Sources tell cnn that President Ashraf gone any has fled his country, and in desperation, long lines of afghan citizens are trying to withdraw cash from atms and, if they can, trying to seek flights out of the country. As all of this unfolds, the u. S. Is sending more u. S. Troops into afghanistan, 5,000 total, to ensure that President Biden calls an orderly and safe drawdown. When the president came to office, he had a decision to make. The previous administration negotiated an agreement with the taliban that said that our forces, our remaining forces, only about 2,500, would be out of the country on may 1st. The idea that the Status Quo could have been maintained by keeping our forces there i think is simply wrong. We have Team Coverage on the ground in afghanistan and across the globe to bring you all the breaking developments. Cnns nick Paton Walsh is in kabul. Describe what youre seeing as the taliban enters that capital city. Reporter well, again, after hearing the noise of helicopters in the sky during the afternoon. Were hearing them again now in the dark of night, a sign that theres continued activity by the u. S. To move their personnel around in this unprecedented collapse, frankly, of the government of afghanistan. The most startling piece of news ive heard in about ten days of repeated Shock Aftershock here is the unannounced of President Ashraf ghani, the man who went on television in the last 24 hours to say he wished to stay in power, push forward, look for a political solution. He disappeared without telling anybody. We had to find out through officials in his government and other diplomatic sources of his departure. It may be to that jik stan. The hope had been that he might do that, actually he had been pressured to get out of the way for quite some time, leaving behind a transitional government that could potentially bridge the gap between The Americanbacked administration here and the taliban who have slowly but very surely moved into kabul already. He didnt do that. Ghani left a gaping Power Vacuum here into which, of course, we have seen the taliban confidently march. Well wait and see precisely what the talibans moves are here. Im in a city of 6 Million people who are on edge to see exactly what kind of taliban theyll see tomorrow, what kind of zboft they may choose to be, if they indeed declare themselves to be that. What will happen to the remnants of security forces, some of whom have been reportedly changing out of uniforms into civilian clothes. Theres a fear of lawlessness here, mainly because of prison breaks that have happened on the outskirts of the city, too. You have to pause for a moment and consider the last 20 years of american dominance here. They were the ultimate military might here. Weve seen today not only the man they hoped for years was going to lead the country so they could exit out of it themselves, he has fled and the enemy has simply walked into a city always known as the ring of steel, the place the insurgency could never hope to move into. Theyre here now and according to what im hearing, setting up in schools, disarming local Security Guards and taking up their place in kabul. Nick, what about at least one report that is saying afghan Government Leadership has gone to Doha Qatar to negotiate with taliban political leadership, and there are instructions that the taliban is following to avoid any kind of violence or taking kabul with force . Have you heard anything that verifies that leadership, even perhaps the president of afghanistan, even though hes fled the counted, that hes fleeing with the effort of negotiating with taliban political leadership outside of country . Reporter i cannot predict the future, but all indications now, and even a senior official in his administration used the phrase they ran away. It appears as though Ashraf Ghani is out of the picture. It would be easy for him to say i Hand Power over to those sitting in the wings. But they dont appear to have anything like the controls of the leaders of power. Its the fwanl in the capital here. You have to ask, why would they even think about going back to negotiations that theyve always been, to some degree, using as a method to slowly accomplish their battlefield aims. We are receiving indications that the talks in Doha Arent going to go ahead because, frankly, what is there to talk about . What do you have left that you want to negotiate out of your enemy here if youre the taliban . You have what you want. Theres an outstanding question, fred, important to point out, that the taliban want international respectability. Theyve come to power through an element of force, certainly with the troops doing moves into here and not through political settlement. They may be wanting to coddle as much favor as they can with any government to get some sort of international recognition. That could be farfetched at this stage. Well have to see what the reality on the ground does to the western capitals. Nick, let me ask you about the airport. If its indeed the case that some american personnel are at the airport waiting, and weve reported some afghans who have the money and the means are also at the airport trying to get out, is there any activity in or out of that airport