0 ? -perfect! because we're building a better network every single day. in less than a minute from now, we expect to see top pentagon officials at that microphone on the left side of your screen for the latest on those emergency evacuations out of afghanistan, where the taliban is now firmly in control. we're going to bring that to you live the second it starts. here's where things stand as we've come on the air. flights out of the kabul airport are back up and running after they were shut down for hours. u.s. troops could clear the runways of thousands of afghans desperate to get away from the taliban. that desperation crystallized in this photo, gone viral, you've probably seen it. one flight so full, it may have set a record for the number of people who can fit on to an american c17. the taliban telling afghans they have noing to fear, declaring "amnesty" and encouraging women to join the government, despite their disastrous record on that very issue. we have a lot to get to. i'm hallie jackson in washington, along with our nbc news team as we wait for the pentagon briefing on afghanistan. joined by chuck todd, moderator of "meet the press" mike memory camp david and anne gearan and msnbc contributor. apologies for any interruption if we see john kirby step to the mic tone to begin the briefing. chuck, we have a list of the top list at the moment, how many americans are still in afghanistan right now? he says he thinks it's somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000. can we get a more specific figure. how many evacuated, what is the stat you was the evacuations? what about afghans, how many are out and the question, chuck, i know you're following that many in washington are, why were we so caught off guard here? chuck, what do afghans need to hear from the administration broadly this morning? >> well, i think from the point of view of afghans, is there going to be, how long is this process of evacuating afghans going to last, how open will we be to bringing out more afghans who want out? where are we going to take them? how is the process worked? are we cutting red tape, all of those things. that is the immediate and near term questions that have to be answered. the big long-term question, why were we so unprepared for this moment, you can't help but come to two sort of conflicting theories but i don't know if we're ever going to get an answer that is going to feel satisfying and goes to some combination of the president had his mind made up before he took the oath of office which direction he was going and the pentagon never thought, i think they always thought they could buy more time and for whatever reason didn't plan for every contingency. it was interesting yes how he tried to walk that line, he wants to accept the consequences of this decision pass some blame but at the same time he didn't throw his own pentagon under the bus. he didn't throw the intel agencies under the bus but you got to ask, how, the orderly part of this, what went wrong? i do think the biggest political fallout is competency. joe biden's greatest strength against donald trump in the campaign was the idea that he had been around the block, he knows what he's doing. we're facing this crisis with covid, we need competency back in government, no more chaos. he's lost the competency high marks he were getting at one time and that's tough to get back. >> mike, to this point here, as we look at the administration's messaging if you will, this morning urgent threat to health and safety for the americans who remain in afghanistan, the afghans looking to get out and away from the taliban, it seems as though based on the last few hours that the white house is i don't know if it's intentional or not, letting the pentagon run point on where things go at the moment. that is the most urgent piece on the ground. we've seen john kirby and waiting for the briefing set to happen four minutes ago so i assume any second. what is your sense from the sources you're talking to? >> one of the reasons why it was so important for the president to interrupt his time at camp david and return to the white house and speak directly to the american people, frankly, the white house needed to buy time to -- >> sorry to interrupt you. john kirby taking the microphone. we'll listen in. >> give you an update this morning on our operations in afghanistan at the hamid karzai international airport. i'll ask the general to come back up here. i think i botched his title, deputy director of the joint staff for regional operations j35. i got that wrong yesterday. i apologize for that. before i ask the general to give you an update, there is a couple other things i want to get out there first on haiti in support of the u.s. agency for international development, bureau of humanitarian assistance. u.s. southern command develop common operational pictures and provide life-saving support for the people of haiti. they stood up a joint task force haiti led by rear admiral keith davids, special operations commander there at southcom, currently operating from homestead fair base. jtf will be moving to haiti today we are flying eight helicopters to haiti later this morning to help with providing a picture overhead, the "uss arlington navy amphibious shape will get under way and two mh60 helicopters and also a surgical team and landing craft mechanicized to move things ashore. the u.s. naval ship "burlington" will be used to provide aerial footage and assist with our overall assessment. two p8 poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft currently operating out of el salvador will be sent to the region to provide aerial coverage and assist in our assessment. that's where we are right now, getting a clear picture of what the situation looks like on the ground. the assessment team will look at the area and to report back to southco mo so we can integrate