number, for how long, all of that is baked into the planning process. i m just not going to get ahead of what the planners are doing. so i m still unclear at the very end of this, the 30th, 31st who will be doing security at the airport. you are saying the taliban will be responsible. the taliban will be responsible for running an airport in a city that they are the heads of government there. running the airport and security, right? according to when we are gone, the airport will no longer be secured by american forces. what that security looks like after we re gone i can t speak to that. before the u.s. leaves, though. you will be doing it the last couple aircraft leave with americans who is running security keeping those aircraft and runway safe? you are asking a very good
0 admiral and the general aren t working in in a very personal way with taliban authorities outside the airport. let me go another one on the phone. tara. thank you for doing this, john. yesterday the president mentioned also that he was calling upon the department to create contingency plans in case the number of americans and afghans haven t gotten out by the 31st. can you just explain kind of what the department is thinking about what its options might be to continue to get americans out after the 31st if they haven t made it to the airport by then? and then just to follow on jeff s question with afghans that aren t getting through, for those have discussions gone on with the taliban to maybe find some negotiation space for they ve said no more afghans can clear but there are 10,000 at the airport. something is happening behind the scenes helping some people get through. can you talk about that to some extent? i ll start with the last question first. kind of comes off of some
yeah, well for me that s not politics. i mean, that s sort of part of catholic social teaching at this point as he has said. it s funny, i always find it interesting politicians say when i agree with the pope he s talking about spiritual matters. when i don t agree with him, it s political basically. you know, care for the environment. care for the poor. right? care for refugees and migrants. those are all deeply religious questions because jesus asked us to care for the least of our brothers and sisters, right? and, you know, god asked us to as the book of genesis said to till the earth and keep it, but in cyclical said, we have done way too much tilling and not enough keeping. so these are religious questions. if they have political ramifications, so be. we have to leave it there. we ll have fascinating discussions all throughout this week. john allen, bruce, father, thank you for being with us. we look forward to more of your words. coming up next, what the papal security look