in terms of flights . Reporter were hearing the occasional plane taking off. Im simply guessing, since its dark, that must be military aircraft. Theyll move at a fast rate to get Military Personnel out of here. They also have a list of afghans who worked for the president here and they said theyll get them out. It may be difficult for them to process any paperwork to get them on that plane. I suspect well see a steady stream of u. S. Aircraft. The report im getting is chaos, many trying to get inside that often The Best Of Times is very heavily defended and hard to access area. Many people trying to leave on the few flights coming out of here, i think i came in on the last civilian flight that landed here. A big question as to whether civilian flights resume. A big question as to exactly what kind of Air Power the u. S. Are able to muster in these extraordinary positions, to get the people they promised to get out out. Clearly here, theyre here in sfantd number, practicing and waiting for this moment for quite some time. How the airport continues to function, can the u. S. Leave their longest war in the safe and orderly fashion. I do hear in the background aircraft activity. Well check back with you. Helicopters. Sounds like it. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you. The rapid collapse were seeing in afghanistan is being compared to what was seen in saigon in 1975, one of the most iconic and dispiriting moments in american history. The image in the left, u. S. Officials hastily fleeing South Vietnam as its capital fell. On the right, kabul today. U. S. Diplomats being evacuated from the u. S. Embassy as kabul false to the taliban. This morning, Tony Blinken on whether theres a parallel here. Isnt that exactly what were seeing now. Even the images are evocative of what happened in vietnam. Lets take a step back. This is manifestly not saigon. Cnns international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has reported on the taliban and was in afghanistan on september 11th. Nic, how are you dissecting what were seeing in kabul and beyond in afghanistan . I think the taliban are On The Verge of accomplishing their aims all along which was talk, talk, talk with the u. S. In doha, not talk with the afghan government in a meaningful way, and execute a Military Strategy that would bring them to power in kabul without having to share that power with anyone else. I believe thats where were standing at the moment. Afghans will be hugely fearful of that uncertainty. Theres certainly those of the last generation, 20 years and older, will know what its like under taliban rule, will know that the taliban are not a homogeneous, disciplined force across the country. They can issue whatever writ they want while in power. But there are gunmen in villages and small towns across the country and will be able to execute untold influence, Power And Control in their immediate communities. Thats an uncertainty. I think where we stand at the moment is the taliban literally On The Verge, and we seem to have a hint of that from the british Prime Minister saying he expects an announcement coming from kabul shortly about a new government or new political dispensation there. He worded his concerns and cautioned this way saying that he didnt want a rush to recognition of the taliban, that he wanted essentially a united international position, essentially to try to control the taliban. I think that is an unrealistic estimation at this stage. The taliban have wantonly through their negotiations and knowingly dissembled, lied you could call it that, to fight their way to power and will deal with the consequences of it once theyre in power and will deal with it in their own way. International recognition that the assumption is they want yes, of course theyre going to want it, but want it on their own terms, the same way theyve fought for this position. Nic, how do you assess . What does this mean, Al Ban rule in afghanistan . Is this a leadership of harboring terrorists, more widespread Human Rights Abuses . Its going to be a potentially more lawless country, that the taliban in the past i think back when i was covering them in 96 through 2000, they could exercise control across the counted, they did completely eradicate poppy growth across the country. They also harbor Al Qaeda. Theyve been disingenuous about their relationship with Al Qaeda. Members of the taliban alliance, the heck canny network, its believed a senior member of the Haqqani Network was in kabul earlier today. I think this gives an understand that the taliban cannot be relied on and trusted in what they say because they clearly have shown that they disregard commitment. We understand that theyve given, and, therefore, there will be the spaeth for Al Qaeda and other likeminded groups to have a more comfortable existence in afghanistan in the coming years. The taliban have said they will not allow afghanistan to be used as a base to attack other countries. They gave that understanding to the United States. They gave it to the chinese and gave it to the russians. I think at the moment, if you look at this regionally and geopolitically, this is opening the door for a stronger influence of pakistan inside afghanistan