usaid and other assistance to the people of haiti. two coast guard cutters and several moving forward. there will be one u.s. coast guard fixed wing aircraft operating out of guantanamo bay to help us provide aerial visibility on what things look like on the ground and we expect that field hospitals, four field hospitals from u.s. southern command will be set up in southern haiti by later this week. so the u.s. military continues to provide unique air, medical, logistical engineering capabilities in support of usaid and their bureau of humanitarian assistance, they are leading this effort, we are supporting them to save lives and alleviate human suffering in these critical early stages of a disaster relief operation. we'll have more to say in coming hours and days. another update on covid response efforts in response to the latest surge and at the request of fema, the department of defense is identifying five medical assistance teams to support efforts around the nation. these teams will be comprised of about 20 medical personnel, doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists. currently the department will provide a medical assistance team one of these medical assistance teams to a hospital in lafayette, louisiana. we expect there could be additional requests from other states for other teams so that's why we're being prepared to stand up five teams but one of them will be dedicated to go into lafayette, louisiana, at the request of fema and the state of louisiana. we're continuing to lean forward to help our fellow americans deal with the latest surge in the pandemic, and again, as we have more information, more things to report to you, we certainly will. with that, i'm going to turn it over to general taylor and -- >> clarification, on the teams, they're all military personnel on these? >> these are military medical assistance teams, yes. general if it's okay i leave my stuff on the podium, i'll turn it over to you. >> good morning. thank you, mr. kirby, for an opportunity to give you an operations update for current operations in afghanistan. my goal is to provide you with details from my last time in here to ensure that you have as much information as possible. a number of evacuations occurred overnight in which i'll provide you more details shortly. as we speak, we are continuing air operations and air operations continue throughout the night. i'm tremendously proud of the herculean effort by our u.s. military so far. the rapid insertion of marines and soldiers and a number of enabling forces moving from both within the centcom aor and from the united states. yesterday the u.s. military footprint in afghanistan started at about roughly 2,500 and by the end of the day approximately 4,000 troops on the ground in kabul. forces will continue to flow in and reinforce the state department and dod effort there. the operation is ongoing and i'd like to give you a few more details on that operation. hkaya is open for military flight operations and limited commercial flight operations. throughout the nine nine c17s arrived delivering equipment and approximately 1,000 troops. additionally, seven c17s departed. these flights lifted approximately 700 to 800 passengers and we can confirm 165 of these passengers are american citizens. the rest are a mix of siv applicants, third country nationals. responding to the situation at hkaya our initial focus was to insert forces and equipment as part of the force includes the speed of evacuation will pick up. right now we're looking at one aircraft per hour in and out of hkaya. we were dikt our best effort could look like 5,000 to 9,000 passengers departing per day but mindful a number of factors influence this effort, in circumstances could change. we'll keep you updated. unexpected challenges that can occur for personnel in a complex and dynamic security environment. we are confident we have taken the right steps to resume safe and orderly operations at the airport. we prioritize the safety of military personnel and those who await evacuation. we proceed through each day of this work. you've likely see the image of afghan families in a cargo plane, this speaks to the humanity of our troops in this mission, the skill and professionalism of our u.s. military. the last point i'd like to make is about a the assessed threat. no hostile interactions, no attack and no threat by the taliban. we remain vigilant. we also have not experienced any additional security incidents at hkaya. we retain the security that enables the safe, orderly evacuation of americans and afghans. we are focused on the present mission to facilitate the safe evacuation of u.s. citizens, sivs and afghans at risk to get the personnel out of afghanistan as quickly and safely as possible. that mission has not changed. the mission is of historical significance and incumbent upon us to be resolute in the prosection of american and afghan lives. thank you. >> thanks, general. >> i have a narrow question for the general and a broader question for you, if i could start with him, if you don't mind. >> sure, absolutely. i'll just leave. [ laughter ] >> general, i think you said that you would ramp up to one aircraft departure per hour. >> yes. >> my question is when will you get there? >> we hope within the next 24 hours. and so as the commander on the ground continues to build the combat power there, and flights are available, that is the goal. >> question of you, john. >> sir. >> the general mentioned there had been no hostile threats from the taliban at the airport. i'm wondering, does the u.s. have an arrangement with the taliban to allow the evacuation airlift to proceed until august 31st and the second question is under what circumstance would the u.s. troops leave before august 31st? >> on your first question, bob, what i would tell you is coming out of general mackenzie's discussions with