CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview with Jason Crow

Interview

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REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): It's been America's longest war. And when our troops have been sent into harm's way, they've been on our side.

REP. PETER MEIJER (R-MI): Afghan interpreters who've risked everything, putting their lives on the line to save the lives of American service members, and help us complete our mission.

FLO GLOBERG, RET. U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN: Now, as we bring our troops home, we can't leave them behind.

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TAPPER: That's a Medal of Honor recipient Flo Globerg. We also saw Congressman Peter Meijer, Republican of Michigan in that ad.

And Democratic Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado joins us now to talk about it.

So, for people who don't know you, you're retired Army Ranger, you served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. So you have firsthand experience, understanding how critical these translators were during your time. Tell our viewers.

CROW: Hi, Jake, thanks for having me. Yes, this isn't hypothetical for me. I mean, there's certainly moral arguments be made here. There are national security arguments to be made here.

But this group, this bipartisan group that has come together, many of us veterans, this is real and personal for us. I mean, we consider these Afghan interpreters, these translators as brothers and sisters of ours. I can say, it is not a hyperbole for me to say this, that I very well wouldn't be here today hadn't been for the service of some of these men and women that helped us communicate, but also helped us work through the culture and some of the challenges of being in Baghdad or being in the mountains of Afghanistan.

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I remember very clearly one moment in the summer of 2003 working with interpreter in Iraq, and I was communicating with one of the local leaders. And my interpreter said, you know, he's lying to you, he's lying to you. And, you know, I think he's a part of the insurgency, which then of course, led us to dig deeper and look into things and really help protect me and the men that I was leading. So, these folks have proven themselves in service to our country, and it's time that we stand by them.

TAPPER: I have not seen the sense of urgency and the rush to solve this problem from the Biden administration that I would think would be there. I have literally been reporting on the story for years.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin today, it's been reported that he's asked top generals to start looking into options to evacuate translators and interpreters, I think task and purpose reported that. What kind of options do you think would be appropriate? And do you think that Biden is acting with the urgency this issues requires?

CROW: Oh, Jake, as of today, we're almost 40 percent done with the retro grade, as they're calling it, which is the military term for the withdrawals. This is happening very fast, it's extremely dangerous. We already have our Afghan partners and allies who have been murdered in years past and continue to be right now. So there is an urgency to this over the next couple of months.

And what I can say is, you know, my friends and contacts in the DOD want to do this, and senior military leaders continue to say that we can do this, we can get it done. As recently as today, actually earlier today, some senior folks in the Department of Defense said, you know, we are developing plans to do an evacuation. Same thing with the State Department who have said to me repeatedly that this is something that we can do and that they would like to see done.

So, you know, what this ad has intended to do, that we did in collaboration With Honor Action, the organization is send the message to President Biden into the White House, that this is something that the American people support, that they're behind, and that we are willing to help them accomplish, that there is popular support for it. And that's consistent with the values of our country. And it's something that we want them to do.

So, we're going to continue to push them. I think in the direction we need to go we need to do an evacuation is the bottom line. We have a special immigrant visa program that's in place is going to take years, though. Even at best, it'll take years to get everybody through the SIV process. There are asylum processes available to folks, that's not going to do it either.

It is time that we look at an evacuation much like we did after Vietnam, much like we did with the Kurds in 1996, and the coast of ours after that. We have done this before, we know how to do it. It's time to do it again.

TAPPER: Well, you're telling me that there's a bipartisan group in Congress that wants to do it. And I was just talking to the Republican -- ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Sunday, Michael McCaul, who agreed, you're telling me that there are people at the Pentagon that want to do it, people at the State Department, they want to do it.

What you're not telling me is that there are people in the White House that want to do that. And ultimately, they're the ones that have to say, Secretary Austin do this. So why aren't they?

CROW: Well, that that's a political decision, ultimately, right? State Department and DOD, they're the ones are going to have to effectuate that. They can't make that policy. They can only carry out that policy. So, that's why we formed this group, Jake.

We formed the group, this bipartisan, you know, honoring our promises. Working group is what we've called it in Congress. We have this ad that's going up, we put out op-eds. We're trying to send a very strong message that the American people really think this is important and we want to do it, because ultimately we understand that this is a political decision.

And you know, President Biden has a lot on his plate, I get that. We have a pandemic. We are trying to pass an infrastructure bill. There's all sorts of international crises. There are hacks, cyberattacks, ransomware attacks, there's a lot going on.

What we're trying to say is, this is one of them, and this should go on the priority list because we don't get a second shot at this. We have a couple of months. If these people are killed under our watch, and because of our neglect, then we will carry that with us. And not only is it a moral issue, but it's a national security one.

And let me flush that out very briefly, if I may, you know, we're withdrawing from Afghanistan that's a decision that is not without risk, but it's one that I support and we're pivoting to other great dangers and threats around the world. We're going to need partner wherever that happens to be, whether it's countering China, countering Russia, Central America, South America, but we never do it alone.

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And those people, those future partners are looking very closely and watching us how we treat our current partners. And if we don't stand by them now, people are not going to be there for us in the future.

TAPPER: Congressman Jason Crow, thank you so much for your time and thank you for your service. Appreciate it, sir.

CROW: Yes, thank you.

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