who have long been a sort of arms elect, half Arms Length of the taliban, wanting to exert greater influence politically inside afghanistan which they say important for their strategic depth in the region. But its also by virtue of other regional powers, namely china, that china is likely, over a period of time, to gain greater Control And Influence in afghanistan for trade, and this at a time when the United States is facing, you know, perhaps its toughest period in history with a rising power, that power being china. This is what people in afghanistan have called over the years, the great gain. Some people dont like that name. What were seeing is a significant regional Power Shift that will take time balancing out. The details we dont know. I believe this is whats under way. Nic, clearly this is going to be a blemish and is currently a blemish on the biden administration, but does the Trump Administration also share some of the blame, because both administrations certainly sign posted details about when there would be a u. S. Troop wit withdrawal. Reporter President Trump Trump had someone negotiate with the taliban, to allow troops to get out, have a peaceful transition of power. President biden inherited it. It was a mess. As i said, the taliban was lying, is the best we can understand, from the information we have today, in those negotiations. They didnt keep the faith of their word. I think Khalil Saad spoke in a conference a few weeks ago. I think his accounting of what his instructions were from President Trump and how he was instructed to continue with those same talks under President Biden will be perhaps the most illuminating account we can get to understand where to apportion blame for what were seeing in afghanistan today. Absolutely, the information was being provided through resources on the ground in afghanistan if you want to call it that, that the taliban, while negotiating in doha about a peace in the country were not passing on that message of peace to their foot soldiers at all. There is a wealth of information about that that was being passed on. So were there negotiations going on with eyes closed during President Trumps administration . These are open questions. I certainly cant answer them. These are the questions that were being asked at the time and the same questions that will be asked ability President Bidens period of administration during the withdrawal from afghanistan. It sounds like the Secretary Of State was saying they were left with no other choice. Secretary of State Blinken says, if we had stayed, u. S. Had stayed five more weeks or five more years, it wouldnt have made a difference to the stability of afghanistan. Do you agree . Certainly that argument can be made. I remember 2001, september, october, november, december, i remember talking to afghans then. The one thing they wanted from the u. S. Involvement and expulsion of the taliban was to disarm the warlords across the country. What happened was, when we went in, the only way to go into the country was with the help of those same warlords. They were never fully marginalized. Some would bristle at the fact that they were being called warlords. That was a characterization. In terms of what the afghans wanted, those weapons used by warlords, used by criminal gangs, used by whomever to exert Power And Control over them, they were never taken out of the equation. I think to sort of try to say that we could go back and reset now is a stretch too far. Five years, 15 more years, the United States and its allies in nato all had the opportunity. Part of the opportunity was lost when attention was turned to invade Iraq And Fight in iraq. Afterwards, when attention came back to afghanistan, the taliban had started to find their feet again. So i dont think that there was this possibility to surge in 100,000 or 200,000 more troops unless to make that happen. There was no political will here, no political will in European Partners to surge in the number of troops. I think without that number of troops, you couldnt make the difference. But the corruption the afghan corruption from the big spending that came from European Partners with the United States, part of that was a contribution. The solution that would have that afghan citizens wanted, disarming the warlords at the beginning, that opportunity was missed. Once it was missed, it was very difficult to come back from that. Once the corruption began and afghans could see that and see the political Process Wasnt fair, wasnt democratic in their eyes, its in these moments that the power the great power of the United States and European Allies to exert a lasting influence and a strong, positive legacy, its in those moments i think reflikting back historians will find that the chances were lost. All this underscores just how complex the situation is. Earlier i asked you about the potential now for more Human Rights Abuses. I want to play some sound from a womens Rights Activist in afghanistan. Listen. I came to afghanistan to be the voice of the voiceless women of my country. All of those women that are living in the provinces of afghanistan all the way back in the districts and nobody hears their voices, and they are in dire need of help. They are