a few hours ago, the embassy sent out a security alert warning there are reports of the airport taking fire. i want to bring in cnn s pentagon correspondent oren liebermann. this is a very precarious situation. where are u.s. troops in-country right now? what does the pentagon say about plans if control of this airport falls, which i suppose like everything else that we ve seen, is possible? reporter: so let s be clear that if hamid karzai n international airport were to fall, that is the worst-case scenario. the need to retake an airport from insurgents or from some other group that tries to take it, that requires more troops than are on the ground now, and that s the worst-case scenario, but that s not what s happening right now. the bulk of u.s. troops are at hamid karzai international airport. there are some 3,000 troops on the ground right now. we ve just learned in the past few minutes that secretary of defense lloyd austin approved another 1,000 troops. so it will be a total o
in-country or on their way to afghanistan. their primary mission is clear. it is to secure the airport such that u.s. embassy staff and their workers can get out. there have been security incidents at or near the airport according to a defense official we recently spoke with. but and this is a key point here to make u.s. forces on the ground there have not been fired upon, and they have not fired upon anybody. so although there have been security incidents at or near the airport, they have not, as of this moment, involved u.s. troops. but there is a crush of civilians, including afghans, at the airport trying to get out of the country, and that contributes to the chaos and to the situation on the ground there. everything rests on hamid karzai international airport, and the u.s. knows that very well. that s why the troops going in are for the security of the airport. that s why the embassy is there at this point, and that s where the embassy staff are moving and have moved to get ou