Flying out to Third Party countries. And also looking for other places to fly some of these evacuees. That is what led to a pause. The White House described it as a brief pause. Our Clarissa Ward and team on the ground in kabul described this as an eighthour delay. Hardly a brief pause. It gives you a sense of how difficult this process is to bring people in, fly them to the countries and process them. That caused a bit of a backup. A significant backup, actually, but the White House is saying that President Biden will announce that the flights are resuming. They will resume. The order has been give ton start the flights up again. But the question here is is the State Department, is this Government Bureaucracy working as fast as it needs to here . Thats one thing on the minds of officials here at the White House as theyve been meeting with the president and others, trying to get some of this backlog unjammed, if you will. Thats been a challenge of the morning. This is just the airport were talking. Never mind the people trying to get to the airport, still trying to go through taliban control. That still needs to be addressed. Were told the president will be delivering remarks this afternoon, talking about the process there and hes also staying here at the White House today. He was planning on going to wilmington, delaware for a Threeday Weekend for vacation. Thats not going to happen. Hes staying at the White House to keep managing this situation here. As far as were told, the flights should be resuming shortly. And if you will, kylie is in qatar nearby and the site of where there are ongoing talks between the State Department and taliban. Sam, set the scene on whats happening in afghanistan. We saw the images of the baby being handed over barbed wire to military officials. That really does speak to the desperation and the urgency and the panic still there happening on the ground in afghanistan. Urgency, panic and desperation. Absolutely. And with this Eighthour Pause in movement, we think mostly toward qatar, where officials are saying the american side of the base is rapidly filling up or reaching capacity. Theyre comfortable. They can absorb more in qatar. Thats called comfort in a hot environment, indeed in kabul where there are thousands, Tens Of Thousands of people hoping to get out of the country and Clarissa Ward ran the gauntlet into the airport. This is what she came across. We actually went through today, and we were very lucky, because we went through a gate where there were relatively few people, and we went at a very early hour in the morning. But i can tell you it was one of the more harrowing experiences ive ever had. Because the desperation when that fwgate opened j just a jar and theres just a rush. People pushing, and youre desperately trying to stand up. Holding hands where my leagues and some of our local staff who are trying to get out. And Everybody Screaming and children are screaming. And on the other side of the war, theyre screaming to get back. I mean, its just unconscionable that there are women that are carrying newborn babies, and i just. At some point, im at a loss of words, honestly. Now, ana, organizing an evacuation on this scale for a developed nation who hadnt just had a violent change of government would be one thing. The taliban are insisting theyre not standing in the way of people evacuating. Theyre insisting that theyd like to see better organization of the evacuation. But at the same time, there have been allegations against the taliban that they have been trying to hunt people down, associated with the Nato Involvement there and, indeed, with the government. There are people passing through the taliban check points showing papers that obviously prove their connection to the united states and her allies. And some are getting through. But nowhere near enough. Barbara, The Pentagon had set this expectation that eventually theyd be able to fly out somewhere in the range of 4,000 to 9,000 people a day. It seems like there is still a jam up. What is the biggest challenge as far as what you understand right now for the u. S. To carry out these evacuations . Well, it seems after today theres jamups everywhere. And The Pentagon not yet speaking plainly, speaking publicly, very candidly about what is going wrong. So lets review for a minute. The gate at the airport were closed for hours earlier today, and why . Of course, desperate afghans backing up outside the gate trying to get in, inside the Airport A Jamup of more than 10,000 people we are told, trying to get on planes, get processed and get out. No planes took off because they had nowhere to go. The Landing Sites in qatar and other possible locations are full. The administration is expected to announce it has new additional Landing Sites. One that we are hearing very strongly is Ramp Stain in germany. That should open up more capacity. But speaking plainly, The Pentagon, the u. S. Military, they have for decades said their expertise is in planning. Planning a mission, carrying it out. Knowing what they must do to carry out that mission. And right now each and every day we see something not being done, because they either dont over the last several days they havent had the people, the resources, the aircraft, the personnel, the processing capability, and, of course, the very tough issue of getting afghans through those taliban checkpoints outside the airport. The u. S. Continuing to talk to the taliban about trying to get that part of the process moving more freely, getting the taliban to back off from their very violent tactics. But right now it is hard to see where all of this goes. There are less than two weeks to August 31st which continues to be the stated biden administration timeline, deadline for getting out. If