poor. They are not educated. The children are dying because theyre sick. Its seriously grave. Nic, the taliban has said recently that it would allow girls to go to school, women to have more freedoms, more than what they had under the previous regime. Who believes that . On face value, how can anyone believe anything theyre saying, to be honest. They play Fast And Loose with the truth. The reality is the taliban may allow some girls to go to school. Which girls . Up to which age . What will they actually be able to learn . The taliban are a very conservative islamic group, and they want to stick to those traditional rural values. They are very unlikely to give real space for girls and women to get an education that we understand as an education, to university level. Thats what afghan women are leaving in fear of at the moment. I dont think we should be under any illusions, any words from the taliban that are going to guarantee what we would understand as rights for Womens Education are going to be upheld. Its deeply disturbing, but i do believe thats the position were at at the moment. Nic, ive just been told that the u. S. Has completed its evacuation at the u. S. Embassy. When i was talking to Nick Paton Wa walsh, you could hear Helicopter Activity behind. Not sure if theres a correlation. Thats the latest information were getting about the evacuation of u. S. Personnel. We also heard from blinken who said there would be some u. S. Personnel that would stay put. Still unclear whether that hassing changed. All u. S. Personnel out in terms of diplomacy or if some have been left behind. Nic, thank you. We have not heard from President Biden on this dramatic sequence of uevents unfolding i afghanistan. Were live from the White House when we come right back. Thats why i started medhaul. Citi launched the Impact Fund to invest in both women and entrepreneurs of color like me, so i can realize my vision and give everything ive got to my company, and my community. I got you. 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And even when things go a bit wrong, weve got your back. Here, things work the way you wish they would. And better protection costs a whole lot less. Youre in good hands with allstate. Click or call for a lower Auto Rate today. Welcome back. Im fredicka whitfield. Were following Breaking News out of afghanistan. What youre seeing now, u. S. Helicopters over kabul shuttling Out American Personnel as the taliban moves into the capital. With us, Jeremy Diamond at the white House And Kylie atwood at the State Department. Were learning the u. S. Embassy is fully evacuated. Is that the case . All the u. S. Diplomats that were at the embassy have now left, theyve evacuated. Theyve been taken to the airport in kabul. The only folks still at that embassy, theres a small number of Security Contractors im told, but theyre going to leave soon. In addition to that, in the most recent hours, the u. S. , The American flag was taken down at the embassy. That is something they do as a final step in evacuating an embassy. Weve also seen in recent days that preparations were under way for this inevitability. There were documents that were burned, classified documents. They were also getting rid of anything that could be used as antiamerican propaganda, such as american flags or anything that had a seal of the u. S. Embassy on it. It was very clear to those of us who are following this, that this is the direction in which this was headed. You have Secretary Of State Tony Blinken calling this is very deliberate and orderly evacuation saying the biden administration had sent these troops into the country to help with this, to help get americans home safely, but at the same time there are Questions Today about there being some challenges in trying to figure out what the embassy is doing what the State Department has said theyre doing. It is evacuated right now. The State Department still has not said its been evacuated. On thursday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said this is not abandonment, its not evacuation. Clearly its evacuation and folks on the ground feel theyre being abandoned. There are questions over the biden Administrations Philosophy over the last few weeks, the last few months saying u. S. Troops are leaving but america is not leaving. Whats becoming clearer and clearer these hours is america is leaving. What were going to watch for is what happens to that embassy. It will be shuttered, im told, in the next 48 hours. Well watch to see what happens to the small number of u. S. Diplomats still at the airport in kabul. Its very likely that they, too, could have to leave the country. Kylie, thats whats interesting. When we say evacuations complete from the embassy doesnt mean all americans are out of afghanistan and out of harms way, particularly since the taliban is very unpredictable and still unclear what the ultimate goal is and how its going to get there even though, kylie, Taliban Represents Have said they are trying to take control without violence, without force. Thats right. It was a Security Alert that went out from the State Department today urging any americans that are still in afghanistan to shelter in place. They said that is because