it has sort of expanded in the minds of many kabulis, if you can get to the airport, you can probably get to america. that s something that appeals to millions of afghans. they will have to work out when that stops. when their red line is there too. they will have to work out as well which is how many americans are there still in kabul. one final thing that bugs me from hearing the last few questions is president joe biden was very clear that al qaeda was gone. he said the reason we went in to afghanistan is no longer there. john kirby had to wind that back and say there s still a presence there and talked about lack of intelligence and not having clear numbers. there s not much doubt about this at all. a report in january talked about how they were growing in their presence. there s very little doubt that a will the of al qaeda and other affiliates around that could be of use to them too. our report on how the u.s. appeared to have acted on raid
lawmakers on capitol hill about this situation in afghanistan. ryan nobles there on capitol hill. the headline that i have is reports from the defense secretary of americans being beaten by members of the taliban. he says that is obviously unacceptable. let s bring back the panel. i want to start with kim. kim, how that variable changes what we are watching in kabul outside the airport. well, just the fact that the defense secretary apparently said that gives me a bit of hope that they re being realistic behind closed doors. because i have to say listening to both the president and then john kirby from the pentagon, it was a surreal moment because what they re describing is not what i m hearing about on the ground, doesn t match the pictures. or this large network of ngos and former officials who have been trying to charter planes to get them in there and get people
veterans who have been reaching out to their translators trying to help them and the maylay outside of that airport makes it almost important for most of them to get through. colonel, let me come to you. i expected to hear some clarity about the 169 americans who the president said military assets went over the wall to retrieve. didn t seem like admiral kirby, general taylor had any details there. they just described it as a short distance and a short period. are you surprised by appearing to be flat-footed when being asked about that? yes, i am, victor. when everybody knows, you know, that s a big moment when our troops go across the wall like that, whether it s just a few feet or a mile or two. we really do need to know about that. so there is clearly something that happened there.
is made. it is interesting. sort of president joe biden sort of suggested that was manager they might look at. clearly, it s to come in and provide the clean up or details. the idea of sending even if you have 6,000 troops on the airport of sending some of them down the main airport road all around into a densely occupied urban area with taliban feeling more in control than in 20 years. we have seen their forces are caution as they moved around kabul. it was a difficult role for them. in you begin to slowly push u.s. troops out from the airfield,
young children can t handle hours of standing in the heat. we staw a stunning video of handing a diaper clad infantinfant up to marine. and the infant was taken to get medical help. that s part of this. these people are not arriving in tiptop shape. they need help. first that help is to get through the taliban check points and onto the airport. that in and of itself is a hercul herculean effort. that s very much part of what is going on. whether it s qatar, uae. i m sure there s more medical checks and more medical help keeping people safe and healthy on the conditions on the ground is one more complicated task as the u.s. tries to speed the whole process up. all right. thank you.