the. actually I remember this cuz I talked to. our NCS rep and I was like Hey the this. this is a child from a uh a named obje. Ive raid and this person who brought her. to the US was uh uh talking to the.

Taliban Shadow Governor uh and then he. said he had Taliban in his phone before. we brought him into US lines at the. airport for evacuation and then I. watched him flag on the watch list and. I've got some security concerns and so. our Force Protection Officer this is. what he told me he's like um well you. should you should dial 911 if you feel. threatened and so uh I was thinking I. would get a little more from that at a. you know like how many other people in. the command have gotten their name put. on on the Internet by the Taliban so I.

was I was expecting a little more there. didn't get it so um we decided to move. um we sold her home which is great. because it helped pay for a lot of the. early litigation um and then we our. second home address got leaked but we're. in a pretty we're in a we're in a c ofac. where we got good visibility everywhere. so we're very Vigilant our kids we put. up a fence um I'm a marine we have guns. you know it's just I mean you basically. self-help has our we we are on like with. the local law enforcement they know if.

we call 911 from our house they're not. going to send a regular unit they're. going to send a squad team so like um. we've taken the precautions that we're. able to with our current financial. situation um as much as we can but yes. do we are there people that drive by and. take pictures of our house yes fed. reporters show up at our house rep come. knock on the door yes uh do crazy people. know you know can know where we live yes. so all of those concerns and and and. obviously I think with the veteran. Community they could understand why we'd. be concerned about that. yeah let's move into so let's move into.

your what were you doing as a as an. attorney in the Marine Corps okay. mentioned targeting in your yeah so um I. like every Judge Advocate in the Marine. Corps we start out and you you build MOS. or military occupation specialty. credibility by doing a trial bill it so. I had done my time in the trial shop. about two years and I done while I was. doing that I i' as much as possible try. to be involved in operational law which. is where my interest Li which is. advising commanders in like the law of. war and Rules of Engagement and.

targeting and so I got the opportunity. to be the marle representative at this. the Army Jag School in Charlottesville. Virginia and so there's a section there. called clo which stands for the Center. for Law and military operations and what. they do is they're kind of like the. after action reports and Lessons Learned. across the spectrum of operational law. so there's domestic operational law for. like disaster relief and such there's. humanit uh like uh non-combatant. evacuation Ops uh targeting and so the.

Marin's portfolio in that section is um. The Joint targeting process collateral. damage estimation and civilian casualty. response and so when you get there you. go through all the training in those uh. disciplines to understand those and then. you're dealing with your you're finding. Marines have deployed with the Mew or. deployed to Afghanistan or deployed to. Iraq or Syria and as they come back. you're capturing those Lessons Learned. and then you're publishing and. disseminating them and one of the things. I did I was an editor for what they call.

the uh now they call it the National. Security Law quarterly where we collect. all that that knowledge and spread it. across DOD in the different Judge. Advocate communities um so that you. learn from those experiences and that's. that's actually what I was doing in. Afghanistan in 2019 when I deployed I. did a very short trip in 2018 to sit. with like uh a camp Alpha and Camp Vance. and watched some of the targeting going. on live and talk to them about like hey. what are you seeing but um. and then the other thing I would do is I.

would instruct um at the schoolhouse. during operational law courses or. sometimes they'd have um um other legal. communities ask you to come in and speak. on operational law so explaining to for. lack of better term baby Jags you know. what is what is the joint targeting. process what is collateral damage. estimation so that they have credibility. when they go in front of a commander and. get in operational all bill. it wow interesting and so what what. what unit were you attached with in. Afghanistan how okay so um so the the in.

2019 when I deployed I was attached to. the Resolute support us horses. Afghanistan um judge advocate's office. so it's the senior attorney for all of. Afghanistan a colonel sitting on top of. probably 10 or 12 attorneys but he's. he's responsible for all of the. attorneys in. Afghanistan CH okay and the incident is. Operation starfish correct. so um that's not the actual name of the.

the op but that was a code name we had. had for her uh amongst the medical staff. and the Americans trying to help get a. safe outcome for her they called it. operation starfish okay okay all right. let's move into the to the operation. your attachment to it let's start right. there so um I guess you should probably. back up and talk about what happened. earli in that year with uh the the to. was supposed to be earlier in the year. yes so so it was fall 2019 we knew that.

the deployment was coming up it was. going to be short but still just you. know with kids and family life we were. anticipating trying to gear up for it. and then it happened earlier than. anticipated so I was in my final. semester of grad school working on byis. project and you found out that you were. going to go so personal you of like on. the personal side it was not the best. timing in the world so I felt like I was. scrambling trying to get ready to you. know hold down the fort with three young. children and be ready for you to go so.

that was an intense time yeah she was. finished up her master's degree so it it. happened off cycle for us like uh it was. it was a short deployment 90 days so not. a big deal um but um I landed on the. ground in bam on September 6 2019 which. U you know I learned that out the course. but that is exactly like down to the. hour when she was getting lifted off the. X by the Rangers um and that when I. learned that two months in I had. goosebumps cuz it's like wow like what. are the odds that you land at the same. time um so September 6 2019 sticks in my.

head because that's when I I got to. afghanis the second time at about 2: in. the morning uh when we landed from. Kuwait wow. yeah so how did you get attached to this. raid so what was it that what was it. that you were doing involved so I I I. can tell you exactly where I was so we. were as an office we had a uh we would. go and and and have dinner together at.

the dining facility and I will never. forget we're walking to cow and my. Colonel's like uh with probably eight or. 10 attorneys and my Colonel the senior. attorney in Afghanistan is like what the. hell are we going to do with this baby. and I was like that was very odd like. I'm the new guy right I just got there. you're like what baby exactly I was like. what baby sir he's like oh well um some. some special operators uh hit in. al-Qaeda training camp and it was really. bad and they recovered a baby and we're.

supposed to figure out what to do with. it and I was like gesh and they're like. uh does that happen often I mean did. they just kill everybody on target well. I mean it it depends like I guess went. through it it was 100 plus dead they. they had they did a very good job of. making sure that no Al-Qaeda leaders. left yeah those structures it's not a. hit on them I'm not saying was bad oh no. no I'm just telling you that they were. very thorough and um so so it was kind. of just by The Bu that we first heard.

about it and um I remember at the time. because uh I was worried my wife would. be upset um I was like well s like. what's the concern and they're like oh. well it's foreign child um we've talked. to some of the NOS like ICC and such and. they're saying that the the situation in. the Afghan system at the time wasn't. safe for foreign children and so we got. to figure out something like a safe. outcome so I was like sir like if. there's nothing else to be done like. like as a last resort like we'd. volunteer like I got two kids like.

what's one more like don't leave a child. here if there was an option and he was. like oh sure we'll see like you know uh. it it was more just like a gut reaction. and what I came to find out was. everybody had that reaction from the. Rangers on the objective to like uh the. medical U at the Ford surgical team that. treated them all when they first got off. the Golden hour um all the wounded and. and her um one of those guys had. volunteered uh one of the Civil Affairs. officers had volunteered there was a. list of Americans like hey we we we'll. step in and and and take care of this.

child if there's no other option how old. is the baby so we didn't know we just. were told we didn't know the gender. nothing like it was just baby bad bad. Mission months um we come came to find. out that she was a between 6 weeks and. two months old like somewhere in there. she was malnourished so it was hard to. say the exact age this about 45 days old. so she had a a medically estimated birth. date in July uh of 2019 I actually um we. had to come up with somay and so in the. office when we were doing this for her.

birth certificate we're like hey who's. got a birthday in July and somebody's. like mine's the 24th so or her birthday. is July 24th because of that that Marine. who says like so uh he knows who he is. out there uh he's a he's an uncle. honorary wow wow. so did you run this by your wife at all. I was actually concerned about that so. um because wait a minute so how did they. pick you. it just kind of happened and I can go. into it but so I called her off cycle do.

you want to tell that part yeah so he. calls me and and it was the afternoon my. time and that was not a normal time for. him to call and so immediately just you. know your mind is racing why is it g me. in the middle the day something happened. and so I picked up the phone urgently. like you know are you okay everything. good and I'll never forget the first. thing he he said was he's like honey. he's like there's this. baby and and I remember I was in the I. just stopped and I was like and I could. tell by his tone that something this was.

significant there was something so he. proceeded to tell me that there was a a. baby recovered off an objective you know. parents were killed and they you know. they don't know what they're going to do. with this baby and so I had a similar. reaction to him I was like well we'll. volunteer we can do it you know we we'll. we'll we'll help and take the baby if. you know there's nothing we can do. there's nothing can be done if she. doesn't at that time we know if it was a. boy or girl um but like can't leave a. baby there and so he's like well he's.

like slow down he's like I'm glad you. said that because I already volunteered. and he like I'm glad to know we're on. the same page he's said but you know. they're going to do a family trace and. there's a long you it's a long shot. we're just you know we'll see how it. plays out but good to know that we're on. the same page and so that's pretty much. where we left at that first conversation. so so what happened was um we we come. came to find out through these daily. standup briefs so our our Colonel briefs. the general the fors are in charge of. all Afghanistan every evening and so in. order to prep himself for that we do a.

stand up in the mornings with each of. our disciplines saying Hey sir this is. what's going on and and you give him a a. two-minute Spiel on what's going on in. your section and so we would get updates. of course there an office like a bunch. of Americans in in in a shop anywhere if. there's something interesting you're. you're queuing into that and so the guy. handling this was um originally an air. force uh Judge Advocate and um his. specialty was not operational law and. and um he had advised the commander like.

hey we just it's an Afghan decision. we're going to you know tell them and. whatever they say and so I had heard you. know indications and warnings in the. shop like that they thought she was. foreign and that it was injured in a. hospital and then we found out that it. was actually a little girl several weeks. in and when I'm listening to these. briefs and hearing the legal advice. um there's. for context there's a little bit of a.

disparity amongst lawyers about what the. appropriate role of a legal adviser is. and um what I've been taught in a Marine. Corp is that our job is to give a. commander legal maneuver space so we. give him his left and right laterals on. a decision like here's your range of. options sure that are legally. supportable based on my uh based on the. situation I recommend x uh and then you. stand by and you salute smartly when he. he makes his decision and he can accept. risk anywhere on that Spectrum depending. on what his objectives are and what what. he believes will support the mission and.

I I think that's the proper role of a. legal advisor but I think sometimes with. inexperienced or people with a with more. of an ego into it will will paint. commanders into a corner and say Hey sir. like the only legal supportable COA is X. because that's what they think and I I. think that's a mistake um I think it's. really up to the commander to take on. that risk and and take on the. appropriate level risk based on you. briefing in his space and I really think. that's what happened here is this guy. had said this was the option and um when.

I'm sitting here like as a as a curious. young Marine Captain like well why do. they say she's foreign I don't know you. know well why why is she in the hospital. I don't know how old is it you like. basic questions that you would think. You' need because a lot of times your. legal advice depends on the facts and so. I kind of stepped in like like Hey sir. can I can I help you uh because he. outranked me at the time uh can I help. you with this and so I really got. involved by trying to get information. like factual information to make a.

better legal advice for a commander so. he can make a safe decision because it. really wasn't just you know let's see. what the Afghans say um because we. wouldn't do that like like for example. in Syria you would never ask uh like if. you had a German or French or British. foreign Fighters child you would not be. like hey let's leave him an orphanage in. Syria right you would try to repatriate. them that was like we we do that um like. especially with Isis with from so many. different backgrounds um. and so it was trying to get facts for. decision makers and so I got sucked in.

like that so I had reached out to one of. the other Marines um in this joint. environment because it's not very many. marines was the civilian casualty. coordinator for US forces Afghanistan. and so we we had met once or twice and. you know because of the Marine Corps. thing we at least knew who each other. were I was like hey man what do you got. on this baby and so he sends me a conop. from uh The Joint Task Force operating. under task force 20 uh to to stay up in.

the clear and so I had worked with them. a little bit on my previous tour to. centcom uh for targeting watch them do. targeting and so I was like holy cow. like so it's a very developed conop with. all of the the basic Intel that. supported this strike and it was very. clear that this were foreign Fighters. and exactly where they were from and um. at the time that was all classified and. where were they from so uh the Intel. that we had was they were from. Turkmenistan and that this specific 10. digigit grid compound was a repeat uh.

sending foreign fighters of different. nationalities um and they were feeding. him into the uh hakani Network and. Taliban Victory units or Taliban red. units um to to work you know fight. against us and so they were this. particular group happened to be from. Turkmenistan and we had that High. Fidelity it was the uh one of the senior. leaders in this group it's it's called. the turkistan Islamic party and we all. that had that properly Declassified.

through the foreign disclosure officer. of us 4A at some point in this process. to help um informed decision makers. about the Fidelity of where exactly. these people came from and um and since. then we've we've actually had numerous. conversation with the Rangers who. recovered off objective and like there. is literally nothing to contradict that. in US Government possession wow it's. unbelievable that we're even having this. conversation and have to say like where. is she from because to me you have um in. in Afghanistan in 2019 you're you're.

what 19 years into the war you have. developed humit you have develop Sig uh. you have all sorts of assets for the jtf. like it's it's getting to be winter time. so the fighting season's winding down so. they're chopping most of the assets that. the jtf to use right because they're. still hunting terrorists because they. have a counterterrorism combat mission. right they're there to kill Al-Qaeda. hakani Network and Senior talb and um at. that time interestingly. um the president I think the next day I.

think September 7th the president had uh. canceled the peace negotiation with the. Taliban because they had they did an. attack in the green zone that killed an. American Green Beret staff sergeant and. a Romanian NATO soft and um he was so. appropriately ins sensed that they would. do these sorts of attacks when we're. were in good faith negotiating a. reduction in violence to try to get to a. solution for Afghanistan that he canel. their flight and turned them around they. were going to meet at Camp David that.

weekend and announce the the peace deal. and um he he shut that down and turned. it around and um I distinctly remember. that because in the opposite. intelligence brief for the. fourstar um there was we were trying to. bleed them back to the negotiating table. and so like they were just the body. count went significantly up after the. president put pressure on them to. punishing them for what they that bad. faith and um it was a very distinct. shift in the optempo. and task force was was really doing a. good job at that um I I um I did a joint.

casualty assessment team I think on. September 11th um we went out to the. West in harat and uh we picked up an Oda. team in pushed them out west and uh they. had already had a Seal Team out that way. and they were just going after people um. it was. impressive wow so did. you what do we call your daughter. as many of you know life can be.

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emergency food kit for my Patriot Supply. prepare with sha.com. so um what we decided for this um is to. we had called her Sparrow because it was. a it was a we didn't know the gender at. the time so why don't you tell that so. couple weeks in like he mentioned um we. get our very first photo and it's we. call it now we call it the baby in the. box but um and that was the first time.

we learned the that she was a girl and. got to see her for the first time but up. until that point when I got that initial. call and I debated whether or not I mean. the boys were early or they were pretty. young at the time I wasn't going to. really tell them that much but I was so. impressed that there's just like there. is this child out there that is in limbo. it's future its fate is in limbo and so. I remember remember one night I it was a. Wednesday night and I was putting the. boys to bed and I mentioned to them this.

baby and I said we need to pray for this. baby um and I didn't I didn't know of. course the name or anything so it's like. there's a song like an old hymn that. says eyes on the sparrow and so we. decided to call it baby sparrow and so. we would just you I tuck the boys in bed. at night we'd pray for baby sparrow and. it was a it was a good shift for myself. because um I and the early part of that. deployment being that I was trying to. wrap up my uh degree and everything I I.

was kind of like oh how am I going to do. this and I was focused on myself and. then all of a sudden when I heard about. this baby it and just really because. Joshua would when he would call me he'. describe just what was going what he was. seeing with other children you when he'. go out outside the the gate and it was. eye opening that I know here I am safe. at home with my children and that there. are millions of children in other parts. of the world that are not guaranteed. safety or a roof for their head or food.

and so um baby sparrow was something it. gave us it g instantly shifted my. perspective off of myself and and there. was this innocent child that um and that. you know his whole future was at risk. and so uh we we that's where Sparrow. came from was not having a name or. knowing anything about it and then a few. weeks later is when we saw the photo and. we realized she was a girl and was this. the is this the photo of her wrapped up.

in a box Home Depot box Home Depot box. box cuz they didn't have any baby like. we're we're at a combat trauma center. right and so these these Young Americans. who serve in those positions the medical. staff there they Cobble together as much. as they could to make her as comfortable. she because she she was in a huge amount. of discomfort with her her fractured. skull and she had a a fractured femur um. where they had actually put a rod in to. repair it and like burns on it so and. she's like 45 days old exactly. and um we're putting this uh photo up on. screen right now by the way so if you're.

listening you can see it so you can kind. of it's blurred out but you can kind of. see her uh her left skull um is swollen. there that was one of the reasons why we. were trying to get her back to the. States quickly is we were trying to get. one of those little Cranium skulls that. you can kind of reshape it and you. couldn't tell now because of her hair. but like uh there was you know and then. our experience with PTSD and like a TBI. from you know Marines and soldiers going. down range and getting uh IEDs um you. know I have a lot of experience as a j. Advocate like working through that like. making sure people are checked out for.

that stuff when they get back from. deployment and does that have any uh is. that any play and their misconduct like. those are things that commanders just. considerer and that we advise on so I'm. very familiar with like the long-term. concerns for TBI and so I mean all of. those things are present and then we're. we're kind of gathering information like. I I mentioned earlier we got the uh the. concept of operations from the uh the. ranger uh companies that went out for. that mission and we were also able to. get the um tactical interrogation report.

from the detain that they picked up off. objective and there's actually one off. of this objective and then um some um. Raiders had done a a CO or a. simultaneous mission on the same network. to kill the same night and so they had. also picked up some detainees and so we. were able to get a lot of like captured. any material with Al-Qaeda Fighters. Chinese looking uh with flags um very. consistent with what they were trying to. Target that night um and they even. captured the um a video from a terrorist. device in this building um of the Deputy.

Amir of that Al-Qaeda group like he's uh. and he's uh currently in afgh or he was. in Afghanistan in 2022 and 2023 time. frame so like as far as the Fidelity of. of what who was occupying this structure. um you know they had brutal close combat. for over an hour and a half room byro. clearing and I I'll kind of go into the. story of what we have learned about what. happened that night um in a minute but. basically so in these interrogations did.

they get the information that they were. from turkistan yeah so um so I had. worked with the regional exploit. Regional exploitation Center at Paran. prison with some projects for General. Miller we were working on detaining. prosecutions how to speed that up so we. had to study from intake on the. objective with associated with or asws. that were picked up with an objective. from a task force Mission what are asws. uh like associated with uh so like. people on the objective like military. age males on the objective with targets.

and so you know they they put their Puck. around their neck and where they caught. them and take a picture of it and or. they I think that's a person under. control or place of capture I can't. remember what the acronym stands for but. there's a little bag that goes around. their neck where they take a picture of. him what they found with him and then. when they put him in the bird and take. him to Paran prison because that was the. terrorist uh holding facility at the. time and there was more than 5,000 like. terrorists in Paran prison when I. visited that in the full 2019 it was. about when the the hakani 3 were there.

cuz we we toured it and we're studying. like soup the nuts how do they how do. they bag and tag these guys how do they. prosecute them under the like. counterterrorism laws that we had helped. the Afghans put in place like we met. with the judges we talked we sat with. task force 20 and like hey we need this. type of information when you you know. able to successfully prosecute these and. speed up that process um because they're. basically clogging the prison with so. many people that they were getting so um. because of that that project I had just. done we were able to reach out very. easily and get those tactical.

interrogation reports and this detaining. is like yeah I brought these people like. he identified the photos in that we'. captured on objective as the people um. occupying this structure and it was the. 10 Series so like it's the primary. target where they expect the um the. detain to be or the the objective to be. rather and so the mission was to get to. cap killer capture three named. objectives which were senior leadership. in this alaa group and there was a. leadership compound found which was the. 10 series and then about up up an. elevation to about maybe 80 M away there.

was a a larger compounds that were. conjoined and had fighters in them and. so they were expecting more kinetic up. there and it actually was very kinetic. um but I I I can get into the story I. guess if we want to well yeah so how. long was the baby. girl sitting in a Home Depot box wrapped. up well so they started so one of the. issues was a fiscal law issue is is can. we can we spend US taxpayer dollars and. buy baby stuff like uh not really we.

don't have a lot of authorities for that. so a lot of the medical personnel. started to volunteer and like purchase. stuff off Amazon and purchase stuff off. the local economy and we were able to I. mean even. that when I was there that it would take. a month to get something from Amazon it. was and so they were just cobbling stuff. together and just doing whatever they. could to take care of her and what were. they feeding her so they they even sell. baby formula in Afghanistan they did. yeah they were able to get some stuff. off the local economy and um. around around Kart Airfield and that was. some of the issues that we were working.

as a shop and that's why I kept. filtering up in the standup briefs. information was kahara F she so she was. originally picked up uh she was golden. hour flighted to tanot and um and the I. think eight or nine guys that required. surgery off the objective um and her. were operated on to stabilize them and. then they were evacuated to the nearest. R three uh in kahar and so she was there. for about a month and then they because. there was U it was clear indications.

that she was foreign and because no one. had come forward to claim her and uh. they decided to move her to the The. Joint theater hospital at bogram which. had uh a larger footprint and be able to. uh uh determine what was going to be her. long-term outcome but they were there. was talks about putting her in uh the. French hospital uh there's a French. hospital in I believe it's in Cabell it. may be in Kandahar I can't remember. exactly but there was talks about. putting her in a civilian Hospital. basically but that would require funding.

and we didn't have a mechanism to pay. for that there was there was different. um NGO run orphanages or I think there. was a few state run orphanages they were. talking about put inan and um it kept. boiling back down to well if this is a. foreign child it would be better for her. to repatriate her to her country of. origin if we can get Fidelity on what. that is and so that's really what drove. this like fact gathering mission we did. but once we got the um tactical. interrogation report and the guy said.

yeah I brought these people here from. Turkmenistan these were documents of the. compounds and you're looking at Al-Qaeda. flags and pkms and AKs and you're. looking at all this captured enemy. material from the objective and then we. had even gotten a few like 5w's emails I. think I provided that where for the for. the audience to look at but there's a. email that they Declassified for a board. of inquiry that is the Joint Task Force. assessment that that says um you know.

she's very likely not or is uh very. likely foreign we'll put that up on. screen right now and it says the father. was throwing grenades and shooting at. the assault. force uh the mother was killed in a. barricaded shooter incident and that the. family and most of the village had moved. to Afghanistan solely to wage violent. Jihad and and that was the Paradigm like. that was the Baseline for US forces on.

the military side of the house like no. one even questioned that they would. refer to her as like the weager baby or. uh you know the al-Qaeda baby because it. was it was just not even a question. that's why there wasn't even a u. normally in these types of things with. anything in the military you do an. investigation right like how did this. happen and you get Fidelity on these. things it was such strong intelligence. they didn't even do that because like. task force told us where they came from. and um and we even had I I don't know if. it's in in the materials that you all.

have that were released yet but there. was um I distinctly remember the task. force sja uh saying hey if if you need. more than this we have more on on yellow. on TS and uh we never had to because it. was so clear um in the stuff that we had. Declassified and um. so now looking back it it was actually. an even more kinetic fight than we'd. even realized when once we talked to the. Rangers and we got them to testify um I. mean have you ever heard of this.

happening have you ever heard of no like. this I've never heard of a unit bringing. back a baby yeah well and I think that. speaks to the in extremist like how bad. it was on the subject because um I mean. you think it's just such a unique. situation is what I'm saying like I've. never I've never I've never I've never. brought a baby bad I've never have tons. of friends. yeah units tier two units never brought. a baby back I've never heard of this. well and I think that as the audience.

like here's what actually happened. they'll understand why these guys did. what they did it honestly was heroic so. and so hold on before I just we'll get. into that I just want to get clear my. sure clear out my questions so so how. did how were you the one I mean you said. all these people had volunteered you. talk to Stephanie about. it when did it be like when did it. when did it get narrowed down to you're. the one okay so you're the one that's.

going to take not for a while actually. so September 6 2019 is when this Mission. goes it takes a couple weeks like we. thought that she gotten turned over or. the the baby had had been turned over. and then we found out no wasn't um there. was back and forth because the Afghans. kept saying we don't have capability. which is not uncommon like it's an. injured infant like like that's nothing. to be ashamed of is just the facts right. and we' done that with other like types. of logistical support for the Afghans. before um you know from Munitions to. strikes you know you you provide that. support to enable those you know partner.

forces but for a baby we're trying to. make sure that they had a safe outcome. and so again I told you like we get. updates with these standups and asking. basic questions and then providing those. informations to decision makers and it. became more and more clear that this is. a foreign child and that wasn't the only. legal U legally permissible COA and so I. went back to this um Air Force Major and. I was like Hey sir like um we need to go. back and brief the two are like like. what we know now cuz we we had a. significant amount of information that.

we did not have before and they kind the. attitude was kind of like oh well I. already kind of made a big stink about. having to tell the Afghans because they. weren't going to tell them in the first. place we're just going to do the right. thing and take care of the child and um. he had made a big stink about telling. them and then they were like we can't. you know we don't have capability and um. and he didn't want to go back and brief. this twar and I was like why I don't. know like this is not judging I'm just. saying like that's what happened um I. don't know why I think he felt like um.

he had already made a big deal about. having to tell the Afghans in the first. place and then when we had Fidelity on. that she was not Afghan um he didn't. want to go back and and correct that. brief to the commander and so what ended. up happening was I started to look at. research okay well what are the risk. factors you know again like you make. legal advice based on facts so if the. commander executes and gives this infant. with a fractured skull and a fractured. femur to an Afghan institution in 2019. Afghanistan what does that look like.

that's what I wanted to know like and I. didn't know like I I was new in country. I hadn't really studied the the the. environment like for children in. Afghanistan but I as I'm researching on. the embassy's website and you know the. state Department's got a lot of like. formal reports to Congress of these tyes. of things like trafficking in persons or. the risk factors in Afghanistan so I'm. pulling like agency level study reports. to and it's scaring the beesus out of me. it's saying that there's systemic child.

sexual abuse in every province in. Afghanistan uh there's there's even a uh. if your if your audience is familiar. with Bachi Basi there's a a practice. dating back thousands of years in that. region of dressing um and this. isographic if there's children listening. but dressing up male children as females. and they they dance and they they they. sexually molest these children um and. that was happening systemically mhm and.