senior taliban leaders in doha, our commanders at the airport are in communication with taliban commanders on the ground outside the airport. there have been discussions, there is communication between them and us. and i would just let the results speak for themselves. i'm not going to get into the details of how those discussions are progressing, because there are interactions, multiple times a day and as the general said very well, there's been no hostile interactions from the taliban to our operations at the airport. >> the taliban is allowing it to proceed and they're cooperating in that regard? >> i let the results speak for themselves. we're not taking anything for granted. >> prior to august 31st? >> sorry, right now as the general made clear, the mission runs through august 31st. the commander in chief made it very clear that we were to complete this drawdown by august 31st, and which includes the drawdown of american citizens, the pulling out of american citizens and drawdown of our embassy personnel. that's the time line we're on and as the secretary made clear to leaders even as recently as this morning, time is of the essence and we all share a sense of urgency here but right now, the mission runs to the 31st of august and i won't begin to speculate what happens after that. >> do the discussions with the taliban include talk about allowing american or afghans through some of the taliban checkpoints or expanding the perimeter around the airport so more people can get there safely? that's one of the things we're hearing, people can't get through the taliban checkpoints and to the airport to leave. >> without going into the details of communications of which i'm not a part, as i said, there is, there are interactions down at the local level and as the general said, we are processing american citizens to get out. so again, court, without speaking to the sausage making of communications here thus far, and it's early on, the results are speaking for themselves and probably where i'd like to leave it. >> general taylor, 700 to 800 out. is this a total of 1,400 to 1,500 people taken out from august 14th? >> rough numbers, yes, to through the sivs. >> from an operational perspective, is there talk of expanding the perimeter around the airport? >> right now the air field like i said earlier is secure, and the commander on the ground has the ability to continue to flow flights in and out. i would say the air field is secure to allow to us do that mission. >> to clarify on what you said about the taliban, u.s. military personnel are talking to taliban commanders? >> our commanders in the operation have had communication with taliban leaders. >> and is this why or could you explain apparently you put the 82nd airborne headquarters element in there. >> you talking about general donahue and his staff? >> could you walk us through a little bit of that? >> a couple of things, barb. this is what the 28nd airborne does really well and global response job their job is to be ready to assist in an expeditious manner and the task of securing and operating an air field is actually a unique task that the 82nd can do and general donahue has experience in that. that's one reason. number two, the admiral on the ground has a spate of other duties he has to attend to, to include liaison with the state department, our allies and partners that are also on the ground there in kabul, the turkish support element, there's a lot of things to do so we felt like this division of labor made the most sense, given the urgency of time and what we're trying to accomplish in the next couple of weeks. >> just to make sure, 82nd is in command at the airport and the general you mentioned is the one talking to the taliban? >> i'm not going to talk about specific conversations, barb, or who is having what. our commanders, admiral vasely has been there throughout this thing and i don't know exactly, maybe the general knows when, general donahue is getting there but just suffice it so say that our commanders there at the airport are charged with securing that airport and keeping it secure and to doing what is required to keep it secure and to get operations back up and running, and to be sustained and they will and should have whatever interactions they believe that are necessary to accomplish that mission. i'm not in a position now and i won't begin to get into a position where i'm detailing every single conversation or what the details of that. i think as i said to courtney, the best judge of how we're doing is how we're doing. and the results that we're achieving and i'd leave it at that. let me get to helene and then you, tom. >> this is for general taylor. i understand that the marines are there and our troops are there and under orders. we don't want them getting into combat situation with the taliban. you do have a little bit of a balance that you have to strike between getting this orderly evacuation out of the airport but at the same time we know that there are reports on the ground from your siv applicants, a lot are getting beat up on the way to the airport, outside of the airport. how do you manage then and i know this is a bit of what courtney and barbara are asking but how do you manage to strike that balance between we're not here to get into a fight. we just want to get our people out but you got to get your people to where they can get out. >> we look to the task of securing the air field what we are focused on doing to ensure that part of this whole mission is being able to be completed. with regard to the process i have to push that over to the department of state because our mission right now is that securing of the air field to allow those that come onto the air field to quickly be put on aircraft and evacuated. >> you look at the siv people, special immigrant visa and families, estimates 70,000 to 80,000 and the 2p people