We are honored this month to feature former Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne as this month’s “Five Questions With…” headliner. It’s not often the Blue Goose reads like a thriller filled with international intrigue and plot twists, but Sec. Kempthorne’s tale of helping to evacuate 395 Afghan Allies and Americans in 2021 is just that. Kempthorne, who attended last month’s BCA Reunion in Dallas, provided an abundance of compelling material. We also touch on his passion for public service, his keys to winning every election he ever entered, being the only cabinet member who lived on a houseboat and a story from his time in the administration that was not only personally meaningful, but demonstrates President Bush’s leadership.
Q: What did you enjoy most about attending the BCA reunion?
It brought back the recollections of why we were so proud to have President Bush at the helm of the Nation, and why we were so proud to serve in his administration. Also, to see colleagues from when we were the government, and to reflect on what we did together. It was fascinating to get perspectives from one another, that we had never had the opportunity to discuss before, of the behind the scenes of what else was going on regarding certain decisions and actions that we were part of. Once again, a sense of pride to have been part of this with such good people. President Bush continues to have some of the best minds of the time on his team at the Bush Center. And with his continued high esteem globally, it’s important to bring world leaders and world thinkers to the Center to have discussions of what may really be going on regarding critical hot spots and sensitive issues of the day, all done in an atmosphere of professionalism and decency. I am proud to support the ongoing work of the Bush Center.
Q: Can you tell us about your recent efforts to successfully evacuate Afghan Allies?
There were four of us – two U.S. Army Commanders, Major Dan Nelson (Green Beret Special Forces) and Captain Joe Forney (82nd Airborne Division, West Point Class of ‘05) who each commanded in Afghanistan, and a young, brilliant Afghan American, Nawid Mousa, who loves America. Somehow, we became the team, each devoted to make good on the promise of America – if you help America, we will not abandon you.
We began receiving lists of Americans and Afghan Allies who were stranded in Afghanistan. And these Allies were targets of the Taliban. We still had intelligence assets on the ground. I would receive messages at all hours telling me that the Taliban were conducting door-to-door searches and we needed to relocate our Allies. I immediately informed Nawid, who through his personal finances, had safe houses made ready. We moved the sought-after targets to new locations. We did all of this remotely.
We developed a detailed manifest of the Allies and their families we were attempting to evacuate. I communicated with our government. They asked if we have manifests. I said, yes, and was told we must submit them to our government. I asked if the manifests would be turned over to the Taliban. I was told, “probably.” I then said we will never submit them because they contained the information of what our allies did for the United States and where they were currently located in Afghanistan. It would be a target rich environment for the Taliban. We would never provide that information.
In exploring all avenues to find a way to protect these Americans citizens and allies behind the lines, I reached out to the government of Mexico. I asked if they would provide political asylum to all on our list. With much gratitude, I affirmed that the government of Mexico granted this protection. Think of the irony: an extensive list of Americans and our allies, and at the bottom of each page of the manifest, the official stamp of the government of Mexico indicating that each of the individuals manifested had the protection of the government of Mexico, signed by the Mexican Ambassador in Tehran, Iran. How is that for irony?
I also had the protection of these individuals from the President of Palau, Surangel Whipps Jr. It reminded me that there is still good in the world.
At this time, I also reached out to former National Security Adviser, Steve Hadley, who made critically important calls for us. He was very helpful. I also contacted Senator James Risch, (R- Idaho), the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Senator Jack Reed, (D-Rhode Island), the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which I am a former member. I served with both of these gentlemen, and both are friends. There is still bi-partisanship in Washington if you just look for it.
Each Senator made a key call for us. One called Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the other made a call to Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor. These calls to the Administration were important to allow us to use Abu Dhabi as a destination for our evacuees. I will add that our backup plan was to fly them to Mexico, and as I expressed to the team, we might then just walk them across the border to the U.S., which we watch nightly on the news.
Our problem was that the cost was twice what we had raised. Former Assistant Secretary of Defense, Mary Beth Long, was also very helpful in many ways. I must also acknowledge that when Ambassador Elizabeth Jones became involved, we finally had a working partner and friend at the Department of State.