you know to be honest I I had I had been. trained like hey there's child like um. there's child mestation is is is part of. the culture this is how it is there it. is how it is there and and I'm not. saying that all Afghans I I've got one. of my best friends is an Afghan and like. i' I've got so many friends that we've. gotone out through the evacuation that. it's very common it is there's there's. good and bad people everywhere on Earth. and but in in this particular location. there's some evil people and um one of.

the things that bothered me is that we. were advised by State Department like oh. that's not illegal here like it's just. you know got to make deal with it and. for a decade you have American Service. members who have put you know some of. these uh people in power in having to to. allow child rape on our installations. and saying it's just part of their thing. like you can't do anything about it and. like that mentality to me is just the. antithesis of what we should be about as. Americans because that's wrong.

everywhere on the globe and we came. downrange to represent this uniform and. if we're enabling child rape on our. basis that's not a hard call to say hey. this is wrong we're going to lose moral. High Ground how are we going to have the. moral High Ground to intervene as a. country on good causes if we permit evil. when we get there and um and so in 2019. after that however long we've been in. Afghanistan finally through our. influence we changed the law in. Afghanistan and became illegal and do. you know how many people they prosecuted. that year three and um in our office we.

did the Ley vetting so if there was. allegations of gross violations of human. rights we would defund that or defund a. percentage to that Afghan unit right and. so we were getting these reports at the. operational headquarters of Afghanistan. from all over the country about some. checkpoint that was killing another. checkpoint over who I mean who would. rape the t- boys that weekend like. that's the type of conversations were. having the office so when we're just. talking about foreign girl baby right.

and I'm researching these reports. talking about that even some of the. orphanages traffic children and then I. think Stephanie touched on this earlier. I did nothing dangerous in Afghanistan. like don't the only thing that we did. outside the wire was we would go outside. of our compound and we would process. claims so if we had a ground movement. and they they they damaged a jingle. truck or they ran over some livestock. they would do a message in a bottle and. throw it out the window to whoever. property they damage they wouldn't stop. because you could be a Target um and.

that message would say go to this gate. at RS headquarters at this time and on. this day and we you can present a claim. against the US government and we'll. reimburse you for the damage and so we. would process those claims so we' take. our turps we' go outside you know the. checkpoint and we would interact with. local Afghans that had had some sort of. Damage Done by US military operations. and so I was very you know you can be. very familiar with the culture and like. hey this is a $20,000 cow and I'm like I. don't think so and and so I had to.

negotiate down to a reasonable outcome. but um one of the the interesting things. about that is you would interact with. the local Street children um as you go. outside the gate until the first time. you go out you're you're you're buying. their little bracelet or whatever. trinket they're selling and you're. trying to help them out as much as you. can and like be friendly and so I I. distinctly remember this one boy he was. exactly my son's age he was like seven. and like really. like handsome little boy like kind of. like my kid um different complexion but.

but just like filthy dirty and like in. this in this environment so this. particular kid I tried he was you know. asking for money so I gave him like a. buck and I watched him go over to his. owner and like give him that dollar like. the guy who owned the kids for begging. and I realized like there is nothing you. can do to help this kid mhm and so like. after that we would just get him. disposable like food or you know stuff. from back home like give him give a. lollipop or something just something. they could consume right then and no one. could take from them because if it was.

anything else they would take it from. them and um and they would particularly. get kids with like scoliosis or like. kids that were more sympathetic to beg. as we did that stuff and so that's kind. of the context of like evaluating the. safety concerns for an in in a tribal. Society I mean they used these kids to. kill people too I mean when I was there. they would they would they would fill up. their bicycle tires with explosives and. have them right up to the gate or right. up to a convoy or right up to personnel. and then they would the kid doesn't even.

know that the bicycle tires have. explosives in them and then they'd blow. the kid up just to kill just to kill an. American so that's that's that's who. we're dealing with here that's. absolutely this is who this is who. you're in a custody battle with. absolutely and that's the I mean not to. mention you know there's videos of this. stuff during the Afghanistan withdraw. when when when that Fiasco happened we. had we had mothers. who were trying to throw their babies. over razor wire babies are getting hung.

up caught in razor wire dangling because. they didn't make it over the Razer wire. you you have babies being killed right. outside the right outside the walls of. the of the airport where us controls it. us didn't do [ __ ] about it you know what. I mean and and these people are trying. to they're they're hanging on the side. of an airplane as it's taking off I mean. because of Taliban control because they.

know what's coming and no no mother is. going. to throw her baby over try to throw her. baby over Razer wire I mean there was. mult there was babies everywhere just. hanging from Razer wire that didn't make. it over I mean it's that's who we're. dealing with that's who you're in so I. want everybody to know that's who you're. in a custody battle with no that that. Mega law firms are interfering with who. want your daughter to go back to that.

that's who we're dealing with well I. think there's they've done a very good. job at twisting The Narrative because I. think by and large the larger American. public we don't uh they're not aware of. the atrocities like what you know. service members have seen on the ground. what life is like actually on the ground. in Afghanistan most of the American. public doesn't know that and so it. sounds very judgmental or it sounds like. oh you can't say that or no that that. surely that can't be true but the. reality is reality is is there's a very. ve uh big difference in the value of.

children like it's they they have a very. different perspective well I mean but. this but they're they do now because. that [ __ ] hit national news I. mean Tyler Andrew Vargas painted a very. good picture of what that looked like. during the Afghan withdrawal and it and. and the footage is everywhere we'll roll. it right here I mean just so everybody. can see can see what what that was like. well what I would add though is that the.

attorneys that we've what we've dealt. with they make it sound like we're what. would you say like like we're almost. like we're making it up like oh like. it's a conspiracy well and I feel bad. for them even the opposing attorneys. because they have no idea the reality of. what they're doing like for a real. little girl like what's been such a. struggle through all this who the [ __ ]. fights this [ __ ] like who are these. attorneys so spineless. [ __ ] well I think that they they like.

seriously dude you're going to take a. [ __ ] five 5-year-old girl and send. her back to that [ __ ] for your [ __ ]. paycheck [ __ ] you I think in their mind. that they're going to keep this with. they're going to get how do they justify. it to themselves because I think they. think that she's going to stay here they. think that she's going to have this nice. little pick a fence life with these. Afghans here and what she they don't. realize is these people are proxy are. are puppets of the Taliban that have. their family in Afghanistan do you.

really think that they put Marines. families on national news and then don't. know who these people are or how to. touch them like absolutely not like this. is that's why we've saying it's it's. really a Taliban L gonzala situation. because she's not going to stay here in. the United States if we lose custody of. her and these people do they're going to. put a gun to their family's head and. make them go home and then whatever the. Taliban says is what's going to happen. to her and she'll you know she's not. going to go to. or marry who she wants or grow up to be. who she wants to be and you know that is.

I I don't know if they don't my dead. body like that is basically like we have. all we from day one we have said based. on everything in US Government. possession all of our Intel our billion. dooll intelligence gathering apparatus. in Afghanistan says X we sent. helicopters full of special operators to. kill these terrorists and but the US. government can't figure out where she's. from like give me a break like you you. have this information we've had it all. along and you've had people like us just. regular Americans at the ground level.

saying look at the information like if. you you watch this video of these. Rangers in combat with these terrorists. like it they're heroic they're doing. what we we task them as American people. to do kick down doors and and eliminate. these terrorists from the face of the. Earth and they were doing that and um I. I. cannot I cannot express how much. appreciation we have for that like you. know you you you're raised in America. you're you're patriotic you care about. service members like thank you for your. service that type of thing but when you.

read what these guys have done or you. hear like when it gets out from behind. because there's a lot of non-disclosure. agreements there's a lot of stuff that. you don't get to talk about especially. with the special Mission units and um. when you actually dive into that and you. get to see some of these these. experiences they've had unbelievable. like heroic it's humbling to be able to. read some of the stuff and talk to these. guys and so so so when did you we got a. little side trck there I'm angry but. um I I just I'll never un I.

just attorneys man sorry but I just I. just cannot imagine what it's like on. the other how the [ __ ] do they sleep at. not I just don't I don't get it but um. so what point did you find out she's. going to be in your care okay so. um probably fast forward a couple months. um she's been under us care at bogram um. doctors and nurses love her obviously.

trying to make sure she's safe and. recovering and all that um we're trying. to get more information for decision. makers and then there was a real problem. with classification so we have some NATO. folks who don't have a US secret. clearance and we're working with Nos and. some folks at the embassy that it's not. easy to share how much we know and so at. at one point I sat through um a meeting. where uh they were going to use our. General's influence to make the Afghans.

take her like end of story like here. your problem like kind of like an. operational like it's a distraction from. operations Afghan problem let's just. make make them take her and so that was. going to happen and I was like I went to. my Colonel I was like sir I was like I. don't think I can sleep at night if we. like close our eyes and say that she's. not going to get like at best case. scenario she's going to die of neglect. because you know you're talking about. Cabell which is like uh Denver it's a. mile high city it's uh it's fall so it's. getting to be cold there's no heat in.

the orphanages there's no running water. electricity and some of the like there's. a few nice. presentation uh facilities in the. capital that they showed all the NGS to. get people to donate to the system but. in reality in most places there's. nothing you know there's very little. infrastructure there's no medical care. and like and this is a kid with a. fractured skull like holy cow how how do. we ignore As Americans like the big us. us how do we ignore what's actually. going to happen and I have no problem. with killing terrorists like her parents.

died in combat with our guys no problem. with that but but we're about protecting. innocence like we believe like even our. worst enemy it's not that child's fault. that their parents were terrorist in a. foreign country or brought them there to. to to wake Shihan and so it was it was. about getting that information to the. right the decision maker but uh I got. off track your question was how did we. get involved is we we appealed I I went. to my authority I was like Hey sir can I. try to create a legal path to the US for.

this child and he was like oh sure knock. yourself out you know like I you know I. appreciate where you're coming from and. so um so I got authorization so he. didn't take you seriously right he. wasn't not serious it was just such a. crazy like gordian knot of uh of a. problem set like you you know there was. just like he didn't mind someone trying. to take a crack at it and so I I went. back to my my cheu and uh I call or my. my housing unit and I called Stephanie. and we were just talking about this like.

how are we going to Advocate to to. change the US policy towards the kid and. not just ignore because at that time we. ran a lot of important things in Afghan. the airspace the borders the. infrastructure security we provided. those things and so if it was important. enough we would we would execute and so. our our goal was to make her life that. important um and so. what so was this the initial. conversation I know there was the ini.

second big conversation I'll never. forget because it was once again the. afternoon odd time and um I I think I. was doing a school project I was like. photographing or something and we he was. talking back and forth like how do we. Elevate this like how do we that we're. going to we have to get you know enough. attention on this for some and a. decision to be made and that's when you. said I like we're going to have to get. this to the president like it's a policy. decision ultimately it's does the United. States value this child's life over. operational convenience and and so in.

order to change the fourstar you'd have. to I mean like nominally the fourstar. his staff um you'd have to get the US. policy to change and so we're like who. can we and like it's been so funny that. we've been portrayed to the media as. like politically connected I am regular. I'm a captain in the Marine Corps we are. very by the book for the most part I'm a. Judge Advocate like I'm very like by the. book. and so was like how do we change US. policy and and we had a Time hack cuz I.

believe it was a Thursday and they had a. meeting scheduled on a mon the next. Monday and they're going to dump dump. her with the Afghans who' already said. we don't have the cap capability and so. um you said I just remember that that. line you're like we're going to have to. get hold of the president and I was like. I was cry I was like okay how do we do. that how do we do that and and so I did. two things we I was kind of on the phone. Googling like who's got children in the. military what what who what politicians. or whoever like somebody who might have. influence and um I just so happened to.

see the the vice president some was a. marine and he was a captain I'm a. captain and uh so I I just drafted up an. email saying like basically like hey. dude I'm downrange I need an assist on. this I think it's you know here's the. situation here's the 5ws I think it's. wrong that we're doing this like I made. the moral and principal argument that. this child's life was at risk by our. actions that were basically based on a. policy decision and so we shouldn't do. things when there's other options that. could hurt kids and and I would say.

that's true across the board it was. particularly true in her instance. because you know I I think all of the. evidence shows that she was a foreign. alaa Fighter's child and so we had. options so you got this to JD Vance well. no it was Pence at the time oh it was. Pence so was a uh Pence son and then and. and honestly to his credit like he he. was like hey help so he he got that to. his dad through his I believe through. his mother JD Vance was a marine yeah.

absolutely and there there is a bond. with Marines like you know it's just. like if if you're in some of these. special mission in any other services. there's there's a bond there and he. absolutely came through for in. protecting innocent life and uh you know. we're forever grateful for that he he. got that through and it was like a bol. of lightning the vice presidents reached. out um directed US forces Afghanistan to. make every effort to bring her to the. states and act in the child's best. interest and that was. testimony from a colonel in my board of. inquiry that that happened that that he. was directed by The fourstar Who had.

been communicating with the office of. the vice president and so we changed US. policy like and so we thought that's all. it would take like I thought done like. safe she's safe like now we're going to. start working towards a good outcome and. and honestly we kind of like it'd be. kind of unique or or uh uh it'd be a. great opportunity to be able to be the. one who got to take care of her but like. there were so many other people I didn't. even think that was. to happen I just thought she was going. to get to the states she's going to be. fine yeah she was going to be I remember. asking you I was like what do you think.

the odds are that you know she yeah it. was smaller than I think you're like 1%. you said something really small that we. would actually be able to but we were. happy that that she was safe yeah like. because because the the US policy. changed distinctly and I got yelled at a. little bit but not too bad my colonel. was like I'm flexible we'll Row the ship. in the other direction and um and he was. a good person about it he actually. signed a u a birthday card saying like. uh congratulations on your new baby uh. you know uh and he signed it like the. vice president or something they um this.

is my award my end of tour award from. Afghanistan and uh they put it the. colonel put it on the back said don't. make me call the VP. again and so it's it's kind of funny um. how bureaucrats like to like paint. reality you know like oh you major M you. went and you know hid and like nobody. knew and if only the US government known. they have shut this down that's just a. lie like we were talking directly the. vice president's staff and with the uh. director of us Citi ship Immigration. Services the head of the humanitarian.

Affairs Branch once the vice president. and US policy changed our office worked. as a shop to accomplish that directive. and I was a part of that and we use that. information Declassified it to inform uh. our Afghan partners and some of these. NOS like here like trust us here's the. pictures like we showed them the math a. little bit about what we knew about the. Fidelity of her origin and um and so. from there we we thought it was we're. golden like she's going to be safe we'll. see what happens but nothing like oh.

yeah we get to you know adopt a little. girl from Afghanistan nothing like that. it was a child an innocent life I'd have. done for any like we didn't know s and. SE I thought it was blown up child like. no idea what the condition was expecting. it was going to be handic yeah a child. with special needs absolutely we were. and so what really changed that was the. embassy um and like we talked about. heroes and villains and this story. um our first villain and I'm not not. necessarily trying to judge her but but. I have a very distinct disagreement with.

her worldview and her practice um the. deputy chief of mission at the embassy. um I was on the email chain from a. senior State Department official back in. the States who was working with the vice. president's office and working with some. of the president's staff to accomplish. this they I said well we're going to. need to coordinate with the embassy. right cuz we're we're right next door in. Cabell and so she cold emailed. Ambassador bass informed him of the. situation and he said okay we're going.

to sign this this uh Deputy I think she. was the acting Deputy Chief of mission. at the time the number two at the. embassy um to handle it and so we're. like great like and then there was a. meeting set up for two days after that. and so that was October 23rd 2019 is. when that meeting occurred and um what's. what's so funny is um I've been accused. of of fraud for knowing there was known. family in this meeting that we had with. the the embassy and the reality was is.

that we were supposed to brief the the. embassy on the intelligence that DOD had. and I stayed up to like 3 in the morning. Gathering all the stuff and calling it. out and making sure it was like chopped. down to like the the bear centrals to. know like what's the name of the guy in. this building who's this guy in this. photo that we got off the objective who. was the target like where does he fit in. this Al-Qaeda Network like what is the. Fidelity we have and so I had two. binders in my hand one for the deputy. chief of mission and one for our two.

star AC or our operations officer and U. we were going to brief the embassy on. what we knew so we show up at this. meeting and for lack of a better word. they ambushed us so there are Afghans in. this meeting where I'm supposed to talk. about us classified documents um and to. explain to them how we know where she's. from and that she is a foreign child and. at and and with all the concomitant. risks associated with that in the Afghan. system at that time and um not the first.

words that ever melt but very close to. the first words out of this this Deputy. Chief of mission stth is now that she's. medically complete how soon can you take. her to the Afghans so this is two days. after the Vice President of the United. States sets US policy after the four. star is like yep act in the child's best. interest and try to get her back to the. States like US forces Afghanistan and. DOD is stepping out smartly on the. administration's policy like I admit. that we advocated for that like totally. as a captain like we were just we were. trying to inform decision makers but.

that was US policy like absolutely and. they were directly insubordinate to what. the administration told them to do they. were trying to make it a fate compley. like she was already gone and out of us. custody before it got traction and they. had oversight and so they never ever why. I why that well we eventually found out. why in the board of inquiry oh that's. true five years after the fact so. um so my my Deputy SJ uh is a Navy.

Commander at the time and he went and. was like tried to make things nice for. the embassy after this meeting because I. I basically was like are you tracking. that this child has a fractured skull. like and so the Africans like we cannot. take a child of these capabilities and. there was some chatter about like oh the. the Red Cross might have been able to. might have located some family and what. what actually happened was because of. the class ification levels the NATO. representative was a Dutch civilian and. she helped deal with like children.

caught in in Conflict right she was an. adviser on that and she had said oh we. might have found a an uncle at at parwan. and I was thinking that's odd because. paran's like a 100 miles away from where. this actually went on I was like can you. send me that traffic and so she sends me. email traffic of a name and a alpha. numeric uh code that I recognize as a. detaining number and so I I actually had. pulled that number and was going to. brief them that no that was not an uncle. this guy said that these were foreign.

Fighters he actually described his like. disgust for their features like uh like. had mimic like throwing up in his. interrogations like like these people. are disgusting and uh wow and so like. the Fidelity it was so crossed wires for. these folks without a clearance that. that's why we went and Declassified it. in the first place so it took us about a. week after that so now I now I realize. why I so the yeah now I realize what. it's going to take a minute to get to. when you found the.

moment the moment well that was the. moment I don't want to brush anything. well that that was the moment I was like. oh they don't care about facts like I. didn't realize that it wasn't about this. child or the truth it was about whatever. political convenience there was and um. and I think that centered a lot around. the P. steal. jeez let's take a quick break yeah and. when we get back we'll we'll talk about. the On Target Rangers on Target and uh.

and what Spar went. through I know everybody out there has. to. be just as frustrated as I am when it. comes to the BS and the rhetoric that. the mainstream media continuously tries. to force feed us and I also know how. frustrating it can be to try to find. some type of a reliable news source it's. getting really hard to find the truth. and what's going on in the country and. in the world and so one thing we've done. here at sha Ryan Show is we are.

developing our. newsletter and the first contributor to. the newsletter that we have is a woman. former CIA targeter some of you may know. her as Sarah Adams call sign super bad. she's made two different appearances. here on the Shawn Ryan Show and some of. the stuff that she has uncovered and. broke on this show is just. absolutely. mindblowing and so I've asked her if she.

would contribute to the newsletter and. give us a weekly intelligence brief so. it's going to be all things terrorists. how terrorists are coming up through the. southern border how they're entering the. country how they're traveling what these. different terrorist organizations. throughout the world are up to and. here's the best part the newsletter is. actually free we're not going to spam. you it's about One News lter a week. maybe two if we release two shows the. only other thing that's going to be in. there besides the Intel brief is if we.

have a new product or something like. that. but like I said it's a free CIA. intelligence brief sign up links in the. description or in the comments we'll see. you in the. newsletter all right Josh Stephanie. we're back from the break and uh so we. want to we want to talk about the. actions on the objective the night of. the raid the night of 5 September.

2019 we already know there was 100. plus Al-Qaeda killed that night the. Rangers uh did the. hit pick it up well I I think that it's. important for folks to. understand the both the medical concerns. we have this story what what what should. stick in in the audience's mind is this. is why we were concerned about long-term. Medical Care and also why we were. concerned about who exactly was going to. come forward and claim her at any point.

because we're talking about Intel that's. saying hundreds of these foreign. Fighters come back from Syria and. settling in Afghanistan and task force. is actively hunting and killing them and. that's the Prelude that's the context to. what this mission was and so our concern. was if we don't properly vet whoever. comes forward she could be back on the X. on the next objective and not make it. she barely made it out of this one which. you're about to hear but so I think it's. also important before we go into the. stories how we know this so we had the. alpha team leader and the multi-purpose.

Canon Handler come and testify their. testimony is in evidence at our Board of. inquiry so a lot of this stuff is. eyewitness sworn. testimony but he just for for ease I'm. going to kind of talk you through like. the story of what happened so it's it's. period of Darkness 5 to 6 September when. we operate We Own the Night right and. task force go goes out on a mission to. capture or kill three named objectives. they are weager turkistani um there's.

different names for that kind of ethnic. group um that are an Al-Qaeda branch and. uh and one of their Boutique Specialties. for Al-Qaeda is they run some child. training camps in Syria and Afghanistan. and Pakistan that's all open source and. um they had been part of this group that. had left Syria and come back into. Afghanistan there is a um there's a un. report publicly available um that I. provided uh so they can see that of. where these people were and what they. were. doing so Rangers get tasked with doing.

this and it's it's a pretty large uh hit. there's two company size elements of. Rangers on the objective and so the. primary compound of interest is uh what. they call the 10 series that's the. priority Target and then uh the other uh. companies hitting this this other Target. or I'm sorry not C I meant platoon the. two platoon size elements are hitting. this other uh compound so you execute. under cover of Darkness they infiltrate. with uh you know one train feature away. outside of uh earshot um they execute a.

March in to surround the compounds and. isolate them um and they succeed at that. like it's quiet on the objective um they. maintain the light noise discipline they. surprise. them so the first thing they do is you. know call out surrender or die they go. through their escalation of force ttps. nobody. responds and I mean I I think the best. assumption you know in retrospect was. that they were arming up and putting on. their vests and getting ready to go um.

so they continue to escalate Force. because there's no response from the 10. series and um they they breach one of. the compound walls um to allow them to. kind of gain situation awareness of. what's going on in the compound there's. some other ways they have of of having. situational awareness uh that we've been. asked not to disclose but um. they start getting uh voices and seeing. movement inside and so the first Glimpse. the multi-purpose Clan un Handler sees.

her is her dad has her and he's using. her as a human shield and he's got an AK. and he's engaging the Rangers at the. compound. entrance and um he's trying not to shoot. this baby while he's killing this. terrorist and he's shooting Eng Sparrow. this is Sparrow so she's the first first. one of the first things they saw so uh. like it was about an hour and a half. into the fight that they actually. recovered her but the in the first. initial stages is when they saw her so.

they then they exchange grenades so um. the ranger vividly described a grenade. rolling out and he's he sees it at his. feet and um it was like slomotion for. him it was a like a homemade explosive. it was just unique and he covers his dog. and yells grenade cuz they're all. stacked up at the comp so did they kill. the guy they don't know this time they. killed everybody eventually yeah but um. they don't know if they don't know so he. so they he sees a grenade yells grenade.

covers his dog and it goes off and he's. the closest to grenade but he isn't hit. his buddies are so I think they picked. up three or four casualties initially. from fragmentation and one of the things. that that they said save their life was. it was um mostly homemade explosives and. so some of them only partially detonated. he said he wouldn't be here if he had. stepped on a toe popper and going around. the building with his dog what I meant. was the human the guy that was holding. Sparrow was a human shield did they kill. him right off the bat not no not right. off the bat so they they roll grenades.

back in at at him and um he reemerges. without her throwing grenades out and so. they have an exchange of grenades and. there's some sympathetic secondary. explosions inside the structure and. we're talking about a small like. family-sized compound not like a huge. open space so it's it's pretty contained. and they have it isolated with you know. machine guns um and it's it's pretty. open terrain with a little Ravine where. had the way they had approached the. target through for cover like a river. and so um so they had both of these.

structures pretty isolated with good. visibility and so they continue to room. by room clear this and so they're. they're breaching these people people. are fighting to death even with their. family members present um they they told. me that they were detonating grenades. with their like children present as. they're clearing these structures room. by room they have an Afghan partner. force with them that is helping it to. some extent but uh it's mostly the. Rangers was room by room by room. clearing these structures and so as.

they're in the first or second room in. these structures it goes really kinetic. up the hill at the other compound and. um there's if you can Envision like. there's a there's actually a map tip of. this they put up on the screen it might. help but the north compound in the 2030. and 40 series which has been. Declassified and released properly um. they were breaching the center structure. and they the breach as they were stacked. up set off an hme cache and it went.

Skyhigh like I had multiple like Rangers. that have been on five or six. deployments of the Middle East it's the. largest explosion I've ever heard and um. they described the chemical taste it. immediately just flooded the area they. thought it was a like a booby trap um. where they actually had to test it to. make sure they weren't contaminated and. could return to base but they thought. they were dead um the alpha team leader. has a lot of them have lung damage from.

breathing that stuff in it was that. pervasive across the uh across the. target so there's a gunfight down here. that's pretty kinetic up the hill it's. getting really kinetic and the bullets. are going over their head into the trees. and like you're hearing it whiz and um. they're both using uh call gustavs to. breach and to engage different targets. within the. structures but when that hme that. homemade explosive cash went off it was. ammonium nitrate um they had multiple.