trying to get to a third country and hundreds if not thousands beyond that. the total universe is probably 100,000 people trying to get out of afghanistan. are you confident you can get all out on august 31st? >> we're confident we'll maximize capacity to the degree that we can and max capacity as the general said given what could be more than two dozen sorties per day, could you get to 5,000 to 9,000 out per day. our focus is on making sure the environment, conditions are set to be able to do that. as i said the other day, airlift is not a limiting factor but it is also going to require and has required constant elayson with our state department colleagues who are obviously in charge of administering the special immigrant visa process and other priority visas that you mentioned. we're working hand and glove on the manifests, who is being processed, when they're being processed and making sure they're ready and able. i can't guarantee a certain number by a certain day. weather can play a factor. weather has played a factor today. so what we think is at max capacity, 5,000 to 9,000 per day, a couple dozen sorties maybe more per day, conditions permitting but we are -- it has to be done in close concert with our state department colleagues. we'll do as much as we can as long as we can. >> i know this is a question for the white house, the white house could extend the august 31 deadline into september as long as the airport is secure. isn't that right? >> the mission we've been given, tom, is to conduct this drawdown by the 31st of august. >> with the airport secured could you continue until september? >> that's a decision that the president's commander in chief would have to make. our mission right now, we have to talk about what we're doing now, tom, and what our focus is, and that's on getting this completed by the 31st of august. jen? >> can i follow up on the agreement with the taliban. do you have an agreement with the taliban they'll allow for safe passage to the airport for sivs, number one and also are reports you are having to negotiate now former gitmo detainees, one of the leaders in qatar is a well-known gitmo detainee released in 2014. are you finding yourselves having to negotiate with former gitmo detainees? >> i don't know about any negotiations with former guantanamo bay detainees. on the first question i leave is to what i've been saying. there are interactions at the airport by our commanders with taliban leaders out in town. as i said, they are charged with making sure this is a safe and secure environment, and we trust them to have the interactions they feel they need to have to ensure that in every aspect, across the whole spectrum of what this mission requires of them, that they can do it safely and efficiently and in an orderly manner, and i'm not going to go beyond that. >> john, why are we not hearing from defense secretary austin and chairman mark milley? >> i think you would understand, they are extremely busy, in communication with commanders on the ground, with jean ral mackenzie w the inner agency and i have every expectation at the appropriate time, you'll hear from both of them. >> drilling down on the statement of no hostile attacks from the taliban, who does that cover, does that cover active civilians and u.s. military and is that limited to the airport or monitoring of taliban attacks outside of the airport? >> the mission is about the airport. as the general said, no hostile interactions with the taliban on either our people or operations. >> and can you confirm -- so there is no tracking what have the taliban is doing? >> our focus is on security and the operation of the airport. i haven't got on it anybody on the phone and need to do that or i get in big trouble. meghan? okay. mag be maybe not be there. tom? >> hold on, i'm back. >> okay, you are. >> yes, on mute. so is there an estimate of how many people are still currently at the airport and does that include people, not just americans and sivs but people who kind of bum rushed the airport a couple days ago, and how is that situation being handled. is there a hope for them to get out as well? >> so right now, at the airport, we continue to process in american citizens that have shown up. as we look at i think i heard the bum rush of the air field. the air field is secure, as i said earlier. those folks that were there on the southern part are no longer inside the air field and there is nobody, no longer in there, and as you saw, we were able to get some passengers out the day before. right now, i don't have the number of those waiting for flight right now, i'll be able to get that later on. >> we go to another one on the phone here. paul shrinkman from "u.s. news." >> hi, john. two questions. is the u.s. aware of any remaining vestage of the 300,000 afghan security forces that it trained that are still operational and if so, is the u.s. supporting them in any way and secondly, has the secretary or any other senior official at the pentagon spoken with any other afghan counterparts? i suppose at this point people who are former afghan counterparts, since sunday? >> i know of no high-level communications here from the pentagon with afghan counterparts over the last couple of days. i'll let the general take the other question. >> we do know that commanders on the ground are continuing to communicate with former kndsf and specifically on the air field, we do have approximately 500 to 600 andsf that are assisting us with that security. >> okay, back in the room. colleen? >> thank you, john. i'll start with you and then i have a question for the general as well. what advice, john, do you have for the afghans who assisted the u.s. and now can't get to the airport or in kandahar and can't get to kabul and feel left behind. what is the advice the pentagon is giving them? >> what i tell you, largely speaking, we know we