there are reports of Air Fire im sorry of fire at the airport, of gunshots. They dont want americans who are still in the country to go to the airport. Thats a really scary thing for those americans. What are they supposed to do . The State Department is giving them a form to fill out. Theyre telling them very explicitly not to call the embassy. The assumption being theres probably no one at the embassy to answer the phones right now. They are taking in these forms from these americans still on the form to try to help them get out. But a lot of Questions Today about how many of these locally employed staff, afghan staff who worked at the embassy, these afghan translators who worked alongside u. S. Diplomats and u. S. Forces in the field, how many of them will be able to get out of the country before the taliban have complete control of kabul which appears, could be frankly going to find means in which to get them out of the country, particularly because of their commitment to this nation and allied nations, but now no real assurances there for them. Thats right. We should note that the State Department has sped up the flights for those contractors, for those people, those afghans who worked as interpreters over the last few days. The question is, are those flights going to be enough to get out the dramatically high number that are in need right now. I can tell you, im getting messages on my phone, very, very sad messages from interpreters who worked alongside americans, fearful for the lives, frankly, not only of themselves, but their children if the taliban take over. The taliban know who these people are who worked alongside the u. S. , and they are going to target them. They have been doing it in the past. They say theyre not going to do it, but the expectation is that they very likely will. Many of those people took those jobs knowing there was great risk in so doing, but even more so now that the u. S. Is carrying out this withdrawal. Jeremy, to you at the White House, weve heard from secretary of State Blinken on all the networks this morning. We still have yet to hear from the president. We got his statement yesterday. Is the president expected to address the Nation Today . Reporter as of now, fredicka, theres no indication from the White House that well hear from President Biden today on the situation in afghanistan. He is still currently at the president ial retreat near washington at Camp David where he is still being briefed regularly on the situation. A white House Official told us a few moments ago that the President And Vice president had a secure Video Teleconference this morning with top members of the president s national Security Team including Secretary Of State, secretary of defense, national Security Adviser and several other u. S. Ambassadors, focusing on not only the Security Situation in afghanistan, but also the process of evacuating those american diplomats as well as those afghan interpreters and others applying for the special immigrant visa. One thing is clear is that obviously the situation has unfolded far more rapidly than the White House expected. They did not believe that the taliban would advance so quickly on kabul. But a point that white House Officials have been making to me in trying to defend what is happening right now and the speed with which all of this is unfolding, is saying, look, we perhaps did not expect these individuals we did not expect, perhaps, the taliban to advance so rapidly on kabul, but we prepared for it. Thats why they were able to send, they say, these thousands of american troops to kabul to help evacuate these american diplomats. But again, make no mistake that this is not the situation that the administration had hoped for. Certainly its not what the administration was talking about just days ago when, as kylie was saying, the State Department spokesperson said they were not planning to evacuate all embassy personnel even as they began the drawdown of staff at the embassy. Today the White House is certainly a flurry of activity. You have officials here working on this very situation, and then at every single department, from the Department Of Defense to the State Department, i have been told that officials are working at their post, heavily focused on the situation and regularly updating the president , even if he is not here at the White House, but over at Camp David. Jeremy, of the people you are talking to, is anyone saying there was a miscalculation of u. S. Intelligence that could have forecast something like this was about to happen . Or is the complaint that there wasnt any intelligence indicating that the taliban was capable at at the ready to move it as quickly as they did . Reporter i think at this point theres a clear understanding that obviously the intelligence assessments weve been hearing about, initially were were talking six months for the taliban to reach kabul. Then it became 30 days. Instead, this unfolded in a matter of days. Objectively, this is not what the Intelligence Community assessed here. We heard that acknowledgment from the Secretary Of State earlier today when he was speaking with Jake Tapper and he said this unfolded quicker than anticipated, speaking to the Afghan Security Forces