Through the tremendous efforts and reputation of Major Nelson and Captain Forney, we raised $1 million from the private sector, from American citizens who deeply believed promises made by America are to be promises kept, even if done by American citizens. All the money raised for this evacuation came from private donations. Not one dime came from our government. With these donations, we were able to secure eight buses, that on a specific date, time, and location, would transport our Americans and Allies to a chartered aircraft we had contracted with in Afghanistan.
We were on the precipice of initiating this operation when we received an additional list of Americans and Allies. We were maxed out on the total number of seats the Airbus 340 we had chartered. All of us were depressed and strained. We knew we could not leave these brave people behind, but what choices did we have? Once again, as many times during this 11-month ordeal, we seemed to hit another wall.
That night, at a total loss for answers, alone, I knelt in prayer. I said, dear God, we cannot leave these people behind, please give a path forward. At that instant, I had a mental vision. I saw Mother Mary, holding in her arms, her infant, Jesus. I immediately jumped up and called Nawid. I said, Nawid, infants do not need seats, they can be held in their parents’ arms. The airline confirmed that. Our Airbus 340 now would evacuate 50 more people because our infants could be in the arms of their parents.
While that may seem like a Christian view, I can tell you that the Qur’an has an entire chapter on Mother Mary. She is revered in the Qur’an. This vision inspired 50 more people to be saved and it can be attributed to faith. I will add, parenthetically, that the Christian, Jewish, and Islam faith are the three Abrahamic faiths.
On November 8, 2021, we were able to evacuate 395 individual Americans and Afghan Allies. The charter flight took all on our manifest to Abu Dhabi. The U.S. can be very grateful for the UAE, which was a great partner in providing the path for this flight and other evacuation flights. A total of 391 of our evacuees are now in the United States. Three were taken to Canada, and the last individual is on a pathway to the United States. While many of our Allies are still left behind, at least for these 395 individuals, America did indeed fulfill the promise.
Q: As one of the few people in history to have served as a mayor, governor, U.S. Senator and cabinet secretary, public service is clearly in your heart. Where did that come from?
I think Mike Johanns, former Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Nebraska, is the only other one to do so. Mike and I are great friends. But I don’t know if he was also 4th Grade Safety Monitor in elementary school! I have to give great credit to my mom and dad. My mom was the most loving and giving person I have ever known, she always helped others with a genuine smile and a servant’s heart. And she taught me the Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” There was always great love in our home. My dad was a tough task master and from him I learned what a true work ethic is all about. You endeavored to always do your best and fulfill what you said you would do.
I also give credit to great teachers along the way. I can actually name all of my teachers from kindergarten through high school, and well into higher education. That’s the positive memory I have regarding my teachers. I especially appreciated the teachers that encouraged me to read biographies, which I still love to read today. I learned that one person can make a huge difference and in doing so, help many others.
One other point: In each of my offices, I always told my staff that at the end of a long week where everything may not have gone smoothly, and then that darn phone rings at 7 p.m. on a Friday, what do you do? You gladly answer it! Because you are in a rare and wonderful position where you can be a champion for someone who needs help. How wonderful is that?
Q: In addition, you won your first election – as University of Idaho student body president – and never lost an election. What was the key to your success as a campaigner who connected with voters…and could that approach work in today’s polarized political
climate?
When I ran for student body president at the University of Idaho, I went to each of the 50 dorms, fraternities and sororities. That’s how I met my future wife, Patricia, who was President of Gamma Phi Beta. The campaign was worth that alone!
Each group would schedule a time that all candidates for all of the elected offices could come and make presentations. I noticed after doing a few of these, that only about half of the students were there. Knowing I had a little time before my presentation was to be made, I quietly left the meeting and then went and knocked on every door. It’s amazing how many more students I met this way. Each one-on-one visit ended with me respectfully asking for their vote.
At 33, when I ran for Mayor of Boise, I did much the same thing. I went to all the candidate forums, but I also went door to door in many neighborhoods. I still have people today that will say they remember the first time they met me was when I went and knocked on their door and respectfully asked for their vote. When I ran for the U.S. Senate and later for governor, we chartered a campaign bus and visited virtually every incorporated community in Idaho. Sometimes it consisted of an advance team letting the rural area know that I would be at a particular mile post marker on a specified day and time. Amazingly, there would be a few hundred pickup trucks with ranchers and farmers waiting to hear me and ask me questions. And it was so gratifying that at our stops these good people would have such things as homemade cinnamon rolls to put aboard the bus to keep our energy and spirits up. It worked! Each night we would have a town hall meeting in the community where we would overnight.