have an obligation to help these individuals and their families who helped us so much over the last 20 years and we have been focused on this for quite some time. there is a process by which they can apply for these visas and the state department opened up the umbrella for other p1and p2 opportunities. i'm not an expert on that process but there is a process to follow and highly encourage if they aren't already in the system to get themselves into the system. i understand if i think i understand the second gist of your question is, are we going to be able to physically move someone from somewhere else in the country into the airport and right now, our focus is on the airport itself, and making sure that it stays safe and secure and that air operations which have resumed can sustain themselves going forward and an awful lot that has to be done in that. again, sacred obligation, we take seriously, there is a process and i would highly encourage them if they're not already in that to consult with state department officials to get themselves enrolled and as we've said from the beginning, help get them out of kabul and we are also working very hard here locally to help get them if they need temporary lodging here in the united states while they complete that processing to do that. you saw just yesterday announcing two additional u.s. military instaugs staulgss rapidly increasing capacity over the days and weeks to build out to a maximum of approximately 22,000 capacity, if we need it. >> and secondly, i had asked about this yesterday but the investigation into the civilian casualties, can the u.s. defense department confirm the number of civilian casualties that happened when the c17 took off, the total number of casualties you're tracking at the airport. you mentioned the two. >> there were two security incidents two armed individuals with hostile intent were engaged by troops and killed. i don't have a firm number of additional casualties that we know have been reported at least in press reporting, certainly by this incident with the c17 which took off as you saw, taxiing with people running alongside and attached themselves to the aircraft. what i can tell you is the air force has taken a look at this and i think you'll hear more from the air force later today and i really need to leave it at that. >> would you say at least four? >> i can't, carla, i'm not in a position to give you a specific number but i think you'll hear more from the air force later. >> does that include an afghan civilian remains were found on a landing? >> i think you'll hear more from the air force about this today, court. couple more. louie? >> couple clarifications. general donahue from the 82nd airborne is headed to kabul to become the overall commander of this position. what happens to admiral vasely? >> he maintains commission as commander as u.s. forward. elements of the 82nd airborne division have been flowing in to do the actual mission of security of h.kaya. the general donahue and piece of his staff will go forward and work specifically on the security mission of h.kaya. >> admiral vasely? >> overall commander of u.s. 4a headquarters under gent ral mackenzie centcom commander. >> you said several hundred afghan security forces at the airport. has a commitment been made to them that they will be evacuated afterwards once the mission is complete? >> i know that our commitment to ensure security there at h.kaya is increased by having those members of the ndsf with us at this time. >> that would have to be a decision by the individuals if they wanted to, to apply for a visa and to pursue that approach. it would be up to the afghan to make that decision for themselves. okay, take one. >> quick follow-up? >> okay. >> you mentioned that the department, the administration thinks there could be thousands of americans still in kabul and in afghanistan possibly and you're prepared to evacuate them if they can get to the airport, et cetera. there are essentially free of taliban control. do you have anything that indicates the taliban these ame? >> there's a lot there, barb. i can only tell you what we know and there hasn't been any hostile interactions by the taliban to our people or to our operations. part of our operations include helping evacuate american citizens, and that process continues, the general gave you an update on 165 or so, just in the last 24 hours. i can't speak to the locations or whereabouts of every single american throughout the country and their desires to stay or to go. that's something we're not equipped to do here. you got to understand the limited teaored mission we're trying to conduct right now. one more and let the general go back to his day. i forgot to get to tom squiteri. >> thanks, john, good morning. follow on security at the airport. the turks were supposed to be in charge of security there. what is the role that they and other foreign militias, not militias, foreign militaries may be doing to help. thank you. >> good question. the turks remain absolutely linked in to the security missi are continuing to assist in the security and running of h. kaya. >> thanks, everybody. we're going to have to call it a day. we will be able to brief you again later this afternoon. probably not on camera but another on the record briefing this afternoon. so we'll see you then. bye-bye. >> so you have been listening for the last half hour to top pentagon officials giving us an update on the situation in kabul and specifically the situation at the airport, with the evacuation of americans and afghans happening now. we had a lot of questions at the top of the broadcast about what we might hear in this briefing and a number of those questions have been answered. so to recap, we know that at this point, you had in the last 24 hours 00 to 800 people leave on seven c17s out of kabul, evacuating the country, about 165 of those