Rangers buried because the compound wall. collapsed on them as they were stacked. up and so the dog handler and the. platoon sergeant and whoever was. available to that could be you know. least engaged down at the 10 series ran. up the hill to dig out their buddies. Under Fire to get them out they actually. had two guys uh partially paralyzed from. that incident and so they're they're. already getting Cas us casualties um. ultimately they had I believe nearly a.

dozen us Rangers casualties and about. the same amount of partner Force. casualties jeez so like we're talking. about a super kinetic event to the point. where they're calling for fire from some. assets they had available um to suppress. and to kill squarters uh and that that. type of situation and um so the. multi-purpose canot handle there's a. more senior uh and he had a little bit. of freedom of movement cuz he's you know. uh Mak sure there's no booby traps Etc. and the breaches are clear for the the.

ragers to engage and breach these. compounds so they're doing their they're. they're doing their room clearing and. they're experiencing barricaded Shooters. where they're you know shooting at the. guys entering the room throwing grenades. setting off vests um over and over again. through this compound so I think I think. they had about four or five barricaded. Shooters in the the the compound of. Interest where they thought the name. objective was going to be. and we're talking. about human pointing to that cant. pointing to that lots of soak with ISR.

assets over the last couple weeks and. it's been a structure historically used. for years as a waypoint for Al-Qaeda or. foreign Fighters flowing into the the. area of. operations so as they're working their. way through this. combat um they're they're into the last. room where they think this guy is going. to be or they're getting down to the. last couple you know rooms left hour and. a half of room clearing and it's still. going kinetic up up to the. north so they they actually ran out of.

breaching uh explosives and so they used. the Carl Gustav gun up on an elevated. position to do the last breach um. because they were assuming that all the. entrances were fouled because they kept. running into IEDs like implanted in the. walls or toe poppers in the ground and. so. um the Rangers took shelter on on the. far side of the structure while the Carl. gusa Gunner and for your AUD who doesn't. know what a call Goose it's a they call. it a goose gun but it's like a bazooka. so it's a or an RPG for lack of a a. better descriptor so they blow a hole in.

the compound uh pushing the compound. where the last room is and they're. getting rpk fire from this. compound and that blast kills that guy. that they believe was her biological. father and blows his body into the. compound and um the the dog. handler vividly describes like uh making. sure he was dead you know look peeking. in making sure he wasn't moving making. sure he was dead and um that he had like. his his little like uh man jams and a uh.

like AK Bandelier on his chest and like. distinctly Asian fa features look like. the target is what he described under. oath and then. he the first time he sees what was her. biological mother is he describes her. running from the room screaming bloody. murder and uh he is oblique off the. corner to kind of get an angle at the. the new breach they just made in the. wall and he said that she got about 15. ft away from him and then partially. detonated and um so she had a vest on.

she had a vest on and and the the the. the alpha team leader described it as. maybe also kind of like cooking off. almost like the maybe fire had started. to set it off but he said it partially. exploded as she was running at him and. um so she didn't die immediately she had. he described over pressure wounds so. almost like a pop without the fra. and so she he said she was mangled but. he dragged her behind a BM because. they're still getting fire from the. surrounding structures cuz because the.

two compounds were kinetic but they were. getting fire from surrounding buildings. from other F fighter contingents in. those buildings and that was confirmed. later by the detainee that who was like. a lot of those uh Village buildings were. were housing Arab and other. nationalities um so he drags her behind. a burm and the first thing he does is. like his training he strips her down to. make sure you know see where where she's. bleeding um see if they can plug the. bleeding first then tries to create an. airway and it's just pretty graphic of. of her her her coughing up blood and.

bleeding out basically there's nothing. they could do to she died in like two. minutes but he strips her down St they. tried to save her after she tried to she. had a suicide vest on mhm because she. was still alive and what he noticed was. cuz they have to strip him down um. that's standard practice to make sure. there's no bleeding um he noticed that. she had the signs of giving birth like. she had an enlarged breast and and a. displaced stomach and so in his nods. he's he's like he does this and he saw.

her for the first time moving sparrow. and he said that there was some fire on. the structure from the kg round and so. was pretty well illuminated in his nods. and he saw something moving and it. caught his eye and he found her and um. so Mom expires pretty quickly he gets. the baby and um at the same time the. Afghan partner force is clearing the. last room in that structure and they get. engaged by another female with an rpk. and one of their guys gets shot and they. they just xfill and they leave their guy.

in there um and so he's like get back in. there and get your guy and like kicking. them back into the structure to get. their guy so they kill that other female. fighter get their guy and come out and. um he's got the baby and. [Music]. um they're Ain so the Afghan platoon. Sergeant um from the kka part A. force he's. mad like don't don't bring this baby. like like like [ __ ] throw it in the.

river like let me shoot it in the head. like we don't want her to goow up be a. foreign terrorist in our. country and like and he's coming back as. they exfill off the objective um and. they had to do that with call for fire. because they're getting effective. fire so these Afghans on the objective. they know she's foreign they they don't. want her to grow up in their country and. they're mad at our guys and can you. imagine having your own guys bleeding. you got two paralyzed dudes at this. point on stretchers and you're walking.

wounded in a casualty collection point. you got a baby that's like she was this. big like so tiny when I met her and that. was weeks afterwards that I met her but. they have the moral courage not even a. question like we're not do you know. we're not doing that like ignoring them. uh resisting them and they even had I. believe they'd handed off to their. female engagement team or whatever so. comes of that is but they had to take. him back and and have positive control. because they they were so aggressive and. wanting to dispat this little girl on.

objective and like that's the part I. don't think that you know regular. Americans know about this brutal Civil. War is that there's a lot of bad things. that happen and um you know they they. kind of they were kind of very the. Rangers were very senstive about telling. us these things initially like hey how. much do you really want to know about. this but we felt like obligated to at. least be able to pass that knowledge on. at some point uh of what happened and. you know. and and it's such a such a contrast.

between what's actually these lies on. the media like this was not an innocent. farmer our guys got blown up and shot. and had brutal close combat with like. committed terrorists who were totally. fine with killing their own families as. long as it meant obtaining their. ultimate objective of fighting us and. these guys kept pressing on even with. Wounded like like talk about a textbook. soft raid um like with with the dis even.

with casualties pushing on through the. objective and then um one of the one of. the. underscored documents that I got. released was um it says that structure. was destroyed in accordance with jtf Roe. that's like the understatement of the. century like they deliberately made sure. that no Al-Qaeda operatives were walking. out of that structure when they rolled. off the objective and so I am very. confident based on like the ordinance.

and the assets they were dropping on. that thing that no one was alive when. they left so they literally saved her. life well also add what he testified the. dog handler testified oh so so he said. he was asked at one point in all this. like what do what makes you remember. that. night and he said. I think that's the first time I was a. put a face to what evil looks. like seeing what he saw that night and.

that just struck me. because um when he he didn't find out. that that that Sparrow got out and was. safe in America until years into this. wow and um it was actually with a Google. photo Drive um that some of the doctors. and nurses put up of all her photos from. her time in in the hospital with. American forces and he commented and he. said I have always wondered what. happened to that baby he goes I am so. happy that she got out and um and so.

it's just been such an honor to be able. to share her life with these people. whose whose decisions were probably. Instinct right but to honor that. instinct for our guys because how rare. is it that that someone would bother. right no one would have said boo if they. left her no one would have said boo if. they let the Afghans do what they wanted. to do kill her but even with their in a. gunfight with their blood up and their. guys you know you know In the Heat of. the Moment with their guys on.

stretchers they still had the instinct. to protect innocent life and I mean that. is. just it's what it's all about for for. Americans to be able to have that a. warrior who can still live out our. values like that's rare and and they. displayed that that night they they push. through the objective they achieve their. mission um. like it's it's honestly heroic. stuff but um I guess they they actually.

got a little bit of flack for ringing. her back because they're like what what. are you doing right but when they. explain the situation like they got. authorized to pull her off objective and. she gets out and so we didn't know a lot. of the details until years later but we. at the time at the operational. headquarters level we were getting like. indications of warnings like hey trust. us this is really bad and so that was. one of the reasons why we were digging. into from a sja's perspective of like. what happened here this sounds bad and. uh and trying to inform decision makers. to make a better decision of a safer.

outcome but um I actually did a lot of. research at the time with this specific. Al-Qaeda group um like where do they. come from what are they about what do we. know about them and there's a lot of. Open Source out there Bill Rosio with. the U long War Journal with the. foundation for defensive democracy he. has a lot of articles about this. specific group and what was so. interesting thing is as time went on is. there started to be like this incident. happened on September 6 right and I told. you the president had canceled the peace. deal well then there were some more.

reports about these turkistani foreign. fighters in Afghanistan to the point. where the Taliban in early December. formally said that those reports are. false they're like there are no. turkistani foreign mujahadin in. Afghanistan so they specifically. disclaimed this group that she was. living proof was operating Afghanistan. in December of 2019 so all that in the. backdrop of trying to get them back to. the negotiating table and trying to get. the peace de back on track that's a.

strategic their this child's existence. this group's existence in Afghanistan at. that time was proof that the Taliban. were not abiding with their you know. commitment to not let Al-Qaeda operate. out of Afghanistan I think we all know. that now like I've seen so many shows. with with Sarah Adams and others experts. talking about Al-Qaeda running free in. Afghanistan but I I I think there's a. lot of evidence they never.

stopped. jeez so she was probably what four weeks. old yeah I think they said six weeks to. two months like somewhere in there um. she was very small she was very. undernourished at the time and so um. they stabilized her and like I said they. moved her to the main theater hospital. and she stayed there for five months and. how many injuries did she have I mean. just going through all those blasts. alone well that was what we didn't know. at the time and we had found from the.

hospital when I reached out and asked. like hey what do we know about the. injuries for this child because we were. trying to build a picture for a. commander to decide like what are the. risks for her and so you know obviously. with a fractur skull your TBI injuries. and was there any software damage in. there and will that impact her. development and then with her leg it it. still impacts her walk and so the. question was as she develops how will. that does it hurt the the growth plate. will she be able to walk normally would. surgery help with that those are kind of. the concerns that that we were worried. about and and then also just.

cosmetically trying to make sure that. that got reshaped while her skull was. still soft enough to uh mold it those. were some of the things that the. questions we were asking um both. professionally and then as we got to be. like the person on the seat who had to. volunteer to to get a visa to the US for. her those are the questions that we are. arranging Medical Care in the US for. like specifically. to evaluate and treat those concerns me. how is she now she's five and a half now. is she did any of those blast injuries.

so so fortunately it looks like her her. brain is fine um that was our biggest. concern um we had um we'll get into this. a little bit later but when she was in. you know when she was outside of us. protection there were reports that she. was shaking her her eyes were twitching. she was shaking and we were very. concerned that those were seizures it. sounded like that's what it was. describing she's been hospitalized. several times in the US to the point.

where like they took him a couple days. to stabilize her for She's Some severe. allergies to um variety of things but. especially almonds and and peanuts um. where she has like anaphylactic reaction. to it and um she also is very asthmatic. so um we you know she has an inhaler for. daily use and for emergency use and um. like I said she's been hospitalized I. think two or three times for exposure to. something we don't know necessarily what. triggers it all every time but we you.

know she gets hospitalized for it and. she can she'll get a reaction where. she's almost like drowning because she. can't expel the air from her lungs and. so she be like it sounds like she's. puffing and she from the the from as I I. have no idea it could be from I guess. that's possible you mentioned some kind. of toxic yeah from the ammonium nitrate. that's actually I never even considered. that but the Rangers have had lung. problems from that so that makes perfect. sense I never even put two and two. together but um. but regardless like I think if you.

reflect on how many times her life was. this close to death it's just staggering. because I mean she's got a leg wound. here from shrapnel and she's got some. more shrapnel down her leg but I mean. six inches higher on a baby that's only. yeah that's this far and you bleed out. she's got a skull fracture that if it's. any deeper she's dead I mean she's got. you know a a little bit to the left with. a kg round and you're done um even with. the Afghan partner Force like if if. these guys weren't committed to.

protecting. Innocents she'd be. dead like it honestly if she didn't get. it I am not confident if she had gone. through some of the medical emergencies. had in the United States that she'd have. survived if she'd remained in. Afghanistan and then I mean I think the. the elephant in the room is with the. Taliban in charge after 2021 what type. of life is that for a little girl you. don't go to school you don't go outside. you know do you get to marry who you. want none of those things can happen for. her so we're so thankful.

for for the Americans who have saved her. life at those points and for the ones. who got her out of Afghanistan and we'll. get into that a little later in the. story but how did she. interact you. today well wa I was case in point the. other day uh a woman that I knew um at. actually she she put two and two. together finally that you know like. she's my daughter and and kind of. hearing about the situation and she's.

like that's her cuz our kids played. soccer together and she's like I would. have never known and unless you see her. in a swimsuit or in a shorter pair of. shorts you the scar is telling the scar. is distinct but you would never know she. speaks perfect English she's a typical. 5-year-old little girl and and I mean it. there's moments even for me even though. we've lived this out and I've know the. story through and through there's just. moments where it really strikes you when.

you look at her and G like for instance. when I'm teaching her how to read and. how to write just how amazing it is that. she's actually here in person alive and. just for her it's just normal but she's. just a walking Testament to just how. miraculous sequence of events has you. know kept her alive and most you most. people see would never even just think. that she's she's America I've been told. that she looks like me cuz she has brown. hair and brown eyes but she's normal and. and I think that a lot of gwat vets.

could close their eyes right now and see. a face of a kid or a person a vulnerable. person and caught up in a crazy. circumstance of war that they wanted to. help tried to help couldn't help or. maybe maybe some who did but I've had so. many like grown Colonels crying in my. office like when I'm telling the story. and like that reminds me of and telling. stories about their experience. um for instance I had a a colonel uh. with the there's a there's a news. article the kids of camp eagers and. there was a suicide bombing Isis child.

but he was he was trying to seek. guardianship of an orphan that would. come and beg at their camp and you know. trying to do it but there's a lot of red. tape and he said he was um he was. introducing a new lieutenants and like. hey indicators of of something off in in. your pattern of life he was like all. these jingle trucks that one's brand new. like why is that like you should watch. for things like that and the next day. that jingle truck by driven by a. 14-year-old Isis uh suicide bomber blew. up all those kids and killed this little. girl and so like he he wanted to help.

and couldn't and like he says I don't. think I've ever told anybody that story. before and I had another like these are. hardened soft like Colonels um another. one in 2007 fua he said he had um he had. a team that was um took IDF Mor around. and they missed and they hit the. compound family compound next to them. and a little four-year-old girl girl. like took shpo to the abdomen and they. wouldn't send a medical bird cuz it. wasn't in conformance with the medical. Roe and he's like screaming at him on. the radio like send this you know if you.

don't send this I will go over black. ball and take her to the hospital ground. her back so this Colonel said like it. was his twin two two he had two twin. little girls at home that were four at. the time is and um he said it was about. the same age and so he asked for. volunteers and he got like some massart. and him and they got in a humy and went. over fua black top roads as fast as they. could rking all the IEDs and she bled. out like halfway there and so like these. are the memories are guys that are that. are have the same values as these. Rangers demonstrated I bet you that is.

so common in the war that it's not even. funny because I I probably had there's. more I could talk about like the medical. staff one of the reasons they were so. worried about her was because of their. experience with other um soft bring. backs where they'd had to shoot through. children they were being used as human. Shields to kill these terrorists and. then treat them and then return them to. the Taliban and um there was one that. stood out my mind there was a a. 12-year-old girl that had lost her hand. in a I think a farming of some sort and.

so the medical staff nursed her back to. hell for like a month and then they had. some Uncle of some sort come to the gate. and you know to claim her and 10 minutes. after the guy left they got a call hey. hey pick up come pick up the body a body. at the gate and this guy had shot this. little girl because she had no value as. an amputee as far as like marrying her. out and so these nurses and doctors who. nurse this little girl back to health. and like prepared her arm and made sure. she was as set up as she could like had. to come get her from the ECP because.

they'd shot her and so like like in. their story after Story of from these. medical personnel of like. just um like child abuse injuries they. had to treat but it was a local leader. uh and so they couldn't do anything. about it they couldn't there was no. criminal prosecution like to the point. where they're they're putting a titanium. skull in a four-year-old cuz he got his. head beat in by by uh by some of these. practices and and again that's not. saying it's across the board but it.

happens and it was happening regular. enough where these people were very. concerned and so. when back in time when I reached down to. the hospital it's like hey we're looking. at looking at trying to get a legal path. to the US they were like we are all in. to find a safe outcome for her like we. believe we're morally and ethically. obligated to try to find a long-term. safe outcome and that's kind of how we. got then so our code name for her was. Sparrow but the medical staff it was. starfish and it was based on a poem or a.

book where there's a little boy walking. along the ocean and he's bending down. he's picking up a starfish and he's. throwing it back into the ocean and he. keeps doing it over and over and a adult. comes over and says you know why are you. doing this can't you see the beach is. filled with starfish you can't possibly. make a difference and the boy bends down. picks up another another starfish and. throws it into the ocean and he says. well it made a difference for that one. and so she they called her starfish.

because she was the unique one that they. could help in this war and all of the. terrible things that they were seeing. come through the doors she was the one. with the unique set of circumstances. that they could actually help this one. and so I mean we've had dozens of. medical staff come after they found out. that she got out safely tell us stories. I mean I I've I've recorded some of the. phone calls just because I want her to.

hear it one day of how loved she was by. hundreds of people not just us I mean. hundreds of people one with one man he. was crying on the phone he's like I. can't believe she made it out and he's. like I used to hold her at night because. the I guess the female uh nurses were. stressed by her crying so much because. of her injury. early on she was she cried a lot and so. he said I he I never took care of babies. never changed a diaper in my life and I. was like I'll hold her and so he would.

hold her because he had the night shift. and he would hold her and watch movies. or do his college classes and just hold. her in his arms the whole time and so. he's like and like Joshua mentioned. there's so many people like I've always. wondered what happened to that baby and. like her in particular and so like. Joshua said it's you know all sudden. were getting the attention but it was it. was across the board everyone that heard. about her they they were motivated to do.

whatever they could to help give her a. better future and a safe outcome and. she's loved by hundreds of people like I. said like we are so proud of our our. participation in her story but it's not. really us it's really all these unsung. people that contributed to her life and. safety at that moment in time and I mean. honestly we felt obligated to honor that. and keep moving that forward and and so. how that what that looked like at the at.

the operational headquarters level was. okay to get a person to a country you. have to have a Visa right so after we we. talked about the the US policy change. the administration said you know acting. a child's best interest that's that's a. no-brainer right try to get her back to. the. States the in US forces of Afghanistan. moved forward smartly and did that. and um I talked to about the embassy. initially trying to to to um Ambush us. and destroy that effort early on making. a fate comple did you ever find out why.

so so my Deputy sja as a Navy commander. and he is in he was a reservist on a. year deployment to Afghanistan and he. had a intelligence background worked for. the house intelligence committee as an. attorney in h his civilian job and so he. was actually involved in the. negotiations with the Talan in the room. like describing how this is going. with the Taliban what they want and how. they're reacting and he's like briefing. us tonight so we have like a front row. seat of what's happening in Doha like on. a regular basis he happened to be back.

you know because there's there was. multiple rounds of these negotiations so. he tried to go and like make peace with. the embassy like what is the deal. because it was very difficult for us. understand like why they're on a. different wavelength than we were and so. he's like ma'am like so he met with her. again he's like man' like I sense some. hostility in the last meeting like. what's going on and he person told me. this he's like she said we really didn't. appreciate you going over our heads to. the. administration and so we're like sorry. we were trying to take care of the.

child's like you know safety you know. that type of thing and so they basically. left it as we're not going to help you. the embassy's perspective was we're not. going to help you but we won't get in. your way and so DOD was lead for months. after that and we were working to get a. Visa so now before we were advocating. for her when it became here's the task. from the administration. to you know make make make a longterm. safe outcome for this child we we did. that and the first thing was a Visa and. so what do you do if you need a visa you. talk to US citizenship and immigration.

services and they can issue a advanced. parole visa and so it's it's ironically. it's what she entered the country on. with 120,000 other Afghans or however. many actually came to the states they. were all paroled into the United States. under humanitarian parole well there's. an advanced humanitarian parole and. that's what we were seeking to get but. there's there's some basic requirements. and this is where it was pretty. miraculous that we were able to to to be. involved because we have the skill set. to to track down all this administrative.

requirements. so to get a a humanitarian parole visa. for medical care to get into the United. States you have to have a certain. certain things first is a financial. sponsor under Federal immigration law. you can't be a burden on the government. the tax dollars can't pay for you to be. here so you have to have someone that. signs on the dotted line says I will pay. for this person I will cover their cost. and so we volunteered like that's easy. we'll cover the costs um for medical. care you actually have to have it a. doctor have it scheduled and paid for so.

we're like how are we going to do this. like it's a Jane do baby off of. objective and I'm I'm talking to USS. like hey crazy situation you know you. this is me this is what we got we've got. a a Jane do Al-Qaeda infant with a. fractured skull it's not safe here in. Afghanistan for child trafficking. purposes and lack of medical care and. and there's often a Prejudice for for. foreigners in this country and um and so. they're all like well like you basically.

get a list of bureaucratic requirements. and we were just knocking off those. lists like go to your Authority ask them. what we need to do they tell us what you. do and then you go work it and. so I'm literally on the phone with the. head of the humanitarian Affairs Branch. great guy like really compassionate for. refugees and does a a lot of great work. but he's like well you need a name for. the Visa like how am I going to get a. name for this little girl like and I'm. I'm just figuring it out right this is. this is our office's task we're all.

working it they're so my the the larger. office is negotiating with the Afghans. to be like yeah that's fine send her to. the US it happens before with other kids. from other strikes it's not like. uncommon but kind of more of like a face. saving thing not a actual requirement. it's just like managing good relations. but we're giving your country away to. the Taliban anyway so you know it's kind. of in that context. so how do we get a name so we had had. another American Attorney Kim Motley who. is by the way an American hero I I'll. get into her a little bit later with.

what she did in the fall of Afghanistan. but she literally saved hundreds of. lives like she should be getting the. presidential medal of freedom to be. honest with you but Kim Motley had. volunteered based on her experience in. the Afghan legal system to act as a. guardian ad lium which is if for folks. who don't know that's a court court. appointed representative to look at the. child's best interest and no one else's. now they don't have that same concept in. Afghanistan so it was like a voluntary. um like self-appointed but our office. was working with her to get a safe.

outcome she had tried to get documents. for her ask the Afghan government no. response right nobody wants to take on. the risk they view it as a foreign child. and like it's kind of terrorism me so. they don't want to touch it um so we're. like how else do we get a name and then. in addition to that is how do I arrange. for medical care for a minor child in. the United States. I don't have any authority to act for. her the government doesn't like how who. can authorize surgery on a child who can. authorize you know an. MR [ __ ] and so like I'm going through.

like my wheelhouse right like I don't. know the answer but I'm a lawyer and I'm. going to research it and find out and so. it has to be a guardian it has she has. to have a name well a court can appoint. a name right there aren't any courts in. the in in in this this area of. Afghanistan is controlled by the Taliban. for most of the war right I mean if you. go up there you're going to get a. gunfight so um uh with the operational. realities on the ground we're like okay. well let's see if we can get emergency. legal custody and she's not afghan with.

have high strength intelligence that. she's not. Afghan this group is no kind of nomadic. turkistan usbekistan. Tajikistan and western China like. they're from that region right A lot of. them been fighting in Syria and Iraq we. don't know exactly where she was born. maybe in Afghanistan maybe in Pakistan. before or maybe in turkistan before they. crossed the border we don't no so the. best argument was she's known foreign. Afghanistan doesn't have Birthright. citizenship most countries don't so. you're not automatically a citizen uh.

and statelessness is a huge problem in. Afghanistan because of all the you know. the idps and such that people don't have. documentation citizenship or they don't. have citizenship so we're like okay well. the best category for her that she fits. into is stateless and she's in the. custody of the United States and like. terrorist attain and GMO have basic. rights so let's Advocate let's make the. argument that she's a stateless minor in. the cust United States and so we uh we.

got we were authorized to declassify. this stuff and use it in the court. system and we did and um the next day so. we we argue that she is a stateless. minor in US Government custody she's a. victim of terrorism like in this crazy. situation and that no other state would. have jurisdiction over her and based on. the evidence the judge like the evidence. that they were moving every 30 days they. were known to go over. multi-jurisdictional boundaries like. over National borders the judge agreed.

with that assessment they found these. facts in a in a ruling um so we were uh. then her Guardians right so now I can. arrange an appointment at the University. of Virginia uh Medical Center and they. have a world renown like pediatric Ward. so we set her up like the whole nine. yards a treatment plan her doctor we we. gave her doctor her medical record from. from uh DOD we got everything set up for. her to come back and like it's looking. like she's coming back like to the point.

where we bought a crib and we were ready. to go and I was considering dropping out. of my final semester to be ready to take. on a child was what we were assuming was. special needs that she'd have needing. ongoing Medical Care and so I'm updating. my commander my Colonel every time like. like the day after this this is is. granted we update the Chrome they say. I'm going to I'm going to get a. registered as a DOD dependent now. because there's a guardian you can add. them on your as your. dependent I'm talking to headquarters. Marine Corps on the phone like like I'm.

in Afghanistan at 3 in the morning my. time talking to headquarters Marine. Corps dependency branch and they. formally Grant her I have the documents. downstairs like like they formally add. her as my dependent and in the meantime. we also got her a certificate of foreign. birth because in Virginia there's this. there's a they had contemplated that. foreign children um being adopted in in. Virginia might need a birth certificate. cuz some sometimes from third world. countries you don't have that. documentation and so there's a way where.

you can apply for that and so we did and. we got it and so we have a name it says. unknown uh birthplace unknown parents or. or it unknown birth place citizenship. unknown and then us as her parents and. so we provided that documentation and. the court order to the uh Marine Corp. dependency branch which is the. authorized like agency official to make. those determinations fully known we're. in Afghanistan my wife was on the phone. with them I'm I'm calling from Cabell. and they they add her as our dependent.

so that provided a way to guarantee. payment right now she's eligible for tri. care so I've I have the legal authority. to arrange Healthcare we do that and. it's literally just to get the visa. right somebody had to do it uh we were. in the seat we had a short time frame so. we did that and then um ironically um. and this is the crazy crazy part is when. we were going to get a birth certificate. we had a guardianship order we are legal. Guardians under us law we go Stephie.

goes to the um Vital Statistics Vital. Statistics office in Richmond Virginia. and they say we don't agree with the. judge's interpretation of this statute. we're not going to issue you this birth. certificate and we're like we have to. have this birth certificate because they. said it's a requirement for the Visa we. have a name from the court order we have. a birth certificate as an identity. document to apply for this humanitarian. parole visa and they're like well you. know we don't we don't agree with his. interpretation we don't think it fits. the statute and so my brother is an.

attorney not a family law attorney but. is an attorney and so he's engaging with. them and the legal adviser for the uh. vital Statics office is the Virginia. Attorney General's office and so he's. talking to the Attorney General's office. like really like you're not going to. issue like here's why we need this we. need this for a Visa we need a name and. a and a identity document and she has. none and they're like well we would. prefer if the judge issues an adoption. order because we think that complies. with the.

statute so we're like so you want us to. apply to adopt this child and the judge. to do it they're like yes so we did like. it wasn't even our idea like I honestly. I I didn't even contemplate that um so. she so they so we file for adoption the. Attorney General of Virginia recommends. the judge granted under the. circumstances because you know there's a. lot of uh background that she's. stateless and these were terrorists etc. etc and so they issue this stuff and I. provide it to my command like just I'm.