that crumbled very quickly, abandoning their post and leaving behind so much Military Equipment that the u. S. Had not only paid for but given to the afghan forces as well as, we saw earlier today, bagram air base, what was the hub of The American involvement in this two decades Long War being taken over as well by the taliban. In that statement from the president , jeremy, that was sent out yesterday, the president still made it very clear that while the objective for u. S. Troop personnel moving into afghanistan is to retrieve safely u. S. Personnel, it also indicated that, if there are obstacles, that Military Force is still an option. Thats true. We heard a similar message this morning from Secretary Of State Tony Blinken, that if u. S. Forces were attacked, there would be a response. Listen to him from earlier today. Let me ask you, is the biden administration right now offering the taliban anything in exchange for a promise of safe passage for americans and others out of afghanistan . No. We havent asked the taliban for anything. Weve told the taliban that, if they interfere with our personnel, with our operations as were proceed being this drawdown, there will be a swift and decisive response. Reporter so you can hear there, a swift and decisive response as the Secretary Of State is saying there. That was echoed in briefings this morning delivered by the secretary of State And Secretary of defense to members of both the House Of Representatives and the senate this morning as those lawmakers were seeking updates on the situation in afghanistan. Because you mentioned that statement from the president yesterday, i should mention that it is notable to see the extent to which this administration, we heard it from the Secretary Of State this morning as well. They are really trying to pin a lot of this on the previous administration and the last president , donald trump, in the way theyre saying their hands were tied because of the deal that President Trump made at the time. With the taliban to have u. S. Forces begin to evacuate by may 1st, saying their hands were tied in this situation. The only other option here besides a full withdrawal would have been to surge additional troops. That was something that clearly President Biden was not willing to do. Ultimately, though, this is happening on President Bidens watch, and hes certainly going to own everything that happens here in kabul as well as with all of the u. S. Personnel, The Americans, as well as those afghans who helped the United States over so many years of conflict. Jeremy diamond, kylee at wood, thanks to both of you. Today some republican members of congress are pointing the finger at the biden administration for the chaotic situation that is unfolding right now in afghanistan. Others say former President Trump also shares responsibility. I think its an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions. I think the president this is going to be a stain on this president and his presidency. I think hes going to have blood on his hands for what they did. The noose is tightening around the kabul neck, and theres still no strategy other than race to the airport and evacuate as many people as you can. This is a really sad day, not only for america, but the afghan people, the women left behind, and i would say our international standing in the world. We look so weak and its so embarrassing. I think absolutely President Biden Bears Responsibility for making this decision, but theres no question that President Trump, his administration, secretary pompeo, they also bear very significant responsibility for this. They walked down this path of legitimizing the taliban, perpetuating the fantasy, telling The American people that the taliban were a partner of peace. Secretary pompeo told us the taliban was going to renounce Al Qaeda. None of that has happened. Lets bring in suzanne malveaux. The biden administration had a virtual briefing with members of congress today. What more can you tell us about that . Reporter fred, both House Lawmakers as well as senators were briefed by the secretaries of state, defense as well as the chair of the joint staff, about 45 minutes, these virtual briefings. Fred, we have heard this morning as you saw on the political shows but also behind the scenes, both democrats and republicans using words like gutwrenching, heartbreaking, frustrating, even fatalistic language asking why was the u. S. Involved in this mission for 20 years in the first place . Those are the kinds of things that lawmakers are saying via twitter and to each other. You had these briefings earlier, one of them fairly straightforward on the senate side. Thats where you have Secretary Austin, who was being pushed a bit, if you will, about the timetable and the speed in which things have crumbled. You had them talking about the 60,000 or so who are eligible to get out of the country, how this Evacuation Process will unfold and how they will make those priorities known and the third party, the countries that will help in dealing with some of the refugees. On the house side, it was a lot more emotional. We understand House Minority Leader Kevin Mccarthy really pushing Secretary Austin about the fact that everything crumbled