>> we're on the roof of a wedding hall. this is the front position. there are snipers. we have to stay low. >> joining me now is ben solomon, an international correspondent at vice news. good to see you back safely. talk to us about that sound bite that we heard there. the significance of kandahar's fall given everything that played out. why was that such a pivotal turning point? >> this is the second biggest city in afghanistan. it is the birthplace of the taliban and they formed in the mid 90s. so when before the taliban had a number of kabul, the real thought is if they pushed into kandahar, this he would control so much of the south and so much of the access to pakistan and the access to helpman. if they had control of that, they could easily in time stage