I'm I am doing it by the book for a. crazy situation right because um I think. my personal philosophy is I will always. try to be administrative correct correct. and morally right but if it's going to. come down between the two of them I'm. going to be morally right and uh we'll. try to make this fit because rules or. administrative rules are are often can't. contemplate the crazy situations in life. and so that's why we are a. principle-based institution in in the. military we we operate on principles of. like the you know life liberty and.

pursuit of happiness Constitution. protects those things we live out those. values and then we have all these rules. to help us do that but sometimes those. conflict in a crazy situation and this. was one of those things it was. unprecedented to have this happen and. and here's the Lynch pin of the whole. thing if the US military's 19-year-old. multi-billion dollar intelligence. gathering apparatus is. correct there's no case to be talking. about right now she is a stateless child.

she is her her origin was an Al-Qaeda. foreign fighter like there's I have. never seen evidence in five years to to. even suggest that that wasn't the. case and so I think the reality is that. we're facing is the embassy and we'll. talk about how they did it but they. literally gave this child after she'd. been recognized as our daughter by DOD. after she'd been added as a dependent. and issued an ID card after she had an. insurance and a full ride to the US like.

set up with no one and nothing before. that claiming her they handed her over. to what's turned out to be non-relative. terrorist Affiliated folks and I think. that that is Kryptonite for these. bureaucrats because they never thought. that some low-level officer would be. bble to still get her out of Afghanistan. at some point and I didn't think that. either like that was an absolute miracle. that she got out and got safe during the. evacuation but I don't think they ever.

thought they'd be held accountable for. what they did to this little girl but. for us 18 months before Afghanistan fell. we had a little. microcosm of the the little value they. place on human life over whatever. bureaucratic policy they're working at. that time and their worldview keeps. bumping into reality and very painful. ways for real people on the ground and. we saw that with people falling off c7s. in Afghanistan we've seen that in people. you know uh at best if they're lucky.

wasting away in lilypad countries trying. to get to the states and people who've. gone to war with us people have gone to. combat with us people are in danger. because of our commitments to them and. um I think we saw micros that really. early like I never thought that she. would get turned over in the way she did. and it was it ended up being two days. before the peace was announced she got. dumped to what I think was Taliban. proxies coming forward to falsely claim. it and the reason I think that is in my.

board of inquiry a colonel testified and. we had asked for this Colonel. authorization to testify for three years. and were. denied and he testified that they had. six to eight false claimants come. forward and they DNA tested them. negative testing for all of them so they. they these were non-f family members. coming forward out of the Boones to. claim a child and the question is why. why would six to8 people who are not.

relatives of the child come forward and. I think the best answer to that. is what was the Taliban. strategic what was their number one. priority right then in Afghanistan in in. September to March of 2019 2020 what was. their goal is to get the US to leave. right and what the conditions on the P. de was that that the soil of Afghanistan. would not be used by Al-Qaeda and she's. living proof that they're violating.

that and then I I think if you also. think strategically from the embassy's. perspective president Trump had made a. decision that this was a bad deal and he. canceled it and he said he tweeted how. many more decades you want to fight I I. was sitting in the chat hle when that. went on the news and I was like huh. that's awesome right because I saw I I. saw this car bombing this is a guy with. kids at home he got shredded by ball. bearings for no strategic purpose it was. just a middle finger from the Taliban. and I I think the president rightly said.

this is a bad deal and killed it and. then both the embassy and the Taliban. want to get this done right and I don't. think in with with history as in. retrospect it was a bad deal does. anybody think that that went well like. does anybody think that made our country. safe does anybody think that that made. Afghanistan stable not a safe haven for. for the Taliban and I'm not saying stay. there forever and I'm not advocating for. forever Wars but I'm saying that wasn't. the abandoning the total abandonment of.

Afghanistan was not the plan in 2019. they were going to leave task force. behind and they were going to do a. counterterrorism mission and mow the. grass because I was sent to study that. withdrawal that was my mission is how do. we transfer all these assets to the. Afghans how do we make this stable and. um really it wasn't until. spring of 2021 and I happened to talk to. our J J leaon they're like no man. they're pulling everybody I'm like what. like you're pulling everybody like. they're pulling task force because I was.

sitting in the new camp Vance that they. were building adjacent to cabal airport. for the soft to operate out of till the. cows come home and kill Al-Qaeda and um. so I I think that you know looping this. back both the embassy and the Taliban. were dealing with a president who. doesn't get pushed around and and they. were both pedaling a bad deal like the. embassy was doing it for the American. people and the Taliban was doing it to. get us out of Afghanistan and um I I. think if the you know who knows but a.

living proof that this Al-Qaeda group is. still operating in Afghanistan and and. here's a here's an interesting fact for. your audience the Taliban was in these. on this objective the next morning. filming a propaganda video and they. released it a couple days later it's. it's on Twitter you can go find it um. and they're you know accusing the. typical like accusing of war crimes you. only killed women and children Etc and. they show some bodies and it's sad right. like like the human cost of war is sad. but they have Chinese looking bodies. like little kids look they look Asian.

distinctly um you have guys wearing. Arabic scar like red check scarves like. very looks looks like Syria to me like. that's not the Afghan scarf check. pattern right um they have black flags. um but what the message these propaganda. videos are saying is the Americans have. bombed local people farmers local people. yeah and you're in the middle of nowhere. Afghanistan why would you feel the need. to emphasize that these are local people. and farmers in like literally the dead.

center of Southern Afghanistan and and I. think that messaging and then a month. later they say there are no turkistani. forign mujahadin in Afghanistan and like. they are very keyed into the fact that. this deal just got blown up and they. want to get back to the negotiating. table and that was the directive for s. at the time was bleed them back to the. negotiating table and we were doing it. they wanted to get back and and. negotiate with us so I I guess all that. I think.

that was that was she the leading you. know thought in their mind no but she. was An Inconvenient Truth for both sides. both the embassy and the. Taliban when when did you first meet her. was it in the oh probably mid October I. got to go down on a rotator to bogram. and um spend a couple days down there on. some other project I can't remember what. was was oh I think it might have been. visiting parwan but yeah I got to hold. her for the first time and it it makes. all a difference because seeing a case. in paper like just reading about it in.

emails like when you're holding this. little life and you're like what is. going to happen like we're leaving. Afghanistan this is going to go south. like I'm thinking you know not even with. the hindsight of history but at the time. going like what's going to happen when. we leave right there's going to be a. Civil War at a minimum and uh you know. just a. you know borderline genocide this would. end up happening but um you know holding. her like that it just her so vulnerable. like you felt obligated to protect if.

you could and and and so I mean the. commander of task force medical. Afghanistan um I named my fourth son. after him because he he was the model of. empathy and like he risked his career. advocating like hey we can't we're. morally obligated to DNA test and. terrorist fet for this child like you. cannot like I have as a doctor can't. abide by this like to the point he was. getting warned he's going to get fired. from a two star who thought it was a. distraction and uh like he he would hold.

the hands of dying service members like. made sure that none of our guys died. alone like that's the caliber of person. this man is like physically fit just. everything you want in a leader like um. and and that's not off that not always. the case in the medical core but like. this guy I I so admire him who brought. her home uh. that's a long so she was despite all of. that despite uh Senator Cruz advocating. for her different um folks trying to get. her home the embassy reported.

falsely. that the Afghans didn't want to do a DNA. test and that they had confirmed that. there was family that's what they. reported they just came up with this. yeah well so um actually no they didn't. just come up with this that's what they. reported came out a meeting on December. 31st 2019 they said they met with this. senior Child Protection specialist who's. a low-level like decision maker in a in. an Afghan Ministry at the.

time we worked for two years to get that. guy out of a lily pad country and you. know when he got in the country three. days before my board of inquiry that's. when he arrived in America and that was. the only time he felt safe to share the. other side of the story and so in our. Board of inquiry he testified that at. that meeting he asked the embassy to do. a DNA test cuz they had nothing no. corroboration it was a just a bare claim. this guy said he was an uncle and he's. like we didn't even have an uh a Tesa.

their national ID card like their birth. certificate he goes we didn't have we. had nothing the only thing we had was. DNA and uh the embassy declined to do it. we had committed like I've got the. emails downstairs saying we will we will. DNA test like DOD will DNA test um any. claimants any potential family to. confirm a DNA match cuz like that's. basic safety um and then if there was a. match the the plan was to explain her. medical needs and offer to send her to.

the US for medical care that was the. plan because we knew she had no. immediate family members a liive because. they were dead um but the the the. embassy reporting out of that meeting. that DNA testing wasn't part of the. Afghan process and they had confirmed. family and in fact they had no evidence. this claim wow was related at all and it. turns out he wasn't in documentary. evidence this guy said he was related to. someone he claimed was a father this it. was an elderly I I I say Talib Elder.

because he's got a big black turban and. he looks like a Taliban you know Elder. I've got a picture of. him and when I saw that photo we we. found her uh outside of the government. later but when I saw this guy I was like. they gave her to the Taliban like it. just screams it and um. and you know we'll get a little bit more. into some government misconduct but this. same Embassy person in all of our. litigation has filed statements saying.

that oh like trying to make it look like. they had processed this like the right. way or that the Red Cross was involved. like I've got an email. downstairs um with your people from the. from the Red Cross to this Afghan Child. Protection specialist like three days. before she was supposed to get turned. over to them and they're like hey could. you please identify who this person is. the Red Cross had no idea who she was. going to and they have the department of. justice under the previous. administration has filed like filings in.

lawsuits saying the Red Cross was. involved it's like well if that's true. how come they're asking for her identity. like two days before you're supposed to. to to put her out of us custody with no. vetting at all and then this guy um we. have we acquired his phone number at. some point. and then you know you plug in a if you. plug in like a lot of vets know like. WhatsApp and and uh signal you know we. all use those things it has a profile. picture that pops up guess what's on.

this guy's profile. picture well it's a little Taliban flag. and it's a little placard bragging that. the Taliban is coming to hear his like. grandson or something in their home. Village three miles from the objective. uh recite the Quran which like whatever. it's your culture fine but if you got a. flag of of the Taliban flag over map of. Afghanistan on your profile picture I. kind of think that you're probably. sympathetic that way like yeah and. um there there's a whole series of. indicators that we'll get into a little. bit later as we go to how she got out of.

Afghanistan because that's that's. literally a like the second half of the. story um we're probably finishing with. how she got turned over but. basically because of the state. Department's position was we don't want. to impact the peace deal um the a. colonel testified that um the Taliban. negotiators had mentioned this situation. um I don't know if that's true I don't. have firsthand knowledge of that um and. so it was. this um series of what Hal truuth that.

they were able to iio campaign the. administration to be like oh well like. nobody wants to like oh take her away. from family that's safe and oh maybe. we're just wrong but the embassy had. never looked at this classified Intel. and we weren't able the the colonel from. the Pentagon I I mentioned earlier that. came inest our Board of. inquiry um he said they independently. corroborated everything we had. Declassified sent them they went and. talked to Ranger regiment and verified. all that with their targeting system of.

the Pentagon he said yeah we knew where. they were from in turkistan where they. were moving him from like High Fidelity. who these people were and where they. came from and so uh he mentioned to me. um he struck he said I will go to my. grave thinking that these were uh. Al-Qaeda terrorists that were uh uh. moving through the region from tur Manan. he goes there's nothing that would. suggest otherwise and but at the same. time and this is big picture at the same. time we have the previous. administration's Department of Justice.

filing Court filing. saying her parents were innocent farmer. killed in a crossfire with zero evidence. like the eyewitnesses say she blew. herself up and you know her suicide V. was partly detonated we have the doj. saying the icrc was involved and we have. uh like I can I can give you 50 examples. but I've got a couple for your your team. where they're redacting what we knew at. the time from from the traffic because.

what they'd rather do is they go after a. junior officer like a fairly low LEL. officer and attack your credibility and. say no no the embassy was you know doing. safe and uh uh there was nothing to see. here basically and I don't think they. they thought they'd ever be have be in a. position where I can prove in court that. you lying and you did this to this. little girl um but they're in that. position now and so that's why they've s. you know to gag you and to shut you up. and over classify things so that the.

truth of what actually happened and how. dangerous it was and how like it's it's. child abuse what they did to this little. girl and like she has become our. daughter we've had her for years like. she has no idea any of this ever. happened but it's not right from a. national perspective that this should. have happened no one should have to go. through what she's gone through and what. we've had to go through as a result like. we were telling the truth from day one. we're telling the truth now and if they. release that that intelligence if they.

release the video footage of this combat. like our guys aren't war criminals on. objective they're not fighting innocent. farmers do civilians die in war yes they. do but that's the result of terrorists. who bring their families Along on Jihad. to come fight us like that's a sad. reality of War but that's not our gu. so I do I will Circle back at some point. and then talk about like the period from. when she was dumped before the peace. deal to how she got out of Afghanistan. because that was this incredible story.

but um I think it's very important to. focus. on what the embassy. knew and why they did that like uh well. I guess a better question. is why didn't they know this Intel why. didn't they DNA test like a DNA test. it's the most biometrically enrolled. Society on earth like we we have we have. a lab set up that does it in 4 days I. have her DNA swab the dod did in.

December of 2019 I have it. downstairs like we had her DNA we tested. six or eight other people why was this. person on DNA tested and what's my real. concern is did they know it was a. negative test when they dumped her like. I'd like to know that like did did State. know these people were not family when. they handed her off or just assume that. risk because what happened next was we. found out that they were going to to not. vet whoever should be turned over to and. so we actually as a captain we sued in.

federal court to try to prevent that. from happening saying you cannot do this. in an objectively dangerous manner based. on everything we know her she's a. foreign Fighter's child and that you're. likely turning over to non-relative. terrorist Affiliated like you can go. look up the court case like it says that. and and it said all the risk factors it. said who this the turkistan Islamic. party was and some of these pictures of. children in their training camps like we. were we f it under seal because we. didn't want to put any Americans at risk.

because we were still had troops on the. ground. but it it was just basically what the. presumption was from dod's perspective. that this was a foreign child the whole. time and there was literally nothing to. contradict that some Rando claiming a a. familiar relationship and with children. having value as. is chatt essentially like like does. anyone on baby and trolling around in. rural Afghanistan I bet you get people. claiming just offering a child because. they're valuable um and we were getting.

reports at the time in Cabell of the. conditions on the ground like we're. getting reports they were eating cats. and dogs that they were selling the like. some of their younger children to pay. for food through the winter for the. other so like the conditions in. Afghanistan at that time were really bad. like I'm having the docs telling me this. stuff and I'm going and researching it. to corroborate it and I'm like holy cow. and so like then as you. become I guess once once we volunteered.

and a judge says hey you're responsible. for this child like it was totally a. Good Samaritan like volunteer like like. regular American do the right thing type. of thing but once the judge says you're. responsible I mean we are not it's like. your oath like you know it's like when I. when I raise my hand and I swear to. uphold the Constitution United States. against all en foreign domestic I mean. that with every fiber might be and when. a judge says you're responsible with. this child you're their protector Your. Guardian your parent like we that that's.

not a light thing to us like it's just. like any other o I've ever taken in my. life to my marriage to my country like. we're going to go after that with. everything we got and that's why we sued. the Secretary of Defense like do you. think that's a comfortable moment I mean. we were terrified right I'm thinking. this is career SU side but I can't sleep. at night if she's put in a Harm's Way. again yeah and and like who knows like. if this if this is some and we believe. that they were totally Anonymous to the. US government like they didn't even know.

who they were I think they may have had. a name they didn't have an ID but our. understanding was she was being. basically laundered through the Red. Cross so that they maintain combat and. Immunity and then she was just taken to. Southern Afghanistan geez and and and. here let me tell you what that meant to. people who raised her so this flag FL. was flown on I think it was 28 February. let me get the right date so I don't. mess this up because I this is important. for your audience to understand so this. is an American flag certificate and it. says flown on 28 February 2020 in honor.

of and I won't don't zoom in too much. because I'm not supposed to talk about. her name but it says uh let it let it be. known that the flag accompanying this. certificate was flown in the face of the. enemy and bears witness to the removal. of terrorist forces threatening the. freedom of the United States of America. it was flown with great honor and pride. over the AR soldiers of Craig joint. theater Hospital bger Mayfield. Afghanistan during Operation Freedom. Sentinel and North Atlantic Treaty. organizations Resolute support mission. where each day Americans fought the. global war on terrorism in remembrance.

of all who have lost their lives and it. says you will never be forgotten because. they thought she was. dead and then every single of the two. different iterations on deployment of. medical personnel the ones that were. still there every one of them signed the. back of this thing oh wow and they they. drafted this poem basically saying. thanks for trying to us and I got this. after she got dumped with like a fishing. the sea gone um anonymously in in. Afghanistan in a war zone and and the. colonel at the board uh testified that.

it was and and that's what we've come up. against is that it was almost like we. are just these Lone Rangers acting. outside of yeah that's the narrative. that has been put out there but the. reality is is he said that it was dood. policy until it wasn't and all of a. sudden there was a stark there was a. very distinct shift and also it was shut. down and he said in the meeting with the. general that basically decided that she. was going to be turned over that it was. the most unprofessional dress down if.

you want to say that yeah that that was. the testimony is that he' never observed. such an unprofessional meeting where. they basically got shut down called. racist for believing basic intelligence. that everybody had believed the whole. time saying like we have some serious. credibility questions about anyone. coming forward and claiming this. particular child plus it was in a city. 100 miles away from the objective to um. so I I can talk about this CU. Declassified there was a civil Affairs. officer at the time on the joint staff. at Resolute support uh and she came and.

testified against us in the board and it. was so fascinating to watch because uh. like she had her her little prepared. portion of her her uh testimony and then. my attorneys were able to question her. and you know what she testified to she. said that they did DNA on on our. daughter and that I think she described. USC and a couple other like other tribes. in the northern stands like the. countries north of Afghanistan. consistent with. that and that just blew my mind because.

they gave her to poshon speaking. poshes what and they have her like she. testified that they had done their DNA. and then we had Declassified the. language that we were picking up in Sig. like it's turkman right like it's a very. distinct non-native language like we are. we got be classified for a purpose purp. right um so they gave them to a. different race of people who speak a. different language and maybe after they. DNA tested them negatively so like it's. just mindboggling to me and then um we.

the one thing i' have wanted to ask the. Civil Affairs officers like hey did you. ever read the Declassified Mission. summary did you ever read the classified. underlying intelligence and she's like. no um the the Afghans didn't ask for. that so we didn't we didn't look at it. and I'm thinking like she was actually. came across as angry at these regular. Americans abut for for caring enough to. ask the question like why are we doing. this like what's going to happen to this. baby like it was like some sort of like.

a distraction and um well at the board. she testified she was one of the first. people to testify and I was one of the I. guess one of the last and what was. surprising in her testimony is she. referred to our daughter as an Afghan. issue or I think it Point she even said. problem and it was the attitude was it. was like this is a distraction and I. thought she was maybe mad at us for what. we did to advocate for her but really it.

was across the D footprint like the. medical footprint she and some other Bad. actors found it disturbing that people. were becoming emotionally attached or. they actually cared about her and so. enough to get baby supplies and do. everything that they did to basically. love on this little child while she was. in their care and so she saw it as a. distraction and be something to be done. away with and and so when it became it. was my turn to testify I was sure I that.

was for the first time because I've. always wondered why did why couldn't. people see where we were coming from. like to me it was just a Natural Choice. to advocate for an innocent child but it. was at the board that I saw that it was. a it was a fun fundamental difference in. philosophy or if you want to say. worldview is that we believed that life. innocent life should be protected and. and advocated for if you can and they. were coming from the perspective that it. was an inconvenience or a distraction.

and just to do away with it it was. another issue and that was The Clash. that was the conflict was there was one. side of the camp that was saying hey. this child deserves our protection and. then the other side is saying no this is. this child doesn't really it's. meaningless it it doesn't have any. anything to affects so just do away with. it and what I testified they asked if. perhaps you know our motives were. ethnocentric or why were we doing what. we're doing and and and I said well I.

said As Americans we believe in life. liberty the pursuit of happiness and we. believe that every human being deserves. that and so we were operating and every. all of our actions up till this very day. has been to advance that for her and if. there's people that out there that. disagree with that then I can agree to. disagree because I know what we did and. we can go to bed at night with a clear. conscience before God and man because we. did what was right and the the.

certificate and everything it it was not. just us it was many people yeah and uh. this is what the the colonel wrote in. that certificate he said the enclosed. flag was flown over Craig joint theater. Hospital on 28th February 2020 The. Darkest Day of my one-year deployment to. Afghanistan my intent was to fly the. American flag in celebration of her day. of rescue instead the flag was flown to. help us remember a baby that had. profound positive impact on every member. of Mya trauma Hospital a true butterfly. effect and then.

he he told us that they had grief. counselors there because so many people. were so shook up about this and they. actually had the personal security. detail of one of the two stars come down. to ensure they didn't physically resist. turning her over to these people and so. the question is if was if this was a. good so to who. so the icrc physically flew her to the. location but they didn't actually invol. in vetting whoever she was being turned. over to it was a bare bar claim like hey. I'm an uncle that was the level of.

detail they had and they had some local. people saying you know Joe is who Joe. says he is like as a pseudonym but uh. there was no corroboration of the claim. and it actually turns out to have been. false from the Geo it was a lie but the. question is is what we've if if it was. okay that's one was when I heard this. Colonel that testified at the board of. inquir when I heard like how he. described her turnover it was like if. they were doing the right thing and they. had found family and they knew that she. was going to have a safe outcome or she.

was going to be okay why would they. bring down armed guards and basically. tell everybody stand down you're not. going to do anything this is what's. going to happen if why would they be. concerned about a resistance among. service members if what they were doing. was on the up and up and M and right and. in reality they threatened them told. them to stand down and told them this is. what's going to happen and then had. grief counselors on the back end and. like we said we've had so many people. come out of the woodwork saying I I was.

so devastated and I've always wondered. what would happen to her to the point. where they hoped that she would have. died because they knew that her life. like she was just destined to a. miserable. life and there's there's some there's. some just tragic text messages I have. for team from the general while this is. happening saying like we have DNA we're. morally and ethically obligated to do. this why aren't we doing this and um I I. agree with him I'd like to know that. question is if the Afghans asked the.

embassy to do DNA why didn't we do it. like and if not like who made that. decision was it the deputy chief of. mission because that person should get. fired and when all this broke in America. 3 years later she was up for a uh. ambassadorship and she was being vetted. for that and so get this this is just. this will show you where this person is. coming from during all this she's she's. filing affidavits against Court saying. like this was all by the book you know.

essentially nothing to see here. um at that time this senior Child. Protection specialist this Afghan was in. a third country not safe in danger of. being deported he reaches out to the. deputy chief of mission and he says an. attorney has reached out and asked me to. participate in this case in her. case um what should I do so what do you. think the deputy chief of mission tells. him she says I wouldn't respond if. they're really an attorney they'll.

they'll uh she advises him not to. participate he's the only person on. Earth who can say no that didn't happen. in that meeting and he did in my board. but he is the only person on Earth who. can contradict what this person uh. represented to her own agency and to the. Trump Administration about confirming. family and the Afghans you know it. wasn't I think the the Hal truth or the. lie was it wasn't part of the Afghan. process well that's because they're. asking you to do it they're asking you. personally to DNA test his child and we.

have a ACME Lab at BAM that does it in. three days and we already have her Swap. and they had actually sent one of these. people out of the woodwork in. Afghanistan to get DNA tested so like. that's what he tolds him I've got it in. an email downstairs where he's asking. the embassy like this person that says. that there's a surviving sibling we now. want to do the DNA test and then there's. this non-descript response from the. embassy and then they get them in person. and they say don't talk to the dod. anymore are you serious yeah they they. they suck they get an order from the two.

star that no one in US 4A will advocate. for this child I've got a I've got the. order it's a draft it hasn't been it. wasn't signed it was a verbal order he. never signed but it was you will not. advocate for this child all questions. list will go to the Embassy and. so something else happened that's very. important for your viewers to understand. when we threatened to Sue there was a. Hold by the Secretary of Defense on her. movement like they were going to they. were going to move from February 11th. 2020 and they ended up not moving her to.

the 27th and so we thought okay we've. succeeded they're going to do a DNA test. they're going to vet these people right. um to make sure that that this is safe. outcome and so we thought we succeeded. we didn't end up filing that lawsuit. until we found out they they were. ignoring it and just going to go forward. with it but that was because the Afghan. quote government and I air quote that. for a reason sent two demand letters in. perfect English to the Embassy and US.

forces Afghanistan and it was the intent. of those letters was to rush the. administration's decision-making cycle. and guess who you think who do you think. drafted those emails or those letters we. came through this afghan that we've now. got to the US safely he's like oh yeah. the embassy drafted this and send it to. us on WhatsApp so that we could send. back to them so you've got this Embassy. drafting letters reportedly in the name. of the Afghan government during a. discussion about what's the right thing. to do here to rush the decision-making.

cycle of their own. government I've got the. drafts holy [ __ ] yeah and so then. they're filing affidavits in court. saying oh well the Afghan government. demanded this to happen and it's it's. bogus uh deep state. ridiculous uh I I I don't know it makes. me angry as an American. manipulation the the people at the. embassy have the like the after actions.

reports from meeting where I was. supposed to brief them they left that. meeting without it and they were like. yeah you you know their their philosop. DOD was lead for months they said we're. not going to get in your way but we're. not going to help and then they got in. our way and killed it and and it was. totally bogus. and to the point where I just don't I. don't I don't understand. why why why why were. they why would they not allow you to.

take custody what was the what was the. big or what is the. big what's the why I understand what the. administration because they were. believing the embassy when they said. that there was you know they didn't want. to do I'm not talking to the y like what. is I honestly piss that you went over. their head to an extent that we've heard. that and then the other thing like I. said with the woman that I testified at. the board they they didn't like that.

service members were getting attached or. they they were caring enough like for. about this like that's not the mission. this is a distraction do away with it. like literally it was like it the. problem the issue it was just problem. yeah it was just very wipe our hands. wipe our hands it and walk away I mean. why would we expect differently they did. the same thing with child rape on our. bases for a decade like why would we. expect different like that's the. Paradigm where like you've got a you. know it's kind of been a struggle for. the heart and soul of the Department of.