In this new world of texting, videos, and social media, how do you duplicate that sort of connectedness with the voters? As long as you demonstrate in the campaign that you are sincerely still doing everything possible to stay connected and ask for their vote it still makes a difference. Candidate town hall meetings are still a means to do so.
Q: While serving as Secretary of the Interior you lived on a houseboat docked on the Potomac. What is the backstory there…and what are you most proud of from your time as Secretary of the Interior?
It’s quite straightforward. When Patricia and I returned to Washington, D.C., with the honor of being in the Cabinet of President George W. Bush, we thought we would return to the old neighborhood where we lived when I was in the U.S. Senate. We quickly learned that housing prices had tripled. This was when homes were selling at premiums with actual bidding wars. We scrambled to figure out housing and realized we could buy a used 53-foot boat for much less than a home, and virtually live right downtown. We both love new adventures so that became our home. We loved it.
On those occasions that I was on Marine One with the President, and we flew along the Potomac, the President would ask me to point out my boat. I believe he thought it was pretty cool. I’m told by others when they were with him on Marine One that he would say the Kempthornes live down there. I wish I would have painted a big “W” on the fly bridge top so that he could spot it every time.
BONUS QUESTION: Can you leave us with a favorite story or lesson learned from your time in President Bush’s cabinet?
First a word about First Lady Laura Bush. The Department of the Interior not only covers 20% of the United States of America, but its actual jurisdiction spans 14 time zones, including much of the South Pacific. In traveling to various locations, it was often my great honor and pleasure to be traveling with First Lady Laura Bush and members of her staff. On one such trip we went to Midway Island, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and then to Hawaii. It was in Honolulu that the First Lady was there to commemorate the largest marine sanctuary, which was established by President George W. Bush.
Papahānaumokuākea comes from an ancient Hawaiian tradition concerning the formation of Hawaiian Islands, and a deep honoring of the dualism of life, the mother figure is personified by earth and the father figure is personified in the expansive sky. This is sacred to native Hawaiians. In 2007, we were there with Governor Linda Lingle, for the First Lady to commemorate the largest marine sanctuary that safeguards more than 140,000 square miles of aquatic sanctuary.
Jim Connaughton, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality played a key role in this designation as well as David Sampson, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce, and those of us at the Department of the Interior. When it was time for First Lady Laura Bush to state the name of the sanctuary, Native Hawaiians and the press held their collective breath to see how she would do with this tongue twister Hawaiian name. With her usual charm and elegance and class she nailed it! Everyone cheered.
Now regarding the President. I am going to say this delicately. I inherited a controversial issue that had not only national, but global, implications. The issue was the polar bear and whether it should be listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. My strong position was that “threatened” was the appropriate listing, as opposed to “not warranted.” After months of discussions with advisors at the White House I called Josh Bolten, then Chief of Staff, and said it was time for a decision. He said he agreed and asked if I could come over immediately.
I told Josh I knew the decision that the advisors wanted, but I honestly disagreed with that decision. I said I had promised to always give the President my best advice. On this issue there was an honest difference of opinion. I could not publicly support a decision that in my heart I did not agree with. Josh sensed, correctly, that I was quietly prepared to step down as Secretary, if the White House was set on the other outcome. Just as I always admired Andy Card, when he served as Chief of Staff, I have always admired Josh and his even handedness at handling tough issues. He said, hold on, this had to be the decision of the President and he would take it to him that night. I can honestly say I was at peace because I knew, one way or the other, I would not be saying things that I did not believe were right. It was certainly not my intention to put the President in a bind, but good people can disagree. However, it was my name that would go on the decision, and I could not do it in good conscience.
The next morning the message from the President was, “I am inclined to agree with my advisors, but what is most important to me is the comfort of my Secretary.” He backed me 100%. This, I believe, shows the depth of this man’s character and loyalty to those he asked to serve. Who wouldn’t be proud to serve this man? It was my honor to do so. America was truly under great leadership and ability with George W. Bush, a good and honorable man.
PS: Time affirmed that the decision was the right one.