people are american citizens. the rest are afghans, afghan helpers, citizens of the country. in total, and you heard our pentagon correspondent courtney kube get this information out of the officials there, it means roughly 1,400 people are out since this escalation of the crisis has begun in afghanistan. we know that the goal for the pentagon, not what is operational reality on the ground yet but the goal for the pentagon in the next day and the next 24 hours is to get up to a pace of one aircraft in and out every hour. they are hoping to max out at 5,000 to 9,000 people getting evacuated out of afghanistan every day. there are a number of americans who are still in country. there are tens of thousands of afghan allies that are seeking to leave the country. that is part of the process here, and interestingly, you heard him press repeatedly john kirby on the communication with the taliban. at no point did he ever say there was an agreement with the taliban but there was communication between military leaders on the ground and the taliban, no hostile interaction, and that's very specific language that he used, no hostile interaction as it related to the airport operation. you're looking at about 4,000 troops in kabul by the end of the day. interestingly, at the airport, you've got about 500 to 600 afghan security forces helping to keep the airport operational, if you will. no high level communications between the pentagon and their afghan government or former afghan government counterparts. i have to tell you, while we listened to the pentagon briefing we learned the taliban is going to be taking questions at a news conference with reporters in kabul. that is the landscape as it stands right now. i want to bring in some of the folks listening in on this for us. hoping to get courtney kube who was in the room, up when she's able to get to a camera. mike memoli, chuck todd, and ann anne gearan of "the washington post." on the military piece of it, anne, let me get to you since we haven't brought you into the conversation yet. i got to tell you, fair amount of answers, at least on some of the numbers that we were not super clear on yet from john kirby. still a lot of questions, though, on the way that this unfolds, and what this situation is like for those americans who cannot actually get to the airport at this point. what did you hear that stood out to you, anne? >> yes, hallie, there was a lot, you're right, there was a lot of information provided there. in terms of what's likely to happen for the next few days, it's clear that the american military has really gotten hold of the airport pretty quickly. came in there, as john kirby was talking about, the 82nd airborne doing what it does getting the runways opened, making the trains run on time and flights are leaving and departing as planned. that seems like a sustainable situation for several days at the very least so long as the taliban keeps their part of what is clearly a bargain with the united states military, to stay outside the perimeter and not shoot inside the perimeter and to a significant degree, not impede the travel of people trying to get to the airport. we've heard a fair amount of stories from kabul, checkpoints and so forth. still people are able to get inside the airport perimeter. that would not be possible if the taliban had shut down all the roads and if they shut down all the roads, we would be then in the position of potentially trying to negotiate people through checkpoints outside the airport. so what they presented today is a situation that looks fairly stable so long as the other conditions persist. what they didn't present is as you identified is a clear way, strategy for getting people who aren't already in kabul, aren't already able to somehow physically travel inside the airport perimeter. there are american citizens in that category and so many of the afghan translators who are scattered across the country, have been at some point, they are some point through the process, the bureaucratic process of aplying for a special immigrant visa and they have afraid to leave their houses, much less try to get to kabul. >> anne, thank you. mike and chuck, i have a member of congress who is getting a microphone on joining us in a second and we'll lose his satellite window. to you two quickly, mike action your takeaway now over what unfolds over the next 12 to 24 hours from the white house perspective, given what we just heard from the pentagon >> reporter: there be a number of comments made during the course of the news briefing pose some challenging questions for the white house for jen psaki and jake sullivan when they come to the podium in a few hours. courtney kube's question significant whether they might expand the perimeter beyond the airport in part because of just how many i heard from some folks trying to get in touch with government officials because they know translators or members of the family 20 minutes away from the airport who can't get there, who don't feel safe in getting there and there was a seeming recognition on the part of the pentagon spokesperson kirby that at the moment they're narrowly focused on securing the air field. the other point kirby emphasized that august 31st remains in their view the end point of their mission. does that mission get extended? the president outlined ending the u.s. military involvement there. if there is still a civilian crisis in terms of trying to get people evacuated out of kabul beyond august 31st, might the u.s. be willing to extend that? that's significant as well. anne hit on the question of what happens with american citizens who are outside of kabul, whether efforts are going to be made to try to get them to the airport in order to be transferred out. it seems at this point that again, they're very focused narrowly on what is happening in kabul at the airport and not