planes in kabul and out of the country. the state department has maintained that any military force that takes over the country will not have legitimacy. yet china's government says it helps that taliban can now help build a inclusive political situation. russia's u.s. ambassador, and according to the state department, he has spoken to the top diplomats just a couple of hours ago from russia and china. back to you. >> sandra: live at the state department for us. >> trace: let's bring in thomas joscelyn, senior editor of "long war journal." you say, thank you for joining us, that we thought there was no military solution in afghanistan, yet that taliban was fighting to win. can you expand on that force? >> yeah, it is the absurdity of this war, that we have operated under the assumption that kabul was going to reach a political