Defense and the Armed Forces is like are. we going to live out our values or are. we going to be like Jack booted thugs or. robots who do these you know whatever. you're told like these bureaucrats would. fit seamlessly in like the Third Reich. and doing whatever they're told to do. and and I think as constitutional. officers as as members who you know. support and defend the Constitution. we're obligated to live out our values. downrange and when we don't I think that. really has strategic implications uh. we're we're supposed to be a city on a.

hill we're supposed to be an example of. how you should do it and and that. definitely wasn't it I don't have an. answer as to all the wise I I can't like. I don't can't judge your heart I don't. know it might be something as simple as. a went overhead or we an inconvenience I. don't know but but there's a lot of. questions that I have as an American. that I'd like answered like like did. they actually DNA like was this a. negative DNA test like I had always. given them the the the benefit of the. doubt and said oh they couldn't have.

known they weren't family you know I. could see where they were just trying to. get rid of it and Rush the process and. not do basic safety precautions I was. kind of giving them bit of the doubt but. when the colonel came and said they did. it they tested 6 to8 people and they're. all negative that sent alarm Bells off. in my head it's like wait a minute did. they know they weren't DNA tested cuz it. wouldn't make sense to me that the state. department wouldn't initially DNA test. but I think once they started getting. several um negative tests back either. they didn't do it at all or they did it. anyway and I don't know the answer to. that either.

so at a minimum it's not the standard of. care for children that we should we. should exhibit downrange and and leading. up to that like Joshua says and naively. like at the beginning you you thought. that just got to get the facts in front. of the right people and they'll make the. right decision and so that was you know. your your motive was just get the facts. in front of the decision makers and they. will see it and you act on her best. interest I'm a prosecutor and an outlaw. attorney targeting so I know how to pull.

the information and build a case and we. did and I'm telling you what the reason. why there's so much restrictions um. through the chain of command and so much. restrictions on the information in this. case is because if people knew the truth. they'd be livid. when did they hand when did they hand. off the baby to the talibal yeah uh two. days before the Peace So the peace was. announced on February 29th 2020 she was. handed off on the.

27th and she was gone like impossible to. find and we were scrambling up to the. very end to trying to get a hold of. trump um did anyone any decision maker. trying to just not just at the end like. he he so the president visited bogram. for. Thanksgiving and we waking people up in. Afghanistan like go to the chow hall. find the president have a meet her there. were literally people running around. yard 100 yards from from the hospital. like go get him go go tell him because. we had gotten you know to basically to.

see the life you know what I mean and um. because we had it was it was a political. face saving thing. from I mean the Afghans I have the email. where the Afghans recommended she'd be. sent to the US to the Afghan president. the the deputy chief ofion personally. met with Afghan or ghani that's what she. told the FBI in her statement that she. personally met with him to get that shut. down so like they went out of their way.

to stop that from happening so the. minister African Minister of Defense. Afghan minister of Labor both um. recommended the the president approve US. forces Afghanistan formal request to. send her to a guardian in the US and. that specific email chain I got from. this Afghan this Afghan child uh. protection specialist after 3 years I've. asked for that document in all of these. cases for 3 years and ignored denied. never gotten it I didn't even get it.

from my board of inquiry where they're. trying to say I went against US foreign. policy well I've got the US foreign. policy email because this guy that we. got out after two years gave it to us he. was too scared to do it before cuz he. thought he'd get shut down and and. deported back to Afghanistan cuz he was. in a third country with while his Visa. the US was processing and it had to be. renewed every 6 months and so he's. worried about his wife and two little. kids but you know what he did for us. I'll never forget this this this Afghan.

um who was really supposed to protect. her she ended up her life ended up. saving his family but he told me um he. gave me the email the DNA test request. that that I'd also asked for because i'. I've been told this happened but I. couldn't prove it and we really needed. it at at at a time and he wasn't safe. yet and so he. said take care of My Wife and Kids if. they deport me back to Afghanistan for. doing this and he sent us that email and.

that was right before he actually got. safely to the us but he took he risked. everything to make sure that that truth. got out and uh that made all the. difference at the board because here you. are having the government recycling. these arguments we've already proved. false in court over and over again but. they R they did the verba at this board. of inquiry these same Mega law firms. that have been representing these. litigants were in the board of inquiry. like working with the prosecutor to try. to get us kicked out of the Marine Corps. and um which was just amazing in of.

itself but when you when you have the. eyewitness testimony the only other guy. in that room saying the state department. we asked him to DNA test and then you. provide the emails that the government. Never released um it's pretty damning to. be honest with you. let's take a let's take a quick.

break all right we're back back from the. break we we had just covered that the. baby got turned over to a poshu man mhm. and. so just if we cover this forgive me but.

how how did she get turned over to. somebody without a DNA. test well that that's been our question. to this day but ultimately what what the. decision was made um from State. Department's concerned that it would. interfere with the peace deal and that. these were confirmed family which I. believe was a false report like we. already talked about um functionally. they just signed her over to an icrc uh. representative and they flew her to. Southern Afghanistan and then she was.

gone like a fish in the sea needle and a. Hast stack all those act like she was. gone so what what did they just pick. some random guy off the street and go. hey here's a here's an infant they. picked the sixth or ninth random guy off. the street and with zero betting and. then that's one of the things why I. think a lot of the restrictions on. information on this case in particular. is cuz we have the we have the homework. to show that that's exactly what they. did and I I think they're very concerned. for their own I don't know careers or. their own reputation that doesn't come. out but I mean this is you don't have to.

take our war for it's. documented I mean how did that feel you. guys we just spoke downstairs you had a. crib mhm at the house you guys were. preparing for for another baby to enter. the. family it was it wasn't a matter of if. it was when. because as we had mentioned before DOD. policy all the way up to that point was. make every effort to bring her home and. so we were like for me just like you. would prepare for any other child just.

being ready to have all the supplies be. ready to go to uh for us receive a child. that potentially had medical ongoing. medical needs so just trying to adjust. my expectations of what life was going. to look like at that time and I would. say for the most part we were we were. ready as like as much as you could be. but when when it looked like they were. going to forcefully like just turn her. over at the last minute I think we still. As Americans just like held out hope. like if we get it in front of the right.

people they'll do the right thing and. and so I think even though that fear was. very real there was a side that was just. like it's going to come through it's got. to come through it's it's a baby it's. going to they're going to see the the. innocence and they're going to protect. this baby and um I remember that night. it was like one of the worst nights of. my life that um it was I don't know what. time it was but I was in bed and like we. did everything we could possibly do and. now we were just hoping that for some.

reason it was going to stop it was going. to be stopped and Joshua walked in and. the room was dark and and he's and I. just remember your voice and you're like. she's gone I just I I I didn't even say. anything I was so shocked I was just it. felt like a kick in the gut like I can't. believe it and in that moment just if. you feel like an a failure because here. you are I mean we were excited about. what we were doing we were proud of what. we were doing and there was like a full. court press of everybody working. together for this one child and and so.

it felt just like a failure and and uh I. I'll never forget what you said you said. I don't know why I have no reason to. think this but it's going to be okay and. I was and of all things for him to say. it was probably the best thing it was. com in but I was just like really like I. don't I I can't see how there any good. can come from this how did you find out. she was gone so one of the medical staff. um had had told us they were all like. out of their minds worried about it and.

like um trying to Advocate to. Congressman what did they say they. basically said that they're going to be. handed over to an anonymous person. through the Red Cross at this time and. date and um were just letting us know. that that was happening so we could try. to stop it and so we we filed what's. called a temporary restraining order try. to get one and it's a it's a high bar to. get that against the government you. already had adoption papers yeah we did. so they're just they're giving your. child that's exactly what the judge said.

away to an anonymous person Kandahar and. well I'm not supposed to talk about. exactly where it was whatever. Afghanistan yes not even not anywhere. near where she was recovered and to. someone who spoke a different language. and was a different race and um. to. me knowing what I know now I'm even more. upset than I was then because then it. was isn't that [ __ ] kidnapping that's. how I that's how we viewed it is so this.

is the US this is the [ __ ] US. Government kidnapping your child and. handing it to some random [ __ ] person. in Afghanistan after formally. recognizing or if you want to say a. little bit more politically they ignored. our legal parental rights and basically. said yeah that's that's you but we're. going to do this it's a it was official. US determination and policy and but but. again I think with the administration. like it was a crazy situation how the. [ __ ] do they do that how the [ __ ] do.

they take they give you adoption papers. and then take your [ __ ] kid and give. it to some [ __ ] stranger on the. streets of Afghanistan are you [ __ ]. hearing this people like this is your. government this is your [ __ ]. government. and that's exactly how we felt because. we had gone to the authorities we'd. appealed we'd informed them about like. what we knew about on the ground on the. ground facts that are corroborated to. this day and they had recognized this.

Authority and um I I think they ended up. citing like a a technicality like oh you. didn't formally notify the Department of. Justice about this proceeding and I've. got the email traffic where I give it to. my Colonel the next day four months. before all this went down so they. basically cited technicalities like oh. you didn't do this this this. bureaucratic thing correctly but like as. far as like knowing like the US. government knowing this like we were. emailing the white house chief of staff. we were talking to Senator Cruz's office. they were phenomenal they were. advocating like hey this is insane we. can't turn a child over without vetting.

and um and so the state the embassy was. representing that the Afghans didn't. want to do a DNA test well I've got the. email where they requesting it I've got. the testimony you have an email where. they're requesting a DNA test the. embassy is saying they they don't don't. do it in the email because they're smart. they did in the meeting on December 31st. and then they iced this guy and by God's. grace we got him out of a dangerous. place and to America now he's here today. because of of that of her ordeal and.

getting turned over this guy who was. supposed to protect her ended up getting. saved by her and that's the case for a. lot of the folks we helped in the. withdrawal because I I told Cy was like. I don't know why but I feel like it's. going to be okay and what we've come to. learn from our experience is that that. was providential because I wouldn't have. been I wouldn't have had Visa experience. I wouldn't know what USCIS was I. wouldn't know what a humanitarian parole. was and we used all of those skill sets. to save as many Afghan interpreters and. their families as we could Marine Corps.

folks who did war with us based on other. Marines vouching like this guy was with. me in s this guy was with me in margia. he was great and like during the. evacuation when we're just working our. turps like if I wasn't connected with. Afghanistan and at the unit that I was. at like there was like 30 like 30 plus. people that would not have gotten out. but for her getting handed off so I know. these people meant it for whatever their. their intent was but it was part of the. plan because it saved lives in the end.

her life affected a lot more Afghan. allies in in the evacuation absolutely. and in since even um because we got that. other guy out with his wife and two kids. um how long how long was. she Mia almost almost 18 months almost. 18 months she was gone for 18 months. exactly and we were dying every minute. of it cuz um we and and that kind of. Segways pretty nicely into the next. portion of the story is she's gone like.

like a a 45 day old well she was she was. 5 months old at that point okay and. she'd been raed a five Monon old. baby gone for a year and a half mhm and. so to some random. older older guy I believe is that wish. to remain anonymous that wanted to CU we. had offered to D test them and there's. email traffic with them saying well we. understand that they want to remain. remain anonymous and we'll keep them. Anonymous but we need to DNA test them. because that's what DOD was saying.

because that's a reasonable sane policy. right is you DNA test people coming out. of the woodwork in a in a country that. traffics children like that's not a hard. call right um it was no question in our. mind that that was our requirement from. DOD but that got dropped by state and. then reported up the chain as the. Afghans didn't want to do it or it. wasn't part of their process I think was. the white lie they used how how high up. does this go was run on state I think it. just went up to the the embassy was the. one generating bad information for the. administration I believe that that got.

passed on because they the the main lies. was the the DNA testing wasn't part of. the Afghan process which is technically. true but they're asking you to do it so. is it true not from this guys where I. said if the United States lead agency. which was DoD said we commit to DNA. testing any potential family members in. the best interest of the child and. you're you know you're in a train. advised assist mission where you're. supposed to uh train them how to to have. a you know run a country how to provide. security you know uh stability that type.

of thing we're trying to train advise. the system to do the right thing and DOD. did that we're like hey the best. interest of the child you got a DNA test. will terrorist F and let them know of. her medical concerns and and offer free. medical care in the US that was dod's. policy for months and we were fine with. that policy because rational where we. differed from the US government was when. they're like oh we don't want to. interrupt the peace deal so we're not. going to require these things or we can. like what the state department will do. is like if they want to do something. they'll say uh you know they'll come up.

with justification but if they don't. they'll just cite international law and. kind of hand wve it the peace deal. between us and the Taliban is that what. you're talking about what why does the. Taliban give a [ __ ] about a a a baby no. most of the Afghans were were totally on. board with sending her to the US they're. not they're not so how would this. interrupt the peace deal I agree it it. doesn't I mean she was living proof it. was it was not worth the paper it was. written on but outside of her you know. being proof that the conditions weren't. being met you know to allow Al-Qaeda to.

use Afghan. soil I mean it there wasn't this was a. manufactured crisis by the embassy and. and and I I want to hit on something you. said how did she get turned over she got. turned over by a series of letters that. the the embassy quote received and they. had factual statements in them that were. drafted by the embassy that were not. true it said that the Afghans had had um. that the Afghans had confirmed their. family and that they uh didn't want to.

do the test and that uh they're. demanding her back and so we actually. had the man who signed those letters um. his testimony is in evidence in our. Board of inquiry the minister who was in. a third country when he testified but. that was provided by the government in. our Board of inquiry his testimony and. this guy can't read write or speak. English okay he signed this document in. his testimony he contradicts he said. well the baby's really little we can't.

determine where it's from or who it's if. it's an Afghan citizen or not but the. letter says it's an Afghan Citizen and. he says my Ministry can't Grant. guardianship to anybody like that's a. Court's job but the letter says they. granted custody like everything that the. embassy needed it to say they just put. in there and had this guy who can't read. English sign it and send it to us and. then when we threatened to. Sue there was a demand letter that came. from this same guy who doesn't speak. English in perfect English and it uses. terms like next ofkin which is not an.

Afghan say right and it's literally a. demand letter saying why was the the the. transfer delayed last week and like it. was trying to rush the American. decision-making cycle and this uh Child. Protection specialist that we got to. America he said that that was drafted by. a US citizens Services an employee in. that department sent by WhatsApp for. them to send back to the EM to the. Embassy to pretend like it was an arms. link transaction it was an Afghan demand.

so like the Afghans were were doing. whatever the American in charge was. having them do and this was a US Embassy. decision and they did a fake crisis for. the benefit of the administration to. deceive them and I mean I've got the. email traffic and it's got the word dock. of who drafted at the embassy I don't. have the demand letter who drafted it it. was the guy in American citizen Services. uh he was a uh you want to throw his. name out there oh I don't think he was I.

think he was doing it at the direction. of the gives a [ __ ] Deputy Chief of Mich. well he's an Afghan he was a uh I don't. want to put him at risk um but I I have. speak perfect English yeah he does speak. perfect English and and and like I said. I think he's following orders cuz but. here the fun I hate that excuse I hate. it too I think that's like the Nazi. excuse foll orders absolutely but here's. here's the. kicker um this Deputy Chief of mission.

um she came and did a deposition and we. were not allow where do where does the. following orders. end you know what I mean well I think he. was doing it the direction oh yeah uh. wait following or what the [ __ ] does. that mean no I I I I agree with that I. think that you're you probated follow. the lawful orders of the president. United States and his delegated. authority but. um I I still think that we have an. obligation to upold American values as. we're doing that we have to do it in the. in the most conscientious way possible.

um but I I think that an important fact. the listeners would be interested to. know talk about government misconduct. for it's it's not just a not just an. interfering back then it's been for. three years through all of these cases. they've tried to file statements and. withhold information from the American. public in the courts um that is the. responsibility of the the previous. administration's Department of Justice. like you can't lie to courts you can't.

file statements that say oh we we. received this letter and it was an arms. Lakes transaction when it's not true and. we've been raising the red star cluster. as if you will for lack of a better term. all along so this this Deputy Chief of. mission while she was up with. ambassadorship uh provided sworn. statements and testimony get this the. Department of Justice would not let us. ask questions in what's called. cross-examination they she could only. testify about what they wanted her to.

testify about what the doj wanted them. to say which is that this nothing to see. here and these these letters were arms. Lakes transactions the ones her office. drafted they were trying to force those. on the courts and say for the truth of. what was in the letters which was a lie. that they drafted and we weren't allowed. to cross cross examine them can you. imagine the government coming in and. saying and and this is focused on. government conduct here not not the the. courts uh state courts can you imagine. the government coming in and uh saying.

something you know is a lie and you've. asked for the document they won't give. it to you and you can't ask them. questions like hey was that true what. was written who drafted that did anyone. in your office draft it you can't even. ask those questions they're trying. to uh put this facade. of of actual due diligence in what they. did and it's a lie and then on top of it. that same witness witness air quotes is. telling the Afghan the only person on. Earth who can contradict her story not.

to participate like I've got the email. traffic where he reaches out and asks. her for help and she's like I can't help. you and then he's like should I. participate and she's like oh I wouldn't. and like who does that what's This. Woman's name her name is Donna Wilton um. she was the deputy chief now she's an. ambassador she is an ambassador now yeah. some to what I think it was team morest. if that's how you said it right at the. time I don't know if she still is or not. I haven't followed her career or life or. anything but um like I said they meant.

it for for evil or for whatever their. purpose was you know not American values. but it ended up being for good for many. people and so we're we're we're honestly. thankful that happened but I mean we. should probably Circle back to like. where was she for 18 months how did she. get here cuz that's that's really I mean. the government has me you're we were. talking about ear you're familiar with. the Blackwater case they deleted the. Drone footage that proved their. innocence yeah like a 5 minute segment. of Drone footage well that's what we've. been saying made it out to like they.

killed a bunch of people in theour. square back in 2007 oh guess what this. also has to do with a [ __ ] peace deal. or not a peace deal the status of forces. agreement that that kept us in Iraq wow. deleted the Drone deleted the [ __ ]. drone for footage it's like a 5 minute. segment you see the thing roll. up then the gunfight happens they delete. that 5 minute segment they're like oh we. routinely delete this because we need to.

save memory it's like everything before. that in everything a after like if you. were saving saving memory then you would. have just kept the actual gunfight which. is the important part and deleted all. the other [ __ ] but they they. but and I [ __ ] hate our government. man because that's so I hate I love our. people and our government needs to. reflect up the people but I think that. we have so many documented instances in.

our case of over classification of. clearly unclassified material I'll give. you like specific examples um redactions. um under pretext to hide that we were. communicating with like that we were. fully authorized at every level of. government to do what we did because. they they tried to portray that this was. Major Mass like making this up and. hiding it and like going in the. background like we were broadcasting. from the rooftops advocating for this. little girl and and it was a righteous. cause. and and everything since then has been.

orders changing like I had full. authorization to testify in my own case. and guess what this Mega Law Firm asked. their former partner who worked in the. sect def's legal advisers to for. assistance and they got revoked the. night before one of our hearings and so. like again this is focused on government. misconduct not the the state court stuff. but who does that like how does the how. does the military chain of command. authorize you to testify about what you. know and then revoke it the night before.

was supposed to be the only hearing. where we would like the last one and so. it was intended to prevent us from. putting on a case at all like even me. telling you what I knew about. Afghanistan or what I knew about the. Intel um I have I have a list over here. uh this is a this right here is a letter. saying what we can and can't talk about. from the Department of Justice and oh by. the way the same attorney who defended. the government's decision to turn her. over to the Taliban in the first place. is the gatekeeper of government.

information so she gets to decide. ultimately what gets released and what. doesn't and do you think that she wants. to be proven wrong that they they helped. hand a child over to non-relative. terrorists or do you think she doesn't. want that to come out who's this woman. her name is Kathy wire she's a senior uh. Civil Division state or Department of. Justice attorney she she she uh. represented the government in the. temporary restraining order hearing. where we're like hey all the Intel is. your attorney is over a non-relative. terrorist she was the attorney on that.

and then she got tasked to this case. years later is she still involved oh. yeah they're very much involved so. they're the ones orchestrating so. instead of us getting Witnesses and. being able to cross-examine them and ask. them questions what they'll do is. they'll submit a declaration and a. statement of interest of the United. States and it's really just this one. person in O J Who's pretty high up and. who's friends with the mega attorney. Mega Law Firm attorneys and they'll. write they'll Court they literally help. write whatever the witness is going to. say and we had this during covid where. they would just draft witness statements. and they adopt it and that's the the.

statement you can't question it it's. written by an attorney it's just signed. off by some person with the right. background and the right name to do it. and so here's I think this is the. clearest way to show what the government. has done in this case like to put thumb. on the scales of Justice it's what we. can't talk about and so this says. notwithstanding the responses and. authoriz authorizations identified above. the following categories of information. have not been authorized and should be. excluded from and that's all caps from.

any testimony evidence or filings in. this proceeding and so this is. discussing what's called Tui. authorization which is a law that says. if you learn something in your. government duties it's official. information and you have to have. permission to testify and the duty. policy is is that information like that. should be made reasonably available to. courts because there like a disclosure. type of of disposition unless it's. classified or uh restricted for some. reason that's like justifiable so in.

this case I've had my orders changed. three different times we've asked for. multiple Witnesses gotten denied right. and what what they've used this as a. shield and a gag to prevent what. actually happened from coming out and. here's here's a perfect illustration so. quote I can't talk about in court like. they can't restrict your first amendment. rights outside of that that's why I'm. telling you but quote information. prepared by the Department of Defense. for the international Committee of the. Red Cross and Afghan social worker so.

I've been told that I cannot tell them. that my Colonel signed a very similar U. memorandum for the Afghans and some NGS. and released it to them five years ago. which I had from civil Discovery I was. told I can't mention that in court and. do you know why because they filed. affidavit saying that major Mast helped. draft this Declassified Mission summary. and so it's not reliable so they said I. could talk about the what I had drafted. and then they attacked me and said that. I had made the stuff up but they told me.

I couldn't use my Colonel's memo that he. signed in the proceeding so we got it. from the Afghans it's it'll be up on. your website and they people can go see. exactly what the government didn't want. you to know and U and it's really not. when I say government it's very loose. like I understand they represent the. United States but it's like a couple. attorneys that work in Civil Division. doj that have a lot of uh discretion and. they've abused it and um and they. coordinated with like I said a former. 15-year partner at one of these make a. law firms who was working in the se's.

office I've got email traffic with them. asking them to do these things like you. don't get your orders revoked from on. high you know by accident that doesn't. that that does not happen and I've got. about uh three or four times back and. forth of my command and I don't blame my. command at all my my commanders are. phenomenal all Warriors they're like. marso is for real good people but it's. so high up in the bureaucracy and it's. coming from other agency so it sounds. like this to your commander oh there's. inner agency interest in major math and.

what that really means is an attorney at. this Mega Law Firm is been a partner. with this other person for 15 years who. happens to be working in the previous. administration's legal adviser to a. service secretary or the sect's office. and so they have a revolving door with. ERS that do that and that's how they. they use power and get favors from the. government and I'm not even saying it's. not illegal it's just when they use it. for purposes like this it can be abused. and it has significantly and so here's. the next thing I'm not allowed to talk. about information submitted to the US.

citizenship and Immigration Services by. another office and do DOD and that's a. really really Bland way of. saying here is the Deputy assistant sect. defs it's the deputy assistant sect defs. uh parole agency initiated parole Visa. request so this is a dasd level saying. our little girl is a stateless minor the. mass have received guardianship because. of the unique circumstances recogniz. she's a duty dependent basically Rec.

formally recognizing this and making a. request to USIS to send her to the US. and give her a Visa and we asked for. this document for like three years and. it came out they delayed its release. until it couldn't impact the proceedings. at all because you know when you when. when you're trying to say that Mass went. behind everyone's back well how do you. have a a memo signed by the deputy. assistant seaf and then they said oh. well it was Major Mass talking or. Captain mass at the time talking. directly to his office and then they. denied the colonel who was his action. officer who who went and verified all.

this because they're professionals they. don't go and go off of some what some. Captain says they go verify it with. range regiment and look at the uh uh. sensitive site exploitation material. that they pulled off objective and the. colonel who helped draft this for the. Deputy assistant SEF testified at our. board and he's personally told me that. there is pictures of the Dead biological. mother young strong Asian facial. features and in contrast with that it's. supposed to be like a 40-year-old poshon. female mother so like not the same.

person right those two things can't be. true at the same time and so do you want. to do you want to trust the photograph. and the intelligence that task force. created that Ranger regiment verified or. do you want to trust these bureaucrats. who are self-servingly saying oh this is. an innocent farmer and calling our by. implication calling our our Rangers war. criminals that's just. unacceptable and and I can go down the. list I've got six more so um I will what. I will do is I'll provide this for these.

have all been relased by Foya or by twoe. or uh by due process rights for my board. and so I can I can share this. information and these are all in our. whistleblower complain to Congress like. in detail outlining exactly where it's. it's been lied but um I I I'll Bel the. point for one more one more. Point um this says oh this this memo. that I told you about from my. colel right now this this document here.

was sent by a Dutch NATO uh female a. Dutch NATO worker to the Afghans and the. icrc right right now because of over. classification in an NCS investigation. in my case they have marked this secret. no. foreign this document that we we got in. litigation it was sent to a Gmail. account right to cover this up because. originally they were saying oh you're. not authorized to talk about it well. then we got it from an outside the.

government Source because this only. applies to information the government. provided you so then we got a hold of it. and then they over classify it as secret. no foreign like by definition when you. provide things to foreign governments it. is not secret no foreign when it goes. from a NATO uh member to uh multiple. people outside of the government's. control it's not secret and foreign and. so like that's just it's blatant abuse. of our processes to weaponize the system. and it's to cover up what this says. because they don't want the American.

people to see it because it makes them. look bad and this is you know the the. senior attorney for all of Afghanistan. signing off on the Declassified Intel. like I our office helped drafted the. Declassified Mission summary and we we. routed that up through the FDL process. but our Colonel Ed substance of that. data to for specific targeted. memorandums for for to protect this. child and you know five years after the. fact they're saying nobody can see this.

um and that's just scratching the. service I don't even want to get into. like the terror watch list stuff and all. that because I I've been so attacked for. even having witnessed them flag on the. terror watch list that it's it's. a uh we we joke about it uh we've had. lots of kids at home so we we say like. uh we don't talk about Bruno uh so we. don't talk about Dallas is uh kind of. the joke in our household um because. they have these Mega law firms have. successfully gotten um some terrorism. records scrubbed off the terror watch.

list and um and theyve what they have. gotten some terrorism records related to. this scrubbed off the watch list and I. don't know how they did that but um we. had marked unclassified Foo documents. that I've been told were now been. retroactively classified as secret no. foreign so they could not be used in. this. case yeah we've heard this [ __ ] before. too it's just like it's exactly what you.

said with these Blackwater guys yeah. it's like why are the five minutes that. prove your innocent gone you know why. not the rest of it uh and that's kind of. why it [ __ ] happens all the time it this. is how our government works well I I. think that's changing I I think there's. I hope it's changing how it works. this this shit's. happen and so circling back um we talked. about her being gone for 18 months and. what what happened in that time period. And I think a lot of Americans would.

like to know that because it it it. explains the narrative that's been. pushed in the media. so that night she's gone there's no like. no way to find her like to an anonymous. person we don't know where they're going. to be told they might be. Pakistani um so this this uh Kim Motley. is a phenomenal human rights attorney. she finds her so she had had some. experience with traffic children in. Afghanistan where like a um uh someone.

marries a western wife and then they. split and they take the kids and they go. back to Afghanistan so she had negotiate. with that and then some other like. actual child trafficking cases and um so. she finds her in like a few days and um. she send some proof life photos and. that's when we saw this this this talb I. think um that's my based on my training. and like his appearance and we're told. that she's in a slum yeah we were told. she was in a slum that was so dangerous. the icrc wouldn't send people back that.

she had started shaking and they had. taken her back to the hospital and they. said you know we don't have the. capability to treat her in Afghanistan. and that um and then some time starts. going by it's co right everything's shut. down and so um Kim's goal was simply to. get her evaluated um Sparrow evaluated. in cabble at an a western hospital that. was a private hospital that she helped. represent and so we had gotten. authorization from this older man to to. have her checked out to explain like in.

your own language what's you know what's. wrong with child and and what the. long-term concerns were and we were told. that he had hired and like literally a. text message inevidence at our board. says I've hired a woman to care for her. and I pay her a salary. and um and it was this like 16y 17y old. girl um and and so this this old guy had. pwn her off already with a an unmarried. girl and we have come to find out over. the last few years she was living in. like a group setting like with 23 other.

people with extended family members and. such and um in what I believe were. dangerous situations I'm I'm hesitant. to I should probably say one thing. before I go into it but. this poshon guy that we've been in in uh. this conflict with the first thing he. told me was. that she doesn't live with him that his. dad was responsible to the Taliban for.

her and that she lives with some other. people that are like parents to her. that's what this guy tells me I have an. audio clip of this that your guys can um. provide to the audience to show that and. it's been disguised protect his identity. and all those things to meet those. requirements but that's in evidence at. board hi Amad I hope your son's doing. better today um I was wondering if you. could at some point if you have a minute. send him a voice message about asking. just asking how was doing or if she. she's okay with the explosions going off.

or whatever I kind of like to figure out. where she is and I'd also like to know. how she's doing but um if you have time. just at some point. thanks. for. foreign foree.