beyond that, at this point. that's really speaks to the logistical challenge that the pentagon, the military has taken upon but the fallout of potentially the white house says all contingencies were planned for but there's a lot of unanswered questions that they're dealing with in real time at this moment. >> chuck, 30 seconds to you. >> i'll just say to me the answer i'd like, what are the conversations we're having with the taliban. it's clear we're negotiating with them and some sort of perhaps uncomfortable agreement or fragile agreement. we have some agreement with them, is the reason for august 31st because we've come to some agreement? i think we need a little more transparency and insight and that would be what i'd be bugging jake sullivan about the most today if i were in that white house briefing room. >> our colleagues i'm confident will be doing that. thanks to all three of you. congressman mike gallagher, republican from wisconsin and member of the house armed services committee. thank you for being here. we appreciate your time this morning. >> thanks for having me. >> a number of threads to pick up from the conversation with what we just heard from pentagon officials. first of all, these communications with the taliban. how do you interpret the comments that have been made about discussions happening on the ground to chuck's point just now? >> well, it was hard to sort of decipher what exactly they're talking with the taliban about, but in my opinion, the conversation should be a simple one. the message should be clear. we are going to get our people out of there, and if you try and impede that process, if you threaten that operation, we will respond forcefully. we have bungled this withdrawal, been a catastrophe. no going back. we've had this saigon moment. we need to do everything possible to save as many lives as possible. having had the saigon moment we need the dunkirk moment. get everybody out, work with regional allies to provide asylum on a temporary basis if we can't do this all ourselves and we also need the secretary of defense, the chairman of the joint chiefs to address the nation as well. right now i think the american people have significant concerns about the images they're seeing out of afghanistan. there needs to be more aggressive leadership coming out of the white house, out of the pentagon. i'm glad they provided information at the briefing. as a member of the armed services committee the final thing for congress to reconvene. there is a role for to us play. we're all getting questions from our constituents, many of whom have friends that are trapped in afghanistan, and in some cases we don't know who to put them in touch with at the state department and who is in charge on the ground. can be answered quickly. >> you talked about wanting congress to reconvene to do something. one of the things president biden is doing when it comes to our afghan allies you just mentioned is provide further funding to help them. there is even former president donald trump, right, well disagreeing with biden, president biden vehemently on this, has said afghans who helped the u.s. should be able to seek refurefuge. bring in more refugees from afghanistan. where do you stand? should congress make more moves to increase the number of refugees who can come to this country from afghanistan? >> i've supported legislation to that effect. my basic view is if you fought with americans, if you risked your lives, you should be eligible for the special immigrant visa program. i'm not saying we should waive vetting requirements. the vetting requirements are important, a matter our domestic and national security. we need to honor the sacrifices our allies made risking their lives operating with us on the ground. so i think that's an area of bipartisan agreement. there's a lot of questions that need to be answered in terms of expediting the vetting procedures. it's been a mess behind the scenes in the last few months, a complete absence of planning on that very point but there's more we can do to get our people out and get our afghan allies out. >> should the deadline for withdrawal be extended past august 31st, in your view? >> i think the deadline shouldn't be an arbitrary date. the deadline should be we're going to get all our people out, no matter how long it takes. i don't understand the august 31st date. >> i have to ask you and i know that you have only one more minute or so with us. defense secretary lloyd austin, according to admiral kirby said and told lawmakers like yourself that there is now potentially a reassessment that they will be conducting on the possibility that terror groups like al qaeda reconstitute in afghanistan given the taliban takeover. how much of a concern is that for you? how real is that? >> i think it's very real. it's a massive concern. the entire argument the biden administration was making to justify the withdrawal is you could do an over-the-horizon counterterrorism mission. i think that argument hasn't lasted through this past weekend, and indeed, if the broader argument was we're going to free up resources to focus on the china fight, well this is having the opposite effect. it's straining our resources. it's taking carriers from the pacific and rerouting them to cover the afghan withdrawal. so to me, we're going to need a complete reassessment of our regional strategy and we're going to need to hold people accountable for this massive intelligence and operational failure. >> congressman mike gallagher, thank you so much for being with us. we appreciate your time standing by for us during that pentagon briefing. thank you very much. i want to bring in courtney kube, who was in the room, you saw her asking some questions there. court, so glad to have you. thank you for scrambling up in front of the camera for us here. so two real outstanding pieces of information