so quickly and this was so unexpected. Secretary austin pushing back, saying they could conduct Air Strikes if necessary to make sure all the folks are out of that airport in time, that there is a way to get them out, evacuate them quickly and safely. It was also interesting, too, fred, you had House Speaker Nancy pelosi asking about the state of afghan president ghani where he was at the time. Now we know, but it was not a secure line. So officials refused to answer that question. There was a bit of frustration, some backandforth, whether or not lawmakers would get their questions answered, whether or not it was technical difficulties. We have been assured by officials the chain of command, the lines of communication are open to these lawmakers and they will continue to get briefed throughout the day, fred. Okay. Suzanne malveaux, thanks so much. Still a lot of questions that need answers. Right now the u. S. Military is considering the potential need to send even more u. S. Troops to afghanistan. Officials tell cnn no decisions have been made but discussions are under way. Were live from The Pentagon next. If youre 55 and up, T Mobile has plans built just for you. Switch today and get 2 lines of unlimited and 2 free smartphones. Plus youll now get netflix on us. All this for up to 50 off vs. Verizon. Its all included. 2 lines of unlimited for only 70 bucks. And this rate is fixed. Youll pay exactly 70 bucks total. This month and every month. Only at tmobile. Retirement income is complicated. As your broker, ive solved it. Thats great, carl. But we need something better. Thats easily adjustable has no penalties or advisory fee. And we can monitor to see that were on track. Like schwab intelligent income. Schwab introducing schwab intelligent income. A simple, modern way to pay yourself from your portfolio. Oh, thats cool. 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Your rewards. Right now the u. S. Military is considering the potential need to send even more u. S. Troops into afghanistan. President biden has authorized the deployment of 5,000 troops to afghanistan, and that includes troops already on the ground. Cnns Oren Liebermann joining me from The Pentagon. How soon will the troops be arriving, the additional one . The first group of 5,000 troops, some of them already in country in afghanistan. Many more on the way to assist in the evacuation of Embassy Staff and others from afghanistan. The key question here is what happens to the airport and can it be secured . If the Airport Falls to the taliban, this becomes a wo worstcase scenario. Were not at that point, but a key issue to watch. There were already about 1,000 troops in the country. 3,000 more came in, 2,000 marines and 1,000 soldiers. They went to the airport to secure it. Another thousand troops were pulled from the 82nd air borne from ft. Bragg. There was supposed to be about 3500 or 4,000 in Kuwait Standing by. Two quick questions to watch. First, are the rest of those troops who are supposed to be standing by in kuwait already going in, or will they be going in soon . The Question Weve learned in recent hours is there are discussions and considerations about whether even more troops are needed. President joe bidens goal was to get out the last 2,500 troops. Hell soon have more than twice that number in country. Oren liebermann, thank you very much, at The Pentagon. As late as friday The Pentagon was claiming that kabul was safe and it would take months for it to become potentially under the control of the taliban. The city itself, as you and i speak, is not under an imminent threat of collapse at this point, but obviously were watching this closely. We wouldnt have made this decision to send in another 3,000 troops if we werent mindful of the deteriorating Security Situation there. Joining me to discuss, juliet kayyem, a cnn national Security Analyst and former Assistant Secretary at the department of Homeland Security and military analyst, Retired General James Spider marks. Good to see both of you. General, you predicted this over recent months, that this potentially could happen. What went wrong here . U. S. Intel or Something Else . Its a combination, obviously. What we dont have on the ground in afghanistan anymore is a robust connection, a network of intelligence sources that allows us to get a sense of what the taliban is doing, especially in the zblf we lost that network. We do have an enormous, an enormous capability of Signals Intelligence and imagery intelligence. All manner of technical intelligence. Without a finger on the pulse of whats happening on the ground, you lose sight of what the eventual outcome might be, so it was pretty inevitable what the taliban would get to kabul. There was a sense of momentum. Again, you dont get that sense of creating something very quick on the part of the taliban. Weve got some successes. Were rolling into towns. Were rolling into villages. This is happening at a rapid pace. You dont get that simply through technical means. You have to be on the ground and dont have that . So juliet, was this inaccurate u. S. Intel or was this not listening to, appreciating intel . Well, i would not throw the Intelligence Agency under the bus first. First, this may