[Music]. so when I say so I believe him when he.

said she was not living with him ever. like for any portion of the time and. um when she got to the states one of the. things that concerned was is I'm I'm a. special victims trial counsel certified. which means I have special training to. deal with child victims and victims of. sexual assault and her as a. two-year-old the sensitive way to say is. she was exhibited she was demonstrating. signs of trauma the girl the baby at BAM.

was no longer there like that was the. the bright eyes big. smile just open-faced typical. baby when we finally saw her after that. 18month span she was closed off I it was. to the point where I for a split second. I wondered if it was the same child. because she was so distinctly different. her eyes were guarded her face was. closed off she was like very defensive.

and it wasn't until I saw the scar on. her leg which is very distinct I was. like that's her like it it I was like. kind of looking at her face like just. looking for those glimpses that from all. the photos from the hospital like. looking for that little girl and um she. was to say that she was. traumatized it would be an. understatement and and and the FBI has. investigate all these allegations the. media and the day they came to talk to.

us we had just returned from the. Carousel Center which is a child sexual. forensic U facility in wimington and so. we had based on her behavior and her. physical characteristics of for for. female parts we were very concerned she. was exhibiting all the signs of sexual. abuse and I don't think this guy did it. because he told me he didn't live with. him I think it happened when you're. living with 23 other random people in. your house or however the communal. living and you have people going to high.

school and finishing high school and not. having like a a specific person watching. her and and in a society where you have. a lot of that type of abuse going on I. 100% believe that she was sexually. abused I don't think this guy in America. now did it because he told me she didn't. live with them but we didn't even try to. use that in court because I believe him. when he said she wasn't living with me. he had no reason to lie at that time he. has a reason to lie now. but she was traumatized by her.

experience there she was malnourished. like way behind on her growth and weight. she was like she had she. was uh her stool she had worms uh she. had she was infested with lice all of us. got lice like my my whole family had to. deal with that for like a week cuz it's. like very full- grown life she's she's. got an allergy to um German cockroaches. which is an acquired allergy from from. being around like like um that type of. insect I guess.

and it was it was we're so thankful she. got out like and I think she was young. enough where that's not going to affect. her but she still carries the baggage. from that and like everything we're. warning about in our lawsuit saying like. sexual abuse malnourishment uh lack of. access to Medical Care it took her 3. years to get an MRI like that picture of. her skull fracture when people are like. oh she's medically complete she'll be. fine like that's the embassy's. perspective like if you look at that. skull fracture and imagine that's on a.

2-year-old what did it look like as an. infant It's a larger area of her head. like she looks like a cracked egg like. there was legitimate safety concerns. these [ __ ] people know this who who's. who's that these attorneys these Mega. law firms I think done everything they. can to shut that down. satanic I I have no idea what they what. is this [ __ ] I think they they just. believe the LI what do they want to. happen I I think in their minds they. think that she's going to have a little. white picket fence life with these. Afghans here in the states and uh and I.

don't think they realize the the real. players in this story because it's. really not between us and them I don't. they don't have legal Authority under. their own legal system for this child. they were they told us half a dozen. times they were responsible to other. people and what blows my mind is this is. what happened in the board of. inquiry the FBI interviews these Afghans. like close to day one like in the.

country in the evacuation camps and do. you know what they tell the. FBI. that this is a quote her two uncles. uncles are the Authority for her life. not them they cite to two other people. as Authority for life and the Taliban. Commander said she couldn't come to. America so that's what they tell the FBI. do you know what the doj the under the. previous administration has filed in our. statement of Interest the United States. they've said that these people are her. legal Guardians and parents they told.

them they weren't they've had that. information for three years and they're. hiding that from the court how do you as. an attorney for the United States. government go tell the court these. people are parents when you have. statements that are felonies if they're. not true saying the opposite how do you. do that like it's these legal positions. that the United States Air quotes United. States with the Civil Division have. taken are based on things they know are. lies they actually have rips of their.

phones from uh and this guy told me. before uh he came to American lines he. told my TP hey I've got many Taliban. militants in my phone will that be a. problem when I come to US forces cuz he. brought her to get evacuated and so. they've got their phone ribs. sitting there on their front desk like. if I'm cash Patel I'd be like let's see. if there's any terrorism contacts on. there because he also flagged on the. watch list and they also said they were. responsible to the Taliban governor for. her and they told the FBI they were. obligated to the Taliban to go talk to.

them and they said no and so like we. during the. evacuation we risked everything to make. sure they got out okay like I've got. email traffic saying I don't want two. Taliban murders in my head cuz I knew. the risk my Commander said uh you're. going to have to choose between Sparrow. and them because the assets we're going. to use to collect them don't give a [ __ ]. about Afghans and that's a quote they're. going to probably put a gun in their. face and take them and so like what I. like to say to the American people is if.

we were trying to take a child from her. quote parents from quote family that. would have been a pretty good time to do. it instead we delayed the mission from a. national Mission force that and. ultimately rescued them from behind. Taliban lines for over 24 hours and. tried to get a volunteer group to go get. them like some of these great Americans. who were like going behind Taliban lines. to get them out like Chad robish Show's. folks and like other groups we had them. lined up with seats paid for on the. aircraft from the Mercury one funding um.

uh and we had a group of of five three. kids plus sparrow and these two costumes. and she was like eight months pregnant. so like we delayed everything risk them. all to to get them out safely and so. like uh I guess that's the level of. fidelity we had on this. um the first time I ever spoke to this. posture guy was in July of 2021 a couple. months be like five weeks before the. evacuation. ended um day one I explained who I am.

why I care uh like that I i' worked at. the hospital that my job in a or work. for the hospital to try to get a safe. outcome for her that my job in. Afghanistan was to make sure only bad. people got hurt our strikes you know. kind of explaining like at the. Grassroots level what a targeting. attorney does in Afghanistan we. explained that we were told she was. foreign that we had sought legal. responsibility in the US that she had a. complete us identity and the entire from. day one it was send her to fly out.

before the Taliban take over like that's. what the pitch was and the the first. thing this guy asked me what do you. think he asked for is he's like could I. get a visa for me and my brother-in-law. to come to America because everybody. wants to come to America I don't even. blame him for that but that is the first. thing on this person's mind like and I. and I I think that the best way to. explain that to the audience who's not. deployed is to say like it's it's a very. day-to-day survival like hand to mouth. environment it's not even their fault.

right it's it's if you're not wealthy. there if you're not making money off the. Americans being there like you're dirt. poor and um and and so a lot of it. they're not planning what they're going. to do next month they're not planning on. like their five-year goal it's how do I. survive to today and and it was very. clear from the gecko that this guy was. trying to survive and get whatever he. could out of this and and I'm not even. blaming him for that I'm really I blame. the Americans who enable these these. lies and abuses of our systems but like. as God is my witness from day one in.

detail and that's exactly what our. interpreter testified to and that's in. evidence at RPI that's what there is no. evidence to contradict that ever because. it's it's what we did I mean how do you. she ultimately got rescued by a national. Mission force from behind Taliban lines. how do you explain to someone bearded. men with guns are going to come in. helicopters and get this child and we're. going to bring you to how do you explain. that that's going to happen to someone.

to an Afghan a poshon male from Southern. Afghan you have they used her military. ID to identify her to US forces like he. he told my interpreter like don't tell. don't tell Joshua that's what he called. me uh but uh I have many Taliban. militants in my phone will this be a. problem when it come to us lines and I. had a jck colonel come and testify at. our Board of inquiry that corroborated. all the Alle the not the allegations the. derogatory information if that makes. sense but I've got the Department of.

Justice filing in front of our court. saying oh that was he was never never. any derogatory not not affiliated with. terrorism I mean I've got a guy who said. my dad's responsible with the Taliban. Shadow Governor not where he lives where. she was recovered from the guy. responsible for those camps he said that. that and that that guy said no I mean. and and they're describing this in. detail over conversations for like six. weeks because it took a couple weeks to. Trek up there in the and if you think. about what's going on is the Taliban.

started with the Northern Alliance areas. this time and then they they they swept. down into their natural strongholds in. the South and so um sparrow and these. these TS they spent like several like a. week and a half in their huddling in. their homes while there's like Urban. combat in some of these Southern Afghan. cities and his biggest concern was I I'm. worried the artillery concussion is. going to hurt my unborn child because. his wife was pregnant she was like 19. and eight months of. all and so that was his concern and like.

I'm having conversations through an. interpreter but with this guy and what. what come come to find out the the. language this interpreter is using is. the very strongest language in PTO for. Guardian uh legally responsible he's. using words um wall which is an Arabic. term but it's used in Islamic uh legal. uh like writings and such and it means. like the responsible person or U and. then mulat uh which is um another word. for like responsibility or the one in. charge and then uh I mess this one up a.

lot so my Afghan friends will make fun. of me later but SAR Rost which is like. um the responsible person and so he's. using the strongest words in this guy's. native language to explain this to him. and then I I have I'm on video saying I. will try to fly to Cabell and bring her. documents all her original documents and. so essentially what happened. was this guy tells me she doesn't live. with him she lives with some other. family she doesn't live with his dad she.

lives with some other family he said my. dad's gone to speak to the shadow. governor and then like two weeks go by. and it's getting to be. about August 14th or 15th right right. before the Taliban take call he comes. back and he says to the Taliban said. know and so we're like What do you do. and no so then the evacuation starts and. so before there was no way to get all of. them out right they're like the talian. will kill us if if we bring her and he.

told me like oh sir you're so kind thank. you I think she should go live with you. in America you know can she go to. college like they're asking questions. like that my dad wants to know this my. dad wants to know that he's always. saying his father was the one in charge. or had questions and so like let me talk. to your dad let me we talked to the. Taliban Shadow Governor like you know. what I mean I'm pulling out all stops. cuz I know it's ending um because at at. at the unit I was at we had Intel. reports of it how bad it was and. so two days after the evacuation started.

um I had had the privilege of helping. another Marine friend of mine I saw a. plea on Facebook a friend of a friend. and this Marine was at the war college. and he was trying to get his turp out. and he was stuck outside the the gates. and he'd been there for like 3 days with. a bunch of little kids and so I was like. hey man send me that stuff I can send it. on a red line and I had reached out to. the uh sock Cent um LNO to ask like hey. how what is the process for for. requesting they evacuate people and. they're like man there is no process. we're we're building this plane and. flying it and so I was like holy cow so.

I I sced around and I got a a sipper a a. secret red line to hkaya where I could. talk to the sja who was a friend of mine. who I knew and I talk to him at the. early stages and he's like I Am an' 04. SJ and a Marine Corps and I just laid. seawire concertina wire and cleared an. airport with like 250 Marines that's. what I did today he's like this is. unbelievable and like never seen. anything worse and I mean a major L.

Constantino a Judge Advocate like they. were get they were like overrun and like. as I'm Comm communicating with them. they're they're saying things like the. Situation's not good like the state. department people are leaving we have no. guidance it's changing like there were. afraid they were going to get overrun. again like it was bad and so like we. that first group that I got out uh or I. helped get out like um that that major. was really plugged in with it was called. the Zaki family and they're they're in. the States they're safe uh thank God but.

they got out and so he got flooded with. a bunch of other requests from other. Marines like hey my tur's outside of. this gate or that gate and so he started. filtering those to me because I was able. to assist with that original one and so. I got sucked in and like for the next. two weeks like totally ad hoc didn't. have to just did what every other like. people who had connections tried to do. and and help get our allies out like. guys who'd gone to war with us and if a. marine vouched for him we would get a. marine to go find them and pull them in.

it was unbelievable so like like all. these groups like you know consilium no. one left behind Pineapple Express you. know Mighty Oaks folks um it it. was it was probably the worst two weeks. that I experience just with the huge. highs and huge lows of getting people. out and knowing there had no hope but in. the midst of that we experienced a. miracle. um with my command authorizing me to try. to go to Afghanistan during all of that.

craziness and then ultimately with the. national Mission Force getting. her but um how did they get. her so um as soon as I got word uh um. they were well so he came back and said. the Taliban said no they'll kill us we. can't go I was like disobey the Taliban. the president just got on the TV and. said anyone at risk or anyone who's. helped us forces can try to get out and. so I said if you bring a she's viewed as. a US person by US forces if you bring.

her to US forces that's helping the. United States and I will do everything I. can to get you out and then I went. downstairs and I talked to my Colonel I. was like sir crazy story we've been. doing State Department dumped our little. girl two years ago we've been working to. get her out you know she has Medical. concerns they've reported like shaking. and such um she's coming with a posun. male and a pregnant female and then oh. by the way The Interpreter I'm using to. speak to him he's like Hey sir my. 15-year-old sister lives in the Northern. Alliance areas in the north and they.

just passed the Taliban just made an. edict that they have to provide lists of. the 15 to 45y Old unmarried women and. the the Taliban fighters going to marry. them and then take them back to weran. when they're when you know they're done. with their campaign he's like I really. like my my sister not to have to marry a. Taliban fighter and go to Wier stand and. I was like he's like can we try to get. her. out and so I was working with Kim Motley. at the time and we were helping each. other with different Connections in. Afghanistan and she got hundreds of.

women like at risk women out and we were. helping each other because I could get. people over the wall and she could get. them seats out but like she say like the. Afghan like female robotics team um like. a lot of the staff is like I believe it. was the New York Times that the media. agencies they got them out and she was. like almost single-handedly responsible. for hundreds of lives and she helped us. too and so we this is so this is what we. did we moved my interpreter's. 15-year-old sister his like seven or. eighty old brother and his he had a.

teenage brother as well three kids 180. miles south through Taliban Lions these. two POS students came 280 Mi North and. we rented an Airbnb of all things in. cabal Afghanistan during the fall about. a mile and a half west of the airport. and we used it as a safe house and I go. talk to my Colonel like permission to. take emergency leave and fly into Cabo. commercial through India because there's. still a few flights because that's how. the American volunteers were getting in. and then going behind Taliban lines and. getting people out it was unbelievable.

and so like we got suck sucked into that. uh cycle of just trying to get as many. like allies out and um in in that. process. several instances where we were. interacting with the Marines at abig. gate right before it got blown up so you. flew in I did not so no I'm sorry I. should clarify I was authorized to fly. in and then my Colonel's like uh because. he's a phenomenal human being and like.

just a Special Operations Warrior he was. like that's what I'd do if I was a. parent permission granted and then he. was like well I should probably tell the. terminal and so then they routed up to. senom and they're like heck no you're. not taking emergency leave in cabal. Afghanistan so they shut that down and I. was told to hold and um but my my. colonel was was former J leaon for our. unit and uh he got her added to the. targeting list of the national Mission. force and she got elevated and so um. that's when we had the conversation.

about choosing between her safety and. their safety and I I I I have. documentation where like I cannot do. that and um I personally spoke to the. the two at the national Mission force. and um she personally gave guaranteed. like they would take them all cuz they. had no documents and no connection to. the US and they were using her military. ID to get her on a bird and so they went. and snatched him behind uh behind. Taliban lines and snat him up and flew. him into the airport on a helicopter and. uh and so our kids and the pregnant lady.

didn't have to go through the uh the. huge crowds because we'd had other. groups like crushed or like pregnant. women like giving birth prematurely and. losing the child like it was it was. horrific conditions um. and man with these. what these people on the ground were. going through like I'm talking to guys. that deployed multiple times the Middle. East saying it's the worst thing they've. ever seen in the gwat and you know. they're throwing their kids at the end. they're they're like just for the hope. of getting out they're throwing their. kids over the walls and they don't know.

that there's like seawire on the other. side and like it's getting hung up and. the in and bleeding out and I I even had. several instances. where they would empty out some of the U. handicapped children's orphanages and. use them as like uh so so the the. process was to hand up a child that was. very young or or handicapped and then. they would let them through the gate and. they'd link up with them but a lot of. these kids were getting abandoned right. because they were being used as a ploy. to get into the airport by desperate. people and so there was collection. points for these children and even to.

the point where um like they terminally. old children that eventually died in the. US and we were trying to find out if. anyone somehow could find out who this. so they'd have someone there when the. child died in in the United States like. I don't think people realize how crazy. that was like that mission set was and. ironically my replacement uh I I was the. executive officer for Raider Battalion. for a while or uh Raider sport Battalion. and I replaced the previous EXO was the.

planner who planned the evacuation at. Hawk and he was like hey man I play most. of this on like my 4G phone and I was. briefing the president on a napkin and. then all this ad hoc and like basically. what we had done what we had experienced. was acoss DOD all these vets of the wars. were trying to get their connections to. get their people safely out um and like. such a heroic execution of a terrible. Mission like a mission that I mean I. think was. unnecessary um and based on my just.

happen stance I thought at the time but. like bounc around Afghanistan and my. deployments you know seeing the. Strategic difficulties of flying out of. an airport where the the population. center is right built up onto it and. like it's just the mercy of the Taliban. they're not shooting down our c17s you. you know and and then listen to some of. these other guys on the ground like uh. like you mentioned I think earlier uh. certain Tyler Vargas and his account. have like watched them beat people to. death if we rejected them like all that. stuff was common knowledge like we were.

getting reports of other suicide bombers. other attacks and like it was a tick in. Time Bomb to get these people out and. the Marines of soldiers just executed. just heroically a really bad Mission say. um I. still I cry like a baby every time I. think about it I I watched. um we ended up Steph and I both ended up. going to Ramstein to meet our group. because they they they got through Doha. we had some Rangers go find them and um.

I talked to the tower at Doha and I'm. like my group just got put on a plane. where are they going he's like sir we. don't have manifest we have no idea. where anybody like we're just packing. people on planes and he listed off like. 12 tail numbers in all over the globe. like Greece Italy Spain Germany you know. it was like they were going everywhere. and so we guessed like the the most. planes were going to Ramstein like 60%. of them so like the biggest chance was. to go to Ramstein to try to meet up with. them because we had all of all of our. documents we had vouched for these.

people disobeying the Taliban so I was. there to Advocate and like hey these. people disobey the Taliban for us they. brought a US person to US forces um you. know using our military ID like we. literally shephered them through the. process and they they knew that from day. one mhm um it it was an incredible that. part and and it was like it was chaotic. that wasn't the plan it was just the. plan evolved as all of this was. happening and um I took some pictures. along the way which I think I've shared. of of just because for me you know just.

um I'm a photographer by trade but it. just it felt like it what Joshua was. doing and the stories I was just. overhearing of all everything that was. transpiring it was just so significant. it was almost historical and so I took. for whatever reason we were driving up. to Baltimore to fly out to Ramstein. Germany and um Joshua was on the phone. and he was trying to get a group of 14 I. think that had uh visas to Australia and.

he was on the phone with someone on the. ground and and um in Cobble and I just. had this urge I mean probably not the. best idea of driving but I just picked. up my phone and I just hit record and I. started recording him on this phone call. cuz it's just significance it's not. every day that you're speaking to people. directly on the ground while all this is. going on and it ended up being uh the. Marine that died I think the very next. day um at Abate and she personally. Joshua was talking to her and he's like.

I've got a group they their Abes or they. it's been verified they can get through. and she's like well the Australians are. not here and he's like well wouldn't it. be a shame if 14 people can't get. through because Australians aren't here. and so she and and so she. go ahead yeah I think I should for her. for their family so these marines at. abig Gade. um they like selflessly sacrificed for. people they didn't even know and um it.

was it wasn't a waste like there's real. people with real different lives now. because of their sacrifice entire family. units um that particular one. was they had Australian beas it was a. Hazara family and their Shia Muslims and. so they're both racially and religious. minority and she was a female activist. um this matriarch if you will of this. family and she had been specifically. called out by the Taliban and because of. that the Australians had granted them. visas and so they've got everything from. like a couple month old baby to like.

60-year-old men and like 14 people in. between and they are stuck in abig gate. in the ditch at 2: in the morning and um. the call goes out on the net it's like. does anybody know any Australians and I. knew one Australian I deployed with in. Afghanistan and I still had his number. so I reach out and it's like whatever. time in the morning in Australia I'm. like Hey sir remember me you know this. is what I'm doing you know I'm working. these groups there's Australian visas I. was like do you know anybody running the. Australian response in Cabell and he's. like oh well my brother-in-law is.

actually running the op Center in Doha. right now here's his number I like like. the only Australian on my phone's. brother-in-law is doing that so I'm like. so I called Doan and I talk to this ni. Australian and he's like oh I'm sorry. our coms are down we can't reach them. right now I'm like what I'm just called. Doha my cell phone while driving to. dullas to try to fly out over there. right and um so that's not going to be. good enough like it's it's not to be you. know fast enough and so I'm like are.

there any Americans can you see any. Americans to this lady who speaks broken. English and she's like there's one and. so she hands off the phone and I'm like. I'm like hey I made your mask I've been. helping with you know vet these. paperwork different Afghans get them. through my guy's not responding for for. the gate can you please pull these. people in and find some Australians and. she's like. sir she's like it's a female voice and. uh I never she's like hello and like I'm. explaining my stuff and she's like um. the Australians aren't doing 24-hour Ops. right now and it's 2: in the morning. they don't come on till six she's like.

what do you want me to do I'm like I. want you to pull these people in and sit. them down and wait for Australians and. she's like well I have to hand you off. my captain so he she hands me off to the. captain I explained the same story and. this is what he says to me he's like sir. I'm looking at 15,000 people trying to. get in this gate and I'm playing God. about who gets to go what do you want me. to do and I was like like like she said. I was like wouldn't it be awful if these. people have a seat on an Australian. aircraft and tickets I verified that. with the Australians I just got off the. pum with them wouldn't it be awful if. they don't get out because the. Australians are doing 24-hour Ops right.

now and he's like yeah we'll bring him. in and so they sent me a video from. Australia um but uh we were in the air. flying to Ramstein to meet our group. when abig gate happened. and um. landed and it. was it was a ghost town everybody. stopped work there was there was no. restaurants open like the mall all that. stuff everybody stopped and they. volunteered and they were building a. tent city the entire length of Ramstein.

like bigger than Kuwait or like if. you've been to aliim or or uh and seen. some of those bases with all those tents. like it look like that but on on the. runway and they put 11,000 Afghans the. first day we got there and 17 ,000 more. the next day and it was it was building. tents as you put people into them it was. craziness and these people look. traumatized because a lot of them had. spent you know three four five days. outside a couple days to get on an. airplane they cram them in there without. you know no restrooms no moving space.

like there were fights on the planes and. babies and people dying and uh and then. they they all got bottlenecked in Doha. for the most part in un aair conditioned. like uh terminals cuz we were trying to. find our group and they called us saying. hey we don't feel well we don't have. water like trying to get them through. that process so they landed in. Germany and. um we were sitting in the USO in. Ramstein alone like we're probably the. only people in the ter maybe three other.

people and um I start seeing some. ambulances pull up like what's that you. know and then you realize like it's just. these it was our um our our cash. they were taking him and taking him to L. stool Medical Center there and they just. got off the plane and and there's just. so many um because there was 30-some. wounded in addition to the killed and we. was just watched them take you know body. after body of our W wounded off the.

aircraft and take him over there and I. remember sitting there with um there was. a state department lead for for that. basis was a reservist a marine. phenomenal person and he actually got. sent home because he was raising the. alarm of how dangerous it was the child. safety issues that were happening at. Ramstein he got sent home to the US. because he's like hey this is dangerous. we need to do better than this and um. but we're sitting there and just crying. our eyes out watching these sub Marines. come up the birds and. uh I I've always wanted to express the.

