MSNBC "The Rachel Maddow Show" - Transcript: Interview with Jason Crow

Interview

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REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): Thanks, Rachel. Appreciate you having me.

MADDOW: First, just want to ask, as an Afghanistan veteran and somebody who is really involved in the veteran`s community. I just have to ask if there`s emotion. If there`s -- if you`ve got strong feelings, today, seeing the war wound down by this president after all of the American sacrifice there and after the pieces of your life that were left there, yourself?

CROW: Yeah, Rachel. There`s a variety of mixed emotion that -- that I and many other Afghan war veterans are experiencing. It started when the president announced the withdrawal, a couple of months ago. I had another moment, when I saw that last flight leaving Bagram Air Base, last week. That was a base where I have spent a lot of time in my life in the past, and again, today.

So, there is a lot of emotion. And I agree with the president, wholeheartedly that it`s time to bring our troops home. That doesn`t mean we`re going to abandon Afghanistan. Doesn`t mean we`re going to, you know, leave them to their own against the Taliban. We`ll continue to support them but we just can`t continue to do this.

You know, a lot of -- so many Americans have left their lives, their loved ones, pieces of themselves and pieces of their heart in Afghanistan. And -- and I, certainly, can sympathize with that. So it`s a difficult time. But it is time that we focus on what we can do in the next couple of months. What we can do is we can have some honor in making sure we`re doing right by our partners.

MADDOW: Well, to that end, obviously, the president made this eloquent commitment, today. There will be a home for you in the United States, if you so choose. We will stand with you, as you stood with us.

That`s a firm and -- and, I think, unequivocal commitment from the president. That said, the people who have been working most closely on this issue told us, today, that they want more details, that they want more concrete information.

[21:25:05]

You just heard from the governor of Guam there. Even with her saying Guam stands ready and I support this and we will make it happen, if Guam is going to be the place to which these interpreters and their families are evacuated. Nobody seems to have details. The plan seems to be more of a commitment than an -- a set of actions. I wonder, if you share that perception? Or if there`s more being done, that we can`t see?

CROW: Well, there is more being done that isn`t public, yet. And right after the president announced the decision to withdraw, I formed the Honoring Our Promises working group in Congress that has over 20 members, Democrat and Republican. Many of us, veterans, including Vietnam veterans, who have really come to this issue knowing their own experience. And the pain they suffered seeing their friends being left behind.

So, we`ve -- we formed this working group, we have actually passed one piece of legislation, last week, to greatly expedite the SIV process. We`re going to take up another bill to increase vastly the cap for SIV visas and expedite the process further. I have been in regular contact with members of the National Security Council, the State Department, the Defense Department, some of the leads of these interagency task forces.

There is actually a lot of machinery that is ramping up right now. I think you are going to see a variety of options that are going to be used, including Guam, including military facilities in the Middle East, including the use of humanitarian parole to bring vetted applicants directly to the United States. You are going to see an all hands on deck and all the above approach to that.

But there is some operational sensitivity. You don`t want to announce those plans because you want to be able to allow those applicants to make their way to Kabul, and to get them, safely, out using commercial airlift.

But again, my -- as a member of Congress, my job is not to just rubber stamp the administration and just say they`re doing a great job. My job is to continue to push, and I am not going to take their word for it. I am going to continue to push along with the other members.

MADDOW: In terms of the process, thus far, we saw the president, today, say that there is a point person at the State Department. There was a very spicy State Department briefing after the president`s speech today in which they identified that point person, the spokesperson for the State Department, was really pressed on that.

I feel like, as -- as an observer from the outside, knowing what I know about the history of these matters but not, necessarily, understanding what -- what we`re, operationally, doing right now, and maybe, it makes sense that I don`t know all those operational details because nobody in the public eye should.

I do worry that the -- that time is ticking here. The U.S. withdrawal of troops has been fast, as the president said today, speed is safety. And the way the withdrawal has gone, with over 90 percent of U.S. forces already gone, it`s been done in such a way that no-U.S. forces have lost their lives, for example, as part of the withdrawal process, that far.

But the faster they go, the more urgently Afghan allies and interpreters need to get out of there. And I`d -- I feel, looking from the outside, that whatever you`re describing in terms of how much work is being done. It doesn`t feel fast enough. It doesn`t feel like, when the president today talked about Afghan SIV visa holders, you know, taking commercial flights out of Afghanistan, that -- that doesn`t feel like the right-first step. I feel like there ought to be airlifts that we`re seeing.

CROW: Yeah. It -- it is not fast enough. And, you know, don`t get me wrong. It needs to be faster and I have been very disappointed that it took us this long to get here.

You know, we should have been here two months ago, right after the announcement of -- of the withdrawal because not every day is equal, right? We don`t have the footprint. We don`t have the military forces. And what we are seeing is a degradation of the security in the outlying provinces. So those SIV applicants, those translators who live outside of Kabul, it`s going to be hard for them to get to Kabul.

The Taliban has taken over roads. They`re setting up checkpoints. Things are getting worse and worse, by the day. So the ability to conduct an evacuation now is going to be different from the ability to conduct an evacuation in August and September or October or November. It`s going to get worse, with each-passing month.

So, not every day is equal here. It needs to happen and I do think that we need to have additional-military resources including military airlift brought to bear with this issue.

MADDOW: Colorado congressman, U.S. veteran, Jason Crow -- thank you so much for your time tonight, sir. It`s a pleasure to have you here. I know it`s a sort of solemn day, today, for you and your fellow Afghanistan veterans. Thanks for sharing some of it with us.

CROW: Thanks, Rachel.

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