be essentially a foundational nightmare. Right . In other words, why were we there and why were we consistently there . No exit would have been good regardless of what your intelligence told you. I want to look at the military and the Policy Side of this as well. The Military Side is just for years under administrations weve been told that the military has been investing billions of dollars of supporting afghan troops. Thats just clearly not true. There was barely a fight. And that may be because of corruption, lack of pay. We should have known that. The military should have known that. The second is the Policy Failure as well. Not only why are we there, but is the taliban a reliable partner in all these in both the previous Trump Administration and in our exit, and why do we believe them to be a reliable partner . I do not know what taliban 2021 is like compared to t2001 taliban. If we went in to protect our Security Interests after september 11st, i can only ask questions. I dont know the answers about whether the threat has increased or decreased and wed want to keep our eyes on the prize of what our interest is really in afghanistan which is, of course, our western and u. S. Counterterrorism efforts no matter how painful all this other stuff is which is horrifying. General, was that part of the problem . Negotiating with the taliban, trusting when perhaps thats an entity that should not have been trusted . Clearly. And juliet nailed it. The larger picture is strategically was this the right thing to do . Clearly we went into afghanistan to defeat the taliban and Al Qaeda. We defeated the taliban and has them removed quickly. Defeating Al Al it was a counterinurgency statement. Its ungoverned space. Thats how afghanistan has been defined forever, except in the United States who has been there the last two decades. With the assistance of the Afghan Military, but that was held together. The Afghan Military was held together by the glue of The American presence. And juliet is correct. We failed to read that. It just completely collapsed. And all of that great kit that the United States brought in for the Afghan Military is now in the hands of the taliban. All right. Good to see you both. Thank you so much. Well be back right after this. High fives and high dives. To 3on 3s. 2on2s. And 1on1s. 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At least 724 people are dead after a major Earthquake Hit Haiti yesterday morning. New images of the destruction there just continue to pour in as officials take stock of the damage. Take a look. Matt rivers is on the ground in portauprince. What are the Recovery Efforts like if at all . Reporter yeah, were just not far from the epicenter. We just got here not that long ago. What youre seeing behind me, we can move forward a little bit here. This is the scene of a multistory hotel that obviously has collapsed behind me. Theres a lot of people here on scene. Youre seeing two things happening here at this scene. Youre seeing some Recovery Efforts which that excavator presumably was a part of. Now that thats stopped, theres a lot going on at the scene. This was a relatively luxury hotel. A lot of people bringing out whatever they can find. It goes to the desperation of whats happening in this part of haiti right now as i think you said in the beginning, at least 700 people have been killed as a result of this so far. Thousands of people are injured. But those numbers are going to go up, because in all likelihood, there are still bodies in that rubble behind me. Theres a high likelihood of that. And this isnt the only scene like this around this area. We go up and down the street, thats just behind my camera, and you can see damage that goes up and down the street. Is it as pervasive as what we saw in 2010 . I dont think so at this point. This is not as crowded of a place as portauprince, the capitol which sustained damage years ago. But the damage here, you can see why the numbers are high and why theyre going up almost assuredly, it seems like this, that are very much active, are very much still happening, and theres also not a big Rescue Effort here at the moment. This is one of the more crowded scenes that weve seen here. Where are the police . Where are Security Agents . Where are firefighters . Where are Rescue Crews . Theyre not here. If theyre not here, where else would they be . And thats the open question we have right now in terms of whats happening here in haiti. There are so many people still missing. So much work left to do and the desperation is Matt Rivers in portauprince about 100 miles away from ta had hit Sea Port Area from yesterdays earthquake. Thank you so much. Hello. Thank you so much for joining me this sunday. We begin with this Breaking News, the collapse of afghanistans government. Right now taliban forces have taken over the Capitol City of kabul and the president ial palace. The u. S. Embassy is completely evacuated, were told. The american flag on the building, taken down. Choppers have shuttled u. S. Personnel of the Kabul Airport for flights out of the country. Still unclear whether flights are actually happening. Sources tell cnn Afghanistans President has fled the country afghan for reportedly tajikistan