Gratitude and like the. um just having observed what their their. children went through and um knowing. that they kept that gate open longer. because it it meant life or death for a. lot of people and like just the. selflessness of that um that decision. that those Marines made and um you know. the real cost of that for people they. don't even know but like just for me I. know for a fact that they saved 14. people's lives and I got their picture.

from Australia um that they were they. got out because of these marines and um. I don't know how many others they saved. but I know they saved those people and. uh they've been so dead and U by. murdered by the Taliban and um I. can't to know the ground and to know. what people were doing and to to express. the evil of that bombing of the just. senseless violence it's just a a real. focal point of the gwat I think is just. the senselessness and the evil we're.

facing where people think that that is. what you know God wants them to do is to. blow themselves up in innocence together. I mean that is an evil ideology that I'm. happy to fight and um I'm thankful for. their sacrifice they they saved real. people I I'm humbled by having observed. it but I. think you know we're we view what.

happened to her as providential she. saved lives in in the in getting people. out including these these folks um these. pumes that with her and um but I can I. can guarantee the American people from. day one we told them exactly who we were. and what we wanted and this guy thanked. us over and over again like oh I think. it's fine you know it it'll be you know. so kind you know that like the typical. like flowerly language stuff um he he.

wanted to come to America which I don't. even blame him for um I think he had. some conflict with his spouse at some. point I don't know if I don't think. necessarily culturally they have the. same sort of um. uh impetus to have be in agreement about. something so I don't know what he. represented to uh his wife but at some. point she was like um he promised me. that if I came with I told him if he. wants to go to America you go I'll stay. here in. Afghanistan and um and but he promised.

me if I came that that uh she wouldn't. have to leave my side and so like I I. think this guy probably was playing both. sides against the middle. um but really what happened at dullas we. were trying to be sensitive CU you know. it's a horrendous event right to have to. go through that that period leaving. everything you know going through that. experience I mean they these this our. particular group got the red carpet like. having a national Mission Force pick you. up is the best way to get out. Afghanistan just saying um but it was.

still a traumatic event and so we were. trying to expedite them through the. refugee stream because of this lady's. pregnancy and because of of sp's like. medical concerns um because we were. worried to trigger seizures. basically. um but that ended at dullas uh that we. weren't going to I had different. obligations kick in at that point and um. that's really the story that hasn't. gotten out and that explains the the the.

the origin of some of the conflict we've. had in the US and that's been. deliberately intentionally hidden. because it makes perfect sense and uh it. it totally undermines The Narrative. that's been out in the media. so where did you guys reunite with. Sparrow we found them at Ramstein we. found them yeah we we found all of them. at Ramstein um we we advocated to get.

them expedited and then they were and so. we actually were able to. uh get back to the States like 12 hours. before they did how did you find them. though that was some minor miracle as. well so um you were there too Stephanie. yeah we did yeah I went with and that. wasn't the plan like I said we were it. was just very responsive as to what was. going on um I at the time my our. youngest son was N9 months old I was. still nursing at the time so it was when.

Josh was like we're going to have to go. because we don't know where in the world. she's going and we're her adoptive. parents and so we both need to be there. to be present so I literally gave my. nine-month old baby to my sister and. which she's I mean like a second mom to. him anyway so I gave I handed him over. and we drove up to Baltimore to fly out. to Ramstein and I remember asking Joshua. um at the point we were like we didn't. know where in the world they were going. like he said and so he was on the phone.

with um someone at the control tower. cutter and reading off where all the. places were going and I I remember. asking like if we fly all the way to. Germany and what if they're not there. like what's our family like we're going. to look like idiots if we fly across the. world and then it's the wrong guess and. he's like basic he say this educated. guest he's like you God's brought us. this for far we're just going to go for. it and see you know basically see what. happens and so we did we boarded the. flight and we flew to Germany and uh.

landed what within an hour of each other. yeah we got a call that they landed too. so like it was uh pretty impressive I. was I was basically like the national. Mission Force Squadron just recovered. her from behind Talan lines I think. we'll be good yeah you know so we uh we. pushed uh with an educated guest and it. ended up being right on the money we. found him and then what was weird I me. how did you find her it was there had be. thousands of people there I I I guess. there was 11,000 people there it was 2: in the morning and we're walking around.

11,000 people 11,000 people there and um. so we we get there it's like 2 in the. morning we get checked in they they only. let us stay on base because we had. family in the in the Stream and we're. trying to get them their documents CU. base was shut down there was no rental. cars available cuz all the NGS had come. weed 50 miles matter of a couple days to. say that it was so let me let me paint. the picture you've got a mile or so long. Runway with a bunch of hangers and a. bunch of tents and they don't know who. belongs to who like there's no. documentation so like do you treat the.

second or third wife 13-year-old wife of. some guy as his wife or do you treat her. as an unaccompanied minor so these are. some of the like cultural and legal. barriers that we're trying to figure out. without hurting people and so they split. the women uh women and kids 12 and under. went into the hangers men go into the. tents nobody's touching nobody until we. figured this out and like um there were. significant child safety concerns like. they they had several hundred. unaccompanied miners cuz you had a bunch. of Orphans from the bombing like now.

you're an orphan what do you do or like. there was one uh one siblings I. distinctly remember that they were uh. the Taliban killed their parents and. they were like the Taliban just shot our. parents what you know what do we do and. so you had these unaccompanied mind. minor and figuring out how to or there. was people so desperate at the end if. you had a visa to America or were. getting let in they're like here take my. kid take him to America with you and so. you've got CH unaccompanied miners with. non-f family members all over the place. and then on top of that I spent like.

four days in the cages like walking. around it was super dangerous nobody has. any weapons because you're trying not to. make it look like a like that would be a. bad Optics but like you've got 10,000. dudes in a cage like and people are. getting up ET you know what I'm saying. like it was not safe um I wouldn't let. her go outside of the ECP uh for that. stuff but um I watched like they're. probably Dia or CIA like playing clo. dudes with wanted posters and like.

pulling in the Afghan soft because you. could they had pieces of their uniform. and they carry themselves differently. like pulling in like uh uh the Commandos. or the kka guys and like go find this. dude and like they're going and finding. like bad guys in this Refugee Street and. like I watch that happen over and over. again like picture go like 15 guys pull. them in they do a school Circle they. brief them they say go find them and. like like pulling dudes out of the. refugee stream so I'm like holy cow and. um and that kind.

of that plus when they when they were. processing these groups they had what. they were calling pods and so pod the. first pod was like basic intake who are. you what documents do do you have what. connection to the US and they're they're. reading them a little bit and and and so. on and so forth so we were concerned. because I had gotten them expedited. because of the medical concerns there. was a medical priority for some of them. um like pregnant women or people with. diseases or or or acute problems and so.

for both faroh and for this pregnant. person we were trying to get them. through and then um also with my. interpreters three kids or three. siblings um they didn't have any. documents at all like like a birth. certificate that was it and they had no. connection to this group so like making. sure that they stayed together and they. routed together to the States was very. important and so we I mean we were. Relentless and trying to Advocate to get. him through and that succeeded after a. few days but um hats off to the the the. the staff and the Uso I mean they were.

oh the Uso was phenomenal I I actually. met the deputy commander of Base his. wife at 2 in the morning was. volunteering with the USO in there like. uh you know getting coloring books and. blankets and like just serving and um it. was these these people were so it was. such a traumatic experience imagine. leaving everything you you know and love. you know from the fear of of a great. evil like the Taliban and then going. whole life in a garbage bag yeah your. entire life in a garbage B and so like.

we were serving our hearts out to try to. like to get everybody out like I was. there was how did you find her though uh. I think I think a phone I think they had. like a Wi-Fi signal at some point yeah. so it was. close yeah they had a phone and whenever. there was Wi-Fi they would yeah they. would be able to connect to Wi-Fi and. then send us a message so we found them. but then we would lose them when they. process to the next one so we'd have to. find them each day basically you'd have. to find them each day yeah so hold on I. just I got to hear some good news yeah.

what what I mean what was the like the. first time you found her oh that that. was it was together we were together we. were and they brought her out and so at. that point we were still in the. impression u based on what we were told. that she may not be able she she. couldn't walk and so they carried her. out and I was sitting on a bench and. they um they set her they were holding. her at first and then they set her down. so that we could see her and that was. when I first at like like I said she was.

so turned in where she would barely look. out she she would kind of look up and. her eyes uh she has really big we joke. that's like Jasmine like Princess. Jasmine she has these big eyes but her. eyes were very close Ed off and and she. looked like a Furrow brow and to the. point where like I said earlier I I was. like is that her cuz her hair was short. and just like straw likee and she was. just look to sick as dogs yeah just dark. circles under her eyes and very you know. she's thin and and I was shocked and.

then when I saw like when she was. sitting on the uh the woman's lap I saw. the scar on her leg and I was like. that's her and so they set her down. beside me and uh we took a photo and I. have my hand on her back and I the. reason why I had my hand on her back is. just like any young child where you're. afraid like they're Tippy or they're. going to fall back I had my hand on her. back to make sure to stabilize her and. then she got down and she walked over. and then that moment I was like cuz in. my mind we're still operating from the.

information we had 18 months prior. medically disabled so I was shocked I. was like she's bling I kind of looked at. Joshua like and she kind of tottered. like yeah she tottered but it was such a. relief to know that she could even walk. at that point because of we knew the. injuries in her leg I was just like wow. she she can walk and and so that first. moment it was like at first it was. disbelief but then it was just relief to. see that she's she can walk she's alive. and this is actually her and we're here.

and that was just a culmination of all. of these highs and lows and like Joshua. said like what even though this is a. long interview there's so much emotion. in like like like any good story there's. triumphs and there's failures there's. Heroes there's villains and we've like. through this experience have had all of. that and so in that moment even with. meeting them for the first time there. was such joy and relief and it was just. like we made it to this to this moment.

and yeah I felt responsible because I. didn't want to I knew the Taliban would. kill people if they disobey them and I. believe that with every F my being I. they would have and just that I didn't I. wasn't respons for anybody's death was a. big relief for me like I was it was. exhilaration but it was also filled with. like tragedy cuz like you just saw these. these these kids get blown up and like. 170 Afghans and all their surviving. orphans and like even some of the. national Mission Force families that I. believe had tried to adopt some of the. orphans because they were right there by.

abig gate is where the squadrons were. operating out of and so they were some. of the First on scene to secure the. scene and and just scooping up baby you. know kids that are just recently. orphaned and like bonding with them over. the next three or four days before they. have to Evac out on the I think the 30th. uh because I I believe that I can't. remember the date of the bombing off the. top of my head but it was a couple days. afterwards that they so you had these. kids who were recently orphaned with our. guys and and protecting them and bonding. with them and so like we had a lot of.

how long were you guys in Ramstein. before you took her home I think it was. four days she flew home on a rotator. with them um with our entire group. together and then we I think we got her. a couple days after that because uh. dullas delas happened and then it took. them a few days to get their act. together and get her back to us so it. was within a week of that that that it. all occurred but U so what was it like.

coming home with. her uh it was honestly awesome like we. were so thankful like we have some good. video of our our kids getting to see her. CU they they'd FaceTime with her or they. they' prayed for her send videos to her. set presence to Afghanistan and so like. to them it was you know it was a very. distinct person in their lives she's two. two years old two years old really tiny. and she was like walking like a baby. deer like could barely walk she couldn't. run it took her quite a while to build. the strength so the her physical. therapists were like this is like the.

most underdeveloped like lower body. we've seen of a child this age and so. like she was it took her a long time to. get strong um it took her a long time to. get to her body weight again to but. stephie's a pretty good nutritionist and. uh and build that up over time really we. just we we did then what we were. planning to do all along we just poured. everything into her and so medical like. I mean I don't know how many times I. went up to Duke and Raleigh and medical. appointment after medic Point like from.

just a few days in just went down the. line everything that we had planned 18. months prior or whated more prior we. immediately executed and went down the. line and just started to just kind of. get a gauge of okay where is she at. physically emotionally just across the. board and just poured poured into her. yeah how how long did it take her. to smile to warm up to smile I didn't. even realize that she didn't smile until. a couple weeks then and and there was. something and you mentioned she like oh.

look she's smiling and it took a while. for her it like her face is now to today. her face is like her baby photos it's. like any child where when you look at. their baby photos like oh I can see like. I can see the way they look as a kid you. can see it back then and so her face is. back to the way she was as a baby where. big eyes open very expressive when she. talks um but it took it was like layers. of an onion it took time for that child.

to reemerge and and it was well and I. would say her her therapist commented. that she's she's displaying Behavior. that's consistent with uh an uncertain. environment with violence because she. would um she was quiet and always. restricted her she wouldn't even cry. like like she you had a suppress like. turn like this and sit there so so what. she said what what they said is that's. very common in in in children with an.

uncertain environment where there could. be like emotional Outburst or anger. because they've learned to supress and. not themselves Target not rock the boat. and um they also noticed that she had a. real aversion to men and then closed. spaces like if if if in a therapy. session um they would shut the door. she'd start to like lose it um she. didn't want to be alone and she did not. want to be around men specifically it. was it was but fortunately like we have.

we have a big family like she's got like. 13 or what 15 cousins now so like that. much love porn on her with all sorts of. people like learning to to go to trust. people like it's safe it's okay. and um she started to slowly peel that. back where today like you couldn't even. tell like she's the same little girl in. the hospital same bright face like hold. me because she grew up with all these. nurses and doctors like they would hold. her for her naps and like rock her to. sleep so she was totally spoiled and uh. and then to go to that the deprivation. and then coming back from that took some.

time but like like I said she was. speaking full sentences in two months. like Mommy Daddy like unbelievable. enough to communicate yeah she was. commun she could communicate early on. but one there was one time early on that. really gave me a glimpse of what she. must have gone through is we were I was. going to I was loading the younger kids. up into the car to go pick up the older. kids from school and I was carrying her. out so she's kind of at Arms arm or at. eye level on the hip and uh they were.

building a new community near like right. across the road from us and there were. roofers and they were going down the. line going pop po pop pop pop with a. with a nail gun and I didn't even notice. it and I was just going out to the car. and she looks at me and she goes and she. had this look on her face and she made. eye contact with me and that was very. early on where she couldn't talk but she. looked at me and and the look said are. we going to run it was like danger are. we and she was looking at my face to see. how I was going to respond if I was. going to Duck and Cover like if I was.

going to run and in that moment I looked. at her and I just it broke my heart that. a child that young had experienced some. form of violence to know what that was. that that was a threat and and I I was. like it's okay that's just they're. building houses over there and just. tried to you know lighten it up and like. it's you we're okay we're just going to. go get the boys from school and but just. little glimpses of that if it just you. could see little what like the what it.

does what it does to a person and so and. and they had this guy had talked to me. in some of our conversations during the. battle for their city in southern. Afghanistan and he described being in. inside for days and gunfire and all that. and he said he came out thinking it was. over and a guy next to him got shot in. the head and you know uh was a casualty. uh from that experience so. like this guy's like crying on the phone.

like there's no hope like there's no way. we're getting them out of Afghanistan. like no one could predict the historic. evacuation at that time right so like. I'm dying on the inside like man I'm. sorry like we'll do whatever we can to. help you but like you got to send her. before it's too late like Afghanistan's. falling I said 40 days and it's done and. it ended up being like 32 days and um he. it was funny because he he came all. everything he phrased his questions from. his father who's responsible and he's. like my father says the airplane there's. been War here for 40 years and the. airplanes have not stopped I'm like. they're stopping man like you need to.

like get her here before this runs out. and um I'm so thankful that we did. honestly we in retrospect I probably had. too. much I should have had a little more. caution given the circumstances for. Recovery like you got a child from a. named objective who's gu's talking to. the shadow Governor but I I. figured you know your average military. age male in southern Afghanistan has got. to have some connection you know what I. mean like they're familiar with the. Taliban are friends who are you know. it's a lot of the posan population down.

that area so um are there any signs of I. mean is is. that like episodes of fear is that. completely dissipated away now I would. say. by and large it has you could see like. it's it's more when you compare it to. like how a child normally be behaves. that's when it becomes more apparent so. I never realized when we first got her. she would stay and still to this day. she's still somewhat like the kids will. run all over the house and go into this.

room and that room and she does now but. when she first came she would stay in. one room like one area and wherever you. put her she would stay there and not. like almost the freedom of movement or. freedom of play it's like she didn't. know she wouldn't go out of sight she. yeah she would stay close to you and. stay in one room and and so I would say. it's been even like going to a. playground going at the kids would go. play she would stay close by or not.

interact with other kids so it's been a. process and like I mean the best thing. that I could say is just she has. blossomed with love and circling back. because there's one point that I wanted. to make when she was turned over um out. of us custody I mean obviously it was. just her her whole future was at stake. and that was just grieving in and of. itself but what bothered me is that she. could go through the rest of her life in.

Afghanistan and never know how loved she. was by hundreds of people that she had a. name that she had an identity. and and people that fought and loved her. fiercely and advocated that she could go. on for the rest of her life and never. know that reality and what has been so. satisfying is to for it to come full. circle and for her to feel that love and. to see it firsthand um and and one day.

she'll realize you know we we we've. protected her fiercely um from the the. harshness of her past and and in time it. will you know we'll tell her age. appropriate things but what we've wanted. her to know is that we believe that her. life was preserved for a purpose and and. it was protected by many people that you. know cared for her deeply and so she's.

blossomed with that. love and and I think that we we did. right by these these people we we did. what we said we would do do we saved. them from what they wanted they wanted. to get away from the Talib they wanted. out of Afghanistan and I can't control. what lies they say about us I I can't. you know I have no idea what exactly. their why is it do they want to go back. to Afghanistan is the Taliban really the. people behind this like forcing them to.

do that I do know that they don't have. control over her if they ever get. custody of her and they they are subject. to duress. and what I really think it boils down to. is this this this is not about our. rights this is not about their rights. this is about what's the best interest. of the child for this little girl and. what what I think is so despicable about. the government's role in this is they. prevented that analysis from even. happening they're trying to on a. technicality based on a.

lie short circuit that. analysis she should win whatever that. looks like she should win it's not a. she's not chatt she's not property right. like she's absolutely our daughter in. every sense of the word like we're mommy. and daddy she doesn't know anything. about this right she doesn't remember. these folks at all it's that's water. under the bridge. and but even even that it's it's about. her best interest she deserves Freedom. she deserves to grow up to marry whoever.

she wants to marry to be whoever she. wants to be and so many Americans have. sacrifice to provide that for her it is. just an Abomination for what a. miscarriage of Justice what the. government's done here to prevent that. from happening and uh and it's. continuing to it's to this day like next. next week we have a hearing in front of. the Supreme Court of Virginia and the. government is appearing and trying to. say they had a foreign policy interest. in in that that overrode our parental.

rights and that they should just blindly. give her like pluck her from her family. and her brothers and everything she's. been given by the sacrifices of all. these Americans because of a foreign. policy interest for aad government or. because of negotiating now with the. Taliban are you kidding me like they. filed these for lack of a better term. creepy statements from the current. charged Affairs for Afghanistan who like. personally this is a Joshua Mas opinion. totally get fired but they fired these.

from the charge the Affairs the person. responsible running Afghanistan for the. US government basically saying it's hard. to negotiate with the Taliban with your. case going on so you. know void the mass family's right and. give to them like S no evaluation of. this um no no investigation whether they. ever were proper guardians of her like. if she was sexually molested and like. neglected in. Afghanistan whose fault's that like.

these people are claiming that they were. she was living with them I don't know if. that's true I've got a voice message. that says she doesn't live with me or my. family so I I don't know what's true I. don't know how much of the LI is I mean. can there be any retribution for them. just. stealing your child and giving him to. the poshon guy I honestly I mean I don't. know I don't know if it's a criminal I. don't know if it rises to criminal it's. absolutely. like we will absolutely Sue these people. on the back into this for what they've. done with our family no one should have.

to go through this stuff like um to be. gagged and lied about by the government. is is really hard to take especially by. the very bureaucrats who are responsible. for getting dumped so Dangerously in the. first place they're the ones you know. protecting government information and. covering up what happened and like we. can prove in court with all the evidence. that US government has that they she was. turned over to non-relatives like like. and I I think I should probably bring. that up there is documentation now I. have this guy's uh the the person they.

say is her biological father I don't. even think that's it was but they. claimed a relationship biological. relationship to this guy that was a lie. cuz after years of litigation we in the. board of inquiry we have the guy's. identity card and so this elderly this. elderly postan man she was given to in. 2020 right before the peace deal he said. I am the older brother of the slain. we'll call him Joe for lack of better. term Joe got killed he was an innocent.

farmer give me his daughter right that's. his his claim well now I got Joe's birth. certificate got this guy's birth. certificate and you know in Afghanistan. how they have your father and your. father's father well they don't have the. same dad so that's just a lie he said. I'm the older brother of the slain Joe. Callum I've got both IDs he's not the. older brother and guess what the slaying. Joe's 5 years older so he's lying about. being older and he's lying about being a. brother so how that that evolved here in.

the United States is this posture man. said well he was a older. stepbrother so he's claiming to be a. half first cousin that's the claim. biological relationship a half first. cousin and that came about when we. offered a DNA test cuz like duh the. first thing you do I mean if if you're. in the audience and someone is claiming. to be a relative of a of a child you've. adopted what do you. do you say I'll pay for the DNA test and. so we did that two and a half three.

years ago was three years ago right off. the bat I will pay for a DNA test to. test your claim because I believe you're. misinformed or you're lying that that's. what we did and they they absolutely. blatantly refuse to do. that so I I'll I'll do right here I'll. do it right now do a DNA. test but I I guess what what I'd like to.

I don't blame these Mega firms for. trying to represent a client right like. I don't I have a different ethical. standard of how you can do that and what. level you can do with courts I I think. that they may have crossed that line but. that's up for courts to decide what I. have a real problem with is the. Department of Justice parting Verbatim. what these Mega law firms narrative are. with contrary evidence in their. possession that they won't release to us. so it's like throwing the game like if. if we've got it if we've got video of.

these Rangers in combat and I've asked. three years ago to declassify everything. like it's a child it's an Old Mission. who cares like declassify it right over. yeah you you surrendered let's give her. let's let's see the footage and but. they'll they'd rather let these guys get. maligned by these different groups that. support you know get mode detes and that. ilk like same sort of groups right the. people who's filled the prono time. helping like terrorist. sympathizers but.

they're at at. dullas we. had about seven hours it took to process. them into the country once they arrived. in America and I was there because I had. her original documents and I had I Dev. vouch for these people say like hey they. they disobey the Taliban they risk their. lives to help Americans that's their. connection that's their eligibility to. be paroled. here and I had to make sure my. interpreter's kids got to him right like. who who he was and how he was helping. and all that and so I sat there for.

seven hours with like teeming masses of. humanity like pouring in and and with. these overworked customs and bple agents. trying to process all these EVs and most. of them don't have documents like like. it's very rudimentary at all and at the. end of that. period i they're like okay you're done. processing you need to go get a covid. test and it's like midnight like a covid. test like really like these PE a lot of. these people had tuberculosis right so.

it was so I'm thinking this is crazy so. we get my guy and about 20 20 30. military age males and their families. and they put us in a scissor truck like. those ones that go back and forth. between the terminals and can Elevate. and stuff for different and they put us. in the scissor truck and they drive us. way out on dullas Airport and it looked. like a like a Bond movie where they're. unveiling like a prototype aircraft like. a huge hanger and it's got like 500 beds. in there and like a computer set up over. here and they got guys kitted up with. like flax and ARs and I'm like this does.

not look like covid test material and um. I watch them go hard at my guy like what. were you doing 2014 like like going down. the list just raming him out. interrogating him and before that he was. sitting and this guy's poshon and a lot. of our allies are Dari speaker a Persian. or origin right it was different tribes. that were helping us for the most part. there were some poshon tribes that. helped like but he had not spoken to a.

lot of the other refugees because he. didn't speak Dar and he was a. poson but he's sitting there in this. Detention Facility um like holding hands. and chatting CU they hold hands with. with her friends and he's like chatting. away and that's the first person I've. seen him talk to this like for 5 days in. the camps and I'm like who's his friend. to this person who speaks English and. like oh this is his friend from his home. Village not his home City his village. back in the back in the uh Boonies where. she had been recovered on the Miss.

because he wasn't from the big city just. lived there later in life he was from. this village where she was recovered and. so he's sitting here in this deten. facility getting reamed out by our guys. with another guy from his home Village. and so like I've just got this pattern. going a you know child from a capture. kill Mission Al-Qaeda talking to the. Taliban Shadow Governor responsible for. those foreign fighter camps says he has. Taliban in his phone flags at Dallas and. I go to the CBP agent like dude what is. this place like kind on the like I. didn't understand like I wasn't sure. he's like oh this is where the.

feel immediately responsible like I'm. I'm a Marine Corps officer I I expedited. this guy through and I knew all this. stuff right but so what I wanted to do. was appropriately flag that because I. knew they were looking for to clarify. you didn't know all that stuff you. didn't know that he had any no no I. didn't know that he flag in a watch list. I just figured his folks fought for the. other team like like everybody wants to.

go to America even if your folks fought. for the other team I thought he was more. disobeying the Taliban and abandoning. that which I was cool with but at that. point I felt obligated like as a as a. service member I can't not say what I. know and so I immediately flagged that. through our NCIS rep and flagged it up. to the FBI and that's how this all got. started um and. so he they were detained for like 24. hours is and then I got that they got.

released and I was like what and um it. ended up being really weird because it. was like 2: in the morning kids are. asleep my interpreter got processed. through and he didn't have a car R so I. had to like go and like take him back to. his hotel and so I got sucked away and I. was trying to figure out where they were. to get back when I went. back and so I'm talking to this agent. and he's like dude this was a really bad. dude but he brought your little girl to. US forces and your organization got him. out of Afghanistan so we let him through.

and I'm like what no sir like I am not. you know I don't even know this guy I've. talked him for six weeks like here's all. the things that I was tracking and so. that's that's when I realized I'd. perhaps misplace some compassion for. some of the refugees and the bombing and. all this emotions that I I could have. been you know more Vigilant than I was. um and and I think I just conflated a. little bit of the compassion with that. and I still don't think this guy's was. Bin Laden but do I think that his family.