that i think we got some answers for. taliban communications i know that's a question that you had and you're pursuing and the other one is how do you get people to the country. >> reporter: now that the flight opposite have begun at the airport and the military side is evacuating individuals relatively consistently now, the question is how do these people get safely to the airport, and we know there are taliban checkpoints set up around the airport, and there are reports of some people being stopped and beaten up, and they cannot get to the airport safely so they can get on the military aircraft and get out. we know the general had spoken to the taliban over the weekend and now we are hearing from john kirby, the press secretary here, there have been conversations at a slightly lower level with the u.s. military and the taliban at a lower level. there seems to be some sort of assurances the u.s. can continue this evacuation process, and the question is was there any kind of assurance made that the taliban would allow people to get to the airport or was that even asked. we also don't really know the exact level. admiral vasely, he's there in afghanistan at kabul, and is he having these conversations? it's remarkable that we have the military commanders directly negotiating with the taliban to talk about the security situation on the ground there, and the big question also is is there a timeline here? has the taliban said we are allowing you to conduct these operations but not beyond the 31st? >> thank you so much. we are looking ahead to a up can ul other briefings today including one from the white house press secretary and we will keep you updated on that as well as what is going on in kabul with the taliban officials -- taliban folks taking questions from reporters as well. we are going one-on-one with a taliban interpreter, and one of their bombs exploded outside his family's home. do not miss this, next. why hide your skin if dupixent has your moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis under control? hide our skin? not us. because dupixent targets a root cause of eczema, it helps heal your skin from within, keeping you one step ahead of it. and for kids ages 6 and up, that means clearer skin, and noticeably less itch. hide my skin? 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(sighs contentedly) - works for 24 hours, i guarantee it. therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. - [narrator] available at walmart, target and other fine stores. i want to bring in a special guest, a former afghan interpreter currently living in texas and his family in kabul, and he's been asking the u.s. government to relocate them for three years. thank you for your time and being with us. >> good morning. >> i know you told us your family has been a target of the taliban because of your work for the government. >> my family has been the target of the taliban when i was a local interpreter in afghanistan, and i talked to them a couple days ago and the communication between me and my family is not that great, and the taliban has taken over the country. >> do you know where your family is and are they in danger? >> relocated them from the southeast part of afghanistan. the taliban had a checkpoint outside my house, and my family is not allowed to come out because they are scared for their lives and little ones. >> what do you fear? >> their well-being. because of my contributions and support of the united states forces as an interpreter in the past, there's so much concern about their safety they cannot even come out to go buy -- go to the market to buy food, as they have -- the taliban have checkpoints and are looking at them through the windows, and the taliban are still there and they cannot come out of the house. >> what has gone through your mind as you have watched the scenes that have unfolded over the last 48 hours in kabul? >> a lot. it's been a difficult time. it's a challenging time. i keep checking my phone every 30 minutes, every 10 minutes, you know, hoping i don't hear the death of my family members in afghanistan. i keep checking my facebook, and i hope i don't see a picture of my family members saying his family was killed bite taliban there. >> it's a gut wrenching situation that you have to go through this. talk about what you are trying to do to get them relocated? are they trying to make their way to the airport at this point? >> as you know i have been working on the paperwork for the last three years, and the process was frustrating. in afghanistan, 2018, that's when i started the process and i knew i was becoming a high target there and being recognized by the taliban, and the promises were the taliban would not take over, and i know they are not qualifying for the special entries, and i did work for the militaries, and that puts them in danger. they were part of my contribution to help the u.s. militaries, and the taliban has been going after them for so many years now and they have been targeted in the past. >> the taliban says they are offering amnesty, and are encouraging women to get into the government. do you believe those words from the taliban? >> i do not believe a word the talibans are saying. those are the same people the united states collapsed 20 years ago. what has changed? how come they become our partners now? they have the same mentality and perceptions against afghan woman and girls and my sister is a teenager, and we had to pull her out of school, and we believe the taliban has not changed and they are the same people fighting 20 years ago and they are the same people right now, and their mentality and perception will be the same towards those that helped the u.s. forces, and they did not believe in woman rights and human rights and i still believe they will keep doing the same thing. >> i know you are fighting for your family, for their safety