of those checkpoints and barbara was saying they don t think this is intentional. they don t have intelligence showing otherwise, but i do think the larger point of what we re seeing happening in afghanistan and where it goes from here, it s only gotten dicier, the last few days the president has said they re still going to stick by these next now less than five days that are going to happen, is going to be even more concerning because there are still active threats on the ground, before this attack had happened, white house officials said they were most worried about the last days when there were the fewest u.s. troops when they were starting to wind down that presence about what could happen. we have seen those worst fears realized, but they could not be over. they re very real, very concerned about it, and they still have a lot of people to get through the airport before the u.s. is completely gone. these groups have a lot of people willing to blow t themselves up. the frafternoon
from here, it s only gotten dicier, the last few days the president has said they re still going to stick by these next now less than five days that are going to happen, is going to be even more concerning because there are still active threats on the ground, before this attack had happened, white house officials said they were most worried about the last days when there were the fewest u.s. troops when they were starting to wind down that presence about what could happen. we have seen those worst fears realized, but they could not be over. they re very real, very concerned about it, and they still have a lot of people to get through the airport before the u.s. is completely gone. these groups have a lot of people willing to blow themselves up. i approeciate it. thank you. the afternoon, i spoke to matthew aikens who was in kabul when the attacks occurred. i understand you went to the airport. how soon after the attack were you there and what did you see? we were there less than
stay safe, that eventually, you know, normal commercial operations are going to reopen at the airport. the taliban has said they want normal relations with the world. they want visas for themselves and their family members. i met taliban fighters who tell me about their relatives in the u.s. or europe. so they also want to be able to travel the world. so i hope that people will be able to get visas. they will be able to get out normally if they just wait and sit at home. but that also depends on us. we have dangled this promise of escape over the course of this evacuation. and that s what made people so desperate to get out, but i really hope that translates into an enduring commitment to get people out, to get them visas over the next year, coming years. afghans who need refuge in the west, there will be ways. matthew, i appreciate your time. thank you. my pleasure. you heard matthew talk about the gates around the airport.
away. they are no longer in their positions. so there is some fear about looting because the taliban have fully taken over. but today we did go to the western outskirts of the city and we saw taliban there. they were coming at the city on humvies, on rangers, on government vehicles. there were crowds in the street cheering them. little children running after them. and it was a quite peaceful scene, actually. so that seems to be the opposite, at least, of the energy by which we are talking about this very topic here, matthew. and that is right now and for part of the day. were people surprised though, about how quickly the taliban swept across the country? what are the locals telling you right now there in kabul? people are absolutely stunned. they are in shock. it s been, you know a very scary time. a lot of people who were trying to evacuate and get out got stuck. i am getting terrified phone calls from people. but the fact of the matter is,
right. or have the taliban taken over? what is going on at the airport? are flights skpomg going? can the americans and the afghans who trying to get frantically, can they still get out. we don t have answers to these question at the moment. karzai was the leader at the beginning of when the united states became involved in this conflict. exactly. we will touch base with you later. let s go back to kabul. joining me, matthew aikens, he s in kabul and a contributor. i have been following what you have been posting. what is it that s happening right now? it is about 10:00 p.m. right now local time? yeah, it s 10:37. there are helicopters in the sky. the evac flights are well under way. the city, at least where we are has been quite calm. the police completely melted