fought for the other side and was. directly supporting al-Qaeda in their. home Village absolutely 100% and how is. it possible that the Department of. Justice IS F filing filings in court. saying oh this guy's fine and J Colonels. are testifying now we knew that before. we picked him up like I can't go into. the details of what he shared but like. he testified under oath that the team. the Squadron that pulled him out was. tracking so like if I'm going to believe. one entity it's probably not going to be.

the previous administration's Department. of Justice and it's definitely not going. to be the attorney who helped defend the. decision to turn over to these people in. the first. place I have a problem with if if this. has gotten scrubbed off the watch list. which I have reason to believe it has. been scrubbed it doesn't exist. anymore I'd like to know why was that a. valid National interest purpose or was. that a favor to a mega Law Firm that. gets things like this done and if I. think everybody listening to this knows.

exactly what it is well to the point. where I couldn't even speak about it and. well that's a that's a a related issue. so they they changed my ERS where they. order me not to testify about that and I. didn't testify about it the judge never. knew any of that stuff uh in our own. custody case like all these warnings and. and and they they tried to shut us up. because that counteracts the narrative. because it makes sense right if dud. flags on ter watch us and we're like yep. separate them we're not like whatever if. he's going to get deported we're not.

going to deal with this anymore we're. not that's the extent of our Grace and. um you know I have an obligation as as a. constitutional officer to report this. and and send it up the chain and um I. was very concerned with the chaos in the. that people weren't getting properly. vetted and then as as time went on and. like these reports coming out of DOD. whistleblower saying they were getting. pressured to scrub people off the watch. list and then there was a report by the. dod Inspector General talking about how.

we weren't because of agreements with. partner nations in a in the combat zone. we were only DOD could share information. that was gleaned by some of these. partner Nations and of all the terrorist. uh database information would normally. be housed under the terrorist screening. Center and normally be in all of our D. databases a share there was a subset of. combat zone um information that was not. applied to vetting these Afghans and so. there there's a 30 page DOD Inspector. General report talking about how they.

had to give the data sets of who had. been led into the country to the uh. National Ground Intelligence Center and. they revetted them and identified a. whole bunch of people that had very. concerning derogatory on them that were. LED in the US and most of them they. didn't even know where they were and so. like that's the context of where we were. at as far as like I'm a Marine Corps. officer you know America First like. report this stuff up the chain and then. it just and and nobody said boo about it. like when I reported that stuff up. nobody was like oh that's classified.

it's marked unclassified it says. unclassified Foo the guy sent me a copy. a screenshots said hey this is what we. were worried about just so you know and. and um it's marked unclassified on the. document so I reported it 10 months uh. before it came back down and now that is. marked secret no foreign in in an. investigation saying that I mishandled. that information and like give me a. break you know this is an unclassified. database it's in the Federal Register is. unclassified and I'm having to ask this.

nice NCS agent uh who's doing exactly. what these me law firms had him do which. was interrogate me like I fully. cooperated I'm a lawyer I know my rights. you know I know my 31 Bravo rights I. know our rights on the Constitution I. voluntarily wave that because I want our. our country to be safe and I was trying. to figure out what happened with that. and so like I talked to him like so. you're saying this an unclassified datab. he's like yeah I like well how in the. world is it secret no foreign he's like. well the office of the Director of. National Intelligence has determined as.

the original classification Authority. but like I'm an sja for a Soom component. right I've been around the block I know. what intelligence oversight looks like I. know what classification is like dude. did you get that in writing it's like no. it was on a phone call so I like you. don't even have it in writing that this. is secret no foreign now and what. Authority that was and if there was a a. security classification guide that that. actually says that because you know you. can't just like say stuff as secret no. foreign to favor political like you. can't just misclassify information.

that's illegal it violates the executive. order and um and so he kind of hemmed. and Hau a little bit and went back to. his uh his lawyers to try to figure that. out but. I've got like there was another document. like I I'll show you one other thing so. there was. a get right this do right here this is. the terrorist identity data Mark. environment tied I'm sorry let me so. this is the terrorist identity dataart.

environment or tied database Fai this is. published for the American people. publicly on the office of the director. National Intelligence website okay this. is their fact basically explaining how. we vet terrorists and what we do to keep. you safe right this. document uh was slammed in front of my. face marked secret no foreign by an. agent you kiding me saying it's right. now in my board of inquiry evidence the. what law firm is this I uh I probably. shouldn't say or I'll get sued but um.

how do you get so it's it's. represented a lot of people on the the. political left over the time and um you. can get sued for saying the name of the. law firm you know you don't want to give. him a stick to beat you with but but. this document and here's the kicker it. was marked secret no foreign and then it. said pending classification review and. then they line that out so post. classification review they're saying a. publicly facing website and I've got a.

letter from doj saying I'm not. authorized to use this public document. in our case because we wanted to use it. as an exhibit as a publicly available so. like. so they own the court they. absolutely Law Firm owns the court. terrorist in this in this lawsuit we. never got to say any of that stuff I. couldn't even test the only thing we got. to do is use his own recording saying he. was scared of the Taliban they disobey. the Taliban that's what we were able to. use isn't this public knowledge I mean.

isn't this like but but can't you look. it up who the law firm is yeah if if if. the appropriate oversight asks for the. classified documents for my board uh. please God go pull that stuff and look. at this document secret no forign and. ask yourself how does a Counter. Intelligence Special Agent Mark a. document that's. googleable it was designed and released. for the American public's benefit as. secret no foreign it's insane and that's. like there's like a half dozen documents.

like that so this document was marked. higher classification than the Kana it. was like 5i real two like you know what. I mean so like you have a a a Ranger. regiment conop that is a lower. classification than a publicly available. odni like fact sheet for the American. people like give me a break and um so. that's the kind of ridiculousness I I'll. show you one other example that's just. an easy visual so here is here's the. same document this is what was released.

see the redactions on it this is a fact. sheet made for briger General Taylor um. who was working with cka with the Afghan. like mentorship program and um this is. how it was released for the court right. this is how it was released for my board. so I've got it so would you like to know. what they redacted so that that the. judge never. knew uh and this is remember they were. attacking our credibility saying that I. made this up and that that I was biased. and riding this stuff well this is. drafted by the sja shop not me and so.

they redacted the portion that just. corroborated everything we said. originally in the Declassified Mission. summary so it says multiple photos. recovered from the scene included. pictures of turkman weager foreign. Fighters weapons Al-Qaeda Flags a. detainee captured the night of the. operation indicated that the neighboring. compounds were occupied by Chinese. weager fighters from turkistan and. identified the pictures attached as. foreign fighters who were residents of. the compounds that engaged the Afghan Le. forces and additional detainee. corroborated the compounds of Interest. struck on 5 6 September were occupied by.

turkman Foreign Fighters and their. families so the the very attorneys that. that let her be turned over knowing this. redacted this information for. release and and only at the board when. my command like gave me as much as they. had like they actually gave me. information man these people have no. souls man well I I think it's just a. it's like a big law No Holds Barred. whatever it means necessary to get your.

outcome and they Pride themselves on do. achieving that for their clients and. they're very successful and fabulously. wealthy but you know here's the other. question I have is how do you afford 15. attorneys with a high power Law Firm. that's $500 plus an hour in three. different law firms how do you afford. that and here's the deal what we've come. to find out is that there's been. fundraising videos in Afghanistan like. saying the taliban's helping us and we. need money um so like I I'd like to know. like how's that being paid for is that.

some like Shake in the UAE like funding. these this with with dark money like is. there is the Taliban helping with this. cuz they they publicly released two. years ago saying they're going to go to. American authorities and protest and. then I've got the charge the Affairs. filing weird affidavits sounding a lot. like this is messing up our negotiations. with the Taliban and um so I've got a. lot of reasonable questions like are. they is the Department of Justice on the. previous administration doing this. because the Taliban asked them to like.

they filed an affidavit from the charge. the affair saying it was interfering. with negotiations well what does that. mean does that mean the Talib want them. to give our kid back to these people who. are not relatives and and probably on. their team I'd like to know that I think. the American people deserve to know that. and isn't that quite a bit of a. different story that what publicly out. there and and why would they need to. change my orders three or four different. times why wouldn't they release all the. information I asked them to declassify.

and release for a child's custody. hearing like would we do that for any. child but but this child was picked up. off a named objective in brutal close. com combat where the eyewitnesses said. they tried to kill us blowing themselves. up in in a pitched gun. fight where like a dozen Americans are. bleeding and I'll never forget the. platoon Sergeant he told me sir whatever. you need with this will come forward. like our guys didn't bleed so she go. back to hell like it was that bad they.

were that that strongly about it and. these guys are being called war. criminals by organization there was an. organization that started a letter. writing campaign that's how one of the. reasons I got boarded is they they sent. 7,000 letters to Congress and in those. letters they they talk about how they. want to promote their narrative and they. want major Mass held accountable and uh. you know from a child that was recovered. in what could have been a war crime. anyway and I'm here to tell you right. now that's defamation there's no way. that this was a war crime even if even.

if there were civilians killed like it's. a legitimate strike on an Al-Qaeda. compound of of verified intelligence so. like to say that publicly is like. calling people rapists. and I honestly tired of folks who have. don't produce or preserve Liberty for. others attacking our men I mean I I. think I think the SE def owes it to. these guys to clear their name like if. if you've been said hey you might be a. war criminal and there's a video of it.

do you think those guys deserve that no. man but they deserve the truth you know. what I'm saying they're all under. non-disclosure agreements right they had. to get authorization and they actually. tried to get these Rangers not to be. able to testify they almost changed our. orders we got some weird emails saying. like what do you need them for to. testify after they were fully approved. by Uso they're like what do you need. them again like what exactly are they. going to testify to I'm trying to screw. around with the ability of these. eyewitnesses to say what happened and um. I I know for a fact there's footage of.

this stuff I know for a fact there's TS. and secret level information that. corroborates everything we're saying and. and that was so so rewarding at our. Board of inquiry having the ability to. have some due process right where the. colonels can come and testify I think we. had five Colonels testify three of them. is Witnesses of like what they knew at. the time because the Department of. Justice in in court filings to a court. has represented that I made this stuff. up and that I misled this Deputy. assistant SEF as a captain like are you.

kidding me do you don't think his staff. and Colonels they testified in our board. that they corroborated everything. independently with their targeting. packages or targeting system they have. in the Pentagon and. so you again I think I've said this a. couple. times I law law firms can represent. their client we might have some ethical. disagreements the Department of Justice. can't parent Lies when they have. evidence at the contrary like that's. criminal you can't do that stuff and.

if if the Department of Justice through. the FBI has contradictory statements. like saying saying these other people. are in Authority the Taliban Governor is. in Authority if that's what they were. told by these people how do they file. saying that they're have legal authority. over this child they told them. themselves that they. don't I don't understand how you can lie. to a court like that and so we have what. we've done Sean is I have formally.

whistleblow these actions with just a. tip of the iceberg just enough to pick. people's interest in Congress and an. oversight I I I wrote a whistleblower. complaint addressed to the president via. Congress in formal neighbor letter. format I'm a lawyer this is what I do. right I spent 3 days in a hole drafting. all this stuff and citing the evidence. there's 30 enclosures hundreds of pages. of evidence right and this is just the. really obvious stuff like here's the one. redacted document and here's the. document unredacted why do you think.

that is and and and laying that out for. Congress and what we've been asking is. that the president of the United States. the US. government release all this stuff and. and look at the evidence and if there is. a lie in what the previous. administration's department of justice. has filed which there is fix it it's not. rocket science get some oversight of. these people because these are your. typical deep State bureaucrats they have.

absolutely weaponized the system like. this could be like the poster child. event of everything that we've all been. dealing with at the Grassroots level. like you said with with the Blackwater. guys like deleting the 5 minutes that. matter in their lives right and um we've. experienced that to the point where like. I'm a government hack I'm a prosecutor. like I carry that mantle right but. seeing it from the other side seeing the. system weaponized against like if they. can do this to to me they can do it to. anybody it just is if they want.

to and that's blown my what's hard you. know for me as his wife sitting here you. know beside him living this you know. going through this with him is uh we've. been you know KNN each other since we. were kids uh we're remember 911 watching. The twim Towers fall and he's as much of. a red-blooded patriot you know American. as you can get and to see someone that. has throughout his whole whole life.

acted. honorably for his his reputation. everything and and his morality. everything to be skewed and twisted to. ADV a different narrative into favor. another side has been it's been hard to. sit there and watch it knowing the truth. watching him literally fight for his. life his career everything everything. for us is at stake and it has been you. stake for a while and to see a lie.

seemingly Prevail for this long has. been difficult but when we have had the. opportunity to share our heart and share. our story and share what we've seen uh. it it good people have stepped in and. come along and contributed just just. enough well and that's that's the point. of shutting down debate and I think. that's a real danger to our society like. we need freedom of speech now more than. ever we need open debate of ideas we.

need to be able to talk through these. things and and what there's a a really. pernicious I guess undercurrent where if. powerful people don't want you to they. want a certain outcome they shut down. speech and that's like um like I told. you before with CBS we we gave this. interview like 7h hour interview two. years ago to CBS and they did a two-part. series and then these Mega law firms. come in and threaten them and then they. changed it as some milk toast you know I. I don't want to say BS but something.

that it that was not interview it's like. oh they say this and you say that and. none of the facts right none of the. what's actually going on I've got and. complaint that lays out email traffic. between these Mega law firms and the. se's attorneys and then my orders get. changed and get the CBS thing in Janu. two years ago yeah two years ago and. then um any do you think any of this. changes now that Biden Administration is. gone that's our hope like we our.

honestly morale is high in in the. military right now at least in our unit. we are ready to go in focusing on war. fighting and not some of this. Ridiculousness we've had to deal with. like um has anything happened. since the Trump Administration has taken. over has there been any any good things. any bad things with your particular case. or it kind of on Ice until this next. thing you said we're trying to get them. so fortunately some of the Trump.

appointees at the Department of Justice. have some oversight of these particular. attorneys but right now the Department. of Defense and the Department of State. need to evaluate whether they want to. continue attacking our family and and I. think that there's a really good chance. that they will make the decision to stop. that attacks and release that. information and that would end the case. so this basically needs to get to Pete. heg Seth and Marco Rubio yeah and Pam. Bondi we we've already had Congress has. sent that whistleblower complaint.

formally through their office of. legislative affairs to those Authority. makers but what I'd encourage them any. them to do and anyone to do who's. interested in this is this of inquiry. gathered 14 gabt of unclassified data. and hundreds and hundreds of pages of. original reporting in one place like if. you want to know the truth just pull it. get somebody to send it to you on sipper. it's condensed with the marso sja office. it's great I I honestly it's the best. thing that could have happened to us. because it gives us an ability to talk.

about uh uh the same facts that nobody. can gag us because we have a due process. right to talk about what the Government. tried to do to us and it and it collects. like real hard evidence in one place and. lays it all out and so I I think we've. done the right steps as far as we we've. tried to I've tried to. be a good Marine Corps officer at every. stage and I've never embarrassed the. Marine corp's name or my own and I I. would I'd rather die take a bullet than.

dishonor our institutions like that's. how strongly I feel about it and I. haven't now that's not known but every. service member that sat down and looked. at this like buddies of mine or people. in the board like the reason they. unsubstantiate everything related to the. Afghans is because it's a. lie and it's it's so clearly a lie and. and then you know one of the things my. attorney made a great point in the. closing argument that won the day the. government got up and they they pitched. an exact rerun of what these Mega law.

firms already lost two years ago like. the judge specifically rejected that. stuff that's in evidence at my board the. government put it in evidence. but they said the exact same argument. again it's like we we're want to repeat. here and then the mega Law Firm. attorneys are there assisting the. government to try to go after us. administratively after they already lost. legally so his most effective his most. effective point was like members I'm. afraid that our system is being. weaponized for non-official.

purposes and is it because these. allegations were made two years ago and. all he did was read the courts ruling he. read it verbatim and it says I reject. the narr the kidnapping narrative and. they attack him for his religious. beliefs or something like that he read. it verbatim to the board and it was. exactly what these people have been. spewing again in this military board on. behalf of these Mega law firms and it. shut it down that's why it was. unsubstantiated and you know what senior.

doj and Senior Department of Defense. attorneys had this written ruling it was. a 38-page ruling they had it for 2 years. guess who didn't have that. ruling the FBI investigators the NCIS. investigators and the board or the the. recorder the prosecutor for the. government wow they never saw this. binding ruling against these parties so. this is a binding a ruling is binding. against the parties right so between us. and the Afghans here's the law right.

they never gave it to their own. investigators how do you run a military. officer with the Recycled allegations. that were already proven false. and and and it's that level of of. uh I don't know the word to describe it. it's it's not Justice let me put it that. way it's not it's not a scales and equal. before the law it's we favor these. people and push hard on the gas and it. is a miracle that we have survived this.

far financially just emotionally with. our family with uh is anyone else going. to cover. this I don't know so we we've been asked. uh Glenn Beck asked us to come talk on. his show 60 Minutes is going to do. something but there was CBS and they got. scared last time so I doubt they're. going to go into anything I don't know I. don't the I don't know the answer to. that I I I am thankful like you don't. know how how thankful are to be able to. appeal directly to Americans people. who've been deployed in the GWT.

understand the conditions on the ground. understand what classification is. understand what the Terr watch lless is. they understand the implications of this. and what the. political I don't agree with it but I. understand at least the political. interest in covering up people you. import that may not have embedded like I. understand where they're coming from I. don't agree with it does that make sense. but be able to talk to your audience who. are like subject matters in targeting. subject matters and what the ranger. regiment does and what the. counterterrorism mission was and how how. much Fidelity like let's just say the. Israelis are not the only people who can.

thoroughly penetrate terrorist. organizations and know exactly what's. going on where you know we have those. capabilities too and we use them and um. so to be able to talk to that type of. audience and um and and knowing you know. your influence on you know the political. debate or the debate in the country. about what issues are important and what. should we Elevate and what should we. prioritize but we're really in the 11th. Hour of potentially her going back to. the talban again and that's just. unbelievable to me and it's just it's. just it's not pitched like that in the.

media it's covered up but like this is. like I said this is a Taliban El and. Gonzalez situation and we we I think the. President should intervene and Sav her. from the deep State who who lied to his. organization or his his administration. the first time around and and if if. there is anybody willing to look at the. evidence objectively I I don't think you. come to a different conclusion than that. and I can give you the phone number of. the Rangers I can give you the phone. number of the colonel at jck who can. corroborate this guy's got dirt on him.

uh and like I said I don't think he's. Osama Bin Laden do I think that they. should have accelerated his Asylum. application if the first 800 approved. this guy's Asylum application was. approved because as to gain a litigation. Advantage because you know if he's at. risk he doesn't have a status here it's. kind of hard for a judge to say yeah. take this child right so over our allies. over the people that went to war with us. this dude I just told you all these drog. about got his Asylum application. approved by the US government how does.

that happen like what's the official. purpose in that it like I mean the guy. that was a turp the first Afghan ey got. out he got his denied right Zaki like. there was a news article but they wrote. a book about. him his initial application got denied. and this guy got approved I don't. understand how that happens. like blows my mind so you know the Tom. homans of the world like I really think. they should go look at this guy's Asylum. application and compare it to what J.

knows and did this guy lie on an asylum. application because Fair a middling. chance that he said he wasn't affiliated. with the Taliban and there's a fair. middling chance that he is so like you. know I don't think we should tolerate. that sort of shenanigans when it comes. to National Security because if they'll. do it just to win a case like whoever. was involved in scrubbing this off. should actually. like if they didn't do it for an. official purpose and they risk National. Security like you should lose your job.

for that like you're putting the. American people at risk and you know I. just. I can live with mean mean words like. like I I God's made me the type of. person I am where I'm going to do the. right thing and I'm not going to stop. until you kill me like that's just who I. am and there's millions of people like. me and that's why we volunteer and we go. down range and we do the things we do. and whatever job or MOS that we're given. right we we're there to further and.

Advance American principles and ideas. like that's what like we don't go down. range just to commit violence it it's. violence Advance a purpose that's what. makes us different than other military. and. so I I would. like really the Rangers bothers me the. most I want these guys I honestly they. should get awarded at the White House. they should get accolades for having. that moral courage and that Heat of the. Moment to do the right thing and save. this little girl they should get.

recognized for that they shouldn't be. called war criminals yeah I think we. have a moral obligation to expose that. well I'll get this to everybody I know I. appreciate I know a lot of people I. don't know what they'll do with it. sometimes they do stuff sometimes they. don't but. um [ __ ]. man it's I just got to say man it's an. honor to meet you guys like it's a. privilege for us we appreciate it Like. Whoa We we wouldn't have bleed if we had.

not lived it I I keep saying that to. myself because we've seen absolute. Miracles and absolute heroism and. everything in between I mean I'm with. you though I just. um I don't see a losing this one too. many things have fallen into place over. the years just like you had said and. think God's got a a bigger purpose for. this. than some [ __ ] Mega law firm and. corrupt. doj I hope so you know honestly we're.

we're really looking forward to some. light being shown on this because I mean. honestly daylight and truth that's what. that's what the American people deserve. that's what regular people deserve and. and that's really what's been held from. us well earlier in the in this when it. became just litigated it I read a quote. and it said that you you can't rewrite. someone's opinion of like of yourself. you can't change their mind about you. all you're responsible for to do is to. tell the truth and share your story and.

that has that was our motivation coming. on here was not to sit there and fight. down all the arguments everything that's. been thrown at us but really just share. the story share what happened and like. as Joshua showed there's a ton of facts. out there um that support Everything But. ultimately it comes down to a decision. that in the moment just like the Rangers. did just like we did just like the. hospital staff and all of the dod. Personnel it was a split-second decision.

to step up and advocate for one child. and for I hope most Americans and most. people they'll understand how easy that. is but really there's not you know some. sort of Twisted motivation or it's just. really there's an innocent child there's. something that we can do to help it. let's do it yeah it's like someone. drowning a lake and you're walking by. and you can do something you just are. you obligated to do something it's pure. Instinct you just step in and you do it. and so yes living out the living out the. ramifications of the decision has been. challenging I think it's made us grow it.

as people but I mean ultimately what we. ended the board of inquiry if handed. like if we were asked would you we do. this over again absolutely we have no. regrets and to add a positive note. because I you know in conversation you. talked about like is there anything good. in our government and what I like to to. counter to that is yes there there's. some really good people at the. Grassroots level and we need people. volunteering and filling these. leadership roles in our government at.

such a time as this and so I'd encourage. folks who' have been waffling about. joining the military join you know be. the difference in the military and make. it great um we have an opportunity now. we've been kind of Unshackled for some. of these like non-essential things that. have kept us from being the most. efficient War fighting war-winning. machine that we can be and um honestly. Mor's higher than it's been in a long. time like me I'm like perking up I'm I'm. probably a terminal major at this point. but I'm like I'm sticking around I want.

to see this you know I know I want to be. an action officer on some of these. initiatives and um and and we have met. people at every level of government that. have gone out of their way when they. didn't have to to help like once they're. armed with facts they've been just. Warriors for right and so I would say. there's hope I would say that there is a. lot of people out there doing the right. thing even like like the fact that we're. here like after what's been said about. us and like all the allegations that. that you would um honor us with the.

opportunity to speak directly to the. American people and tell the truth like. that's a pretty big you know miracle for. us you know what I mean like that's. that's something remarkable. and um I don't mean that lightly with. those K bars like those are are symbolic. for us because I really do honor that. that um opportunity so thank you for for. having us on here thank you for letting. us like talk directly to people and I I. I truly believe that you know when the. truth gets out um that's what's going to. win the day and um that that's our hope.

and our prayer so you're welcome thank. you thank you for coming and. um I think a lot of people are going to. to see this so just um I wish you guys. the best of luck and God bless what. you're doing man thank you and you know. can I thank a couple people really quick. we here um to uh to the task force. medical Afghanistan Commander thank you. sir for setting the example um it I.

named my son after you for a reason um. you are the model leader with compassion. and empathy um that I hope my sons to be. when day um to the platoon Sergeant all. the Rangers that sacrificed on that. objective I know that they gave away. Afghanistan in a way that I I wasn't. particularly proud of and didn't feel. like it it honored our sacrifices over. there but you made a difference with a. real little girl um that I'll I'll. forever be grateful for we have the.

privilege of watching her experience new. experiences and freedoms and growing and. have a life that she would not have. except for your decisions on objective I. know you know it was one night and it. was you know of course we'd do that but. honoring the the. instinct is important I think and I hope. you get the recognition you deserve and. and get recognized for that um I I. honestly think that that should be at. the White House um who else should I. think for everyone who's prayed or given.

or um our families you know helped our. family along the way thank you for that. um my my my brother uh Richard my U. attorney Hannah Wright like all my team. at McGuire Woods um that's a law firm. that's helped us pro bono and they. provided like hundreds of thousands of. dollars of Legal Services we would be. drowning if it wasn't for them could not. afford this uh because they pric you out. of the market with some of these big. firms how they attack you so thank you.

for making a. difference it's there anybody I miss. Senator Cruz's staff so many like U. Senator Cruz and his staff like you all. you literally saved her life because you. delayed her being turned over to what. turns out to be you know uh non-relative. terrorist Affiliated people like. literally that was the fight and and the. state department absolutely misled you. and I know that you all would have kept. fighting if you had been armed with the. facts that we know now but um you. delayed her getting dumped in an.

orphanage and that been a black hole and. she'd be dead and uh I I truly believe. those advocacy efforts saved her life. and it delayed her getting turned over. to she was more stable and older and so. she was able to survive that ordeal and. thank God she survived the war and she. survived neglect and she survived abuse. like we're so thankful and and her. life saved so many other people that. that I absolutely see the providential. hand of God in her life because if she. hadn't gotten dumped like that and they. meant it for evil but it was used for.

good in the end um and there's real. people alive today that would be living. under the Taliban but for her life so I. mean. I've got to I've got to be thank I I it. makes me grateful and it makes me. humbled to have been a part of part of. this like uh and we're going to keep. fighting like we are fighting forward. and um you better be willing to put it. all on the line if if you're going. to attack us yeah well then doubt is on.

your side we so I'll be praying for you. guys too appreciate. it God bless thanks. thank. [Music]. you no matter where you're watching Shan. Ryan Show from if you get anything out. of this please like comment subscribe.

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