we didn t need to do this. we could have continued with the status quo and saved a lot of grief and trouble and a lot of lives. you are not the only one that has that concern. the uk defense minister ben wallace said he is worried about militant groups in afghanistan. let s take a listen to what he said recently. al qaeda will probably come back, would like that type of breeding ground, that s what we see. failed states around the world lead to instability, lead to a security threat to us and our interests. i mean are you worried about that? do you think there is a chance that al qaeda could come back? oh, i think there s no question they will come back. the taliban gave up the country rather than give up al qaeda. that was a proposition we put to them right after 9/11. hand over al qaeda and we will leave you alone. so they chose their ties to al qaeda. well, they re not going to give them up now. you have to remember, too, joe
what we are looking at here. the narrative that the taliban are developing, that they are the righteous forces of islam who are defeating the infidels on the field in afghanistan. this is going to be a huge shot in the arm for the taliban themselves, but also for radical movements around the world. so fasten your seatbelt. the story is just getting started. ryan crocker, we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us about this. former ambassador to afghanistan. thank you very much. coming up, in your face mask mandate debate. you better watch out. you better watch out. you better watch out. keep it calm. police escorts required after a school board voted to reinstate the mask mandate for schools in one tennessee county. after the break, we will talk to dr. meredith duke who says she was also threatened after supporting masks at that same meeting. [sfx: psst psst]
military after august 31st, and the expectation had been that we would continue to provide limited when we say air support, i m talking about maybe six or seven strikes a day, which is what we ve been doing to back afghan fighting forces as they defend these cities from the taliban. but if the afghan fighting forces are melting away and have been trumped and trounced as they just have, you know, i don t know we will be what s there there s nothing there to support. so i don t have a good answer to your question at this point because i think things are moving very, very fast. yesterday the pentagon saying, you know, our mission has not changed, we re here to provide support to the afghan government, but if there s no government i don t know who they will be supporting. nbc s meagan fitzgerald in london and helene cooper with the new york times. we will continue with ryan crocker, the former ambassador to afghanistan. why he says the u.s. has hung