they decide they want to stay later for all practical purposes, they are going to have to get the taliban to agree to it. David, this is the backdrop as the president prepares to speak to the american people. Any moment now, be his second formal address to the american people since kabul fell. He also had the interview with abc this week. What will you be listening for . Yeah. His third attempt to explain to the american people what theyre seeing across their screens and give them confidence that he is in command of this moment. And i think as you heard, he has some news to bring as Jeff Zeleny was reporting about these flights starting up again after this long pause. So i would expect to hear a president , a commander in chief, talk operationally, because when George Stephanopoulos in the interview, he said his first reaction was we need to get our arms around and get the airport operating. So i would imagine were going to hear from him some operational details in that way the show that hes on top of this. Im also listening carefully to see if he bing brings a little more heart in his response to the images weve seen playing out across the screens all week long at that airport. I dont think weve heard that much from his heart on that subject, just yet. And, of course, as he did on monday, as he did in the interview on wednesday, i have No Doubt that we will hear him recommit to his overall strategy here that it is the right course for the united states of america, and the u. S. National security interests to pull all forces out of afghanistan. David, there have been multiple Press Briefings this week with The Pentagon, the State Department, the daily White House briefing, of course. What questions still havent been answered . There are a number. One is why is this process were seeing now of getting the allies, those who worked for the american forces out of kabul really revving up now instead of back in april or may after the president announced the deadline for the american withdrawal . The timeline just doesnt add up. Because the pace at which they were moving before the taliban took over got only 2000 or less than 10 of the applicants for the visas out of the country for consideration. Meaning that the military if it stuck to its August 31st deadline, would have been gone and left these people to the mercies of the taliban or whoever was in control of kabul and other cities without protection while their visas were being considered. And that timeline just doesnt wash. Now the president is going to have to make a case that hes doing everything he can. It looks like the u. S. Is in control inside the walls of the airport. But outside the walls, we had no presence. We have no sovereignty. We have no authority, and so the bigger problem which is getting people to the airport, is the one im going thats the problem i want to hear how he plans to address. Jake sullivan, his National Security adviser said the other day that any american citizen who was there, who wants to get out, theyll get out. But, of course, many of those who spread around afghanistan. Right. And at this point, according to the White House and pentagon, those who have been speaking this week, they said they dont have the ability right now to go beyond the airport in order to go in and help those people who might be in hiding and hunkering down for the time being. As we await the president , we are told the Vice President kamala will be alongside President Biden during todays remarks. She hasnt made any public comments about afghanistan this week. In april she said she remains the last person in the room when big decisions are made. Including when biden decided to withdraw troops by september 11th. We know from the president and White House he seeks out his Vice President , kamala harris, for advice, her point of view. He very much wants her to be the last person in the room. She has been in the briefings. We didnt see her on monday when he gave his speech, but as you said, we will see her by his side today. We dont know what her advice has been. We know she agreed with troops should withdraw when she was running for president , she was in line with what President Biden ended up doing. And he said that she is all in on this decision. What is interesting is what will come in the coming days. She is set to leave today for a foreign trip. This is her second foreign trip as Vice President. We know the first one had some bumps in the road, and we know the backdrop of this one is incredibly important, given how shaky the status of this withdrawal is and this massive mission that the biden administration is undertaking. She has to go to Vietnam And Singapore and reassure american allies that america is good for its word. It will remain a dependentable ally in the face of what were seeing in afghanistan. Well see her on the international stage in the coming days. And we know that this is the Vice President who isnt steeped in Foreign Policy in the way that obviously President Biden is and was as Vice President. So that i think is a coming challenge and well see how she does. But for now, we dont know what her counsel is in on afghanistan. Maybe in years to come, well find that out. Often times, shes said that she is a loyal person to this president , and that she supports his decision, and well see how she does on this foreign trip coming up in a couple days . Everybody please stand by. We are waiting for the president to speak. We will bring that to you live. Meantime, a welcome surge in the pandemic. An increase in vaccinations. Will it last and how big of an impact will that have on hospitals already out of critical space . I think i can. I think i can. I think i can. I think i can. I think. I can. This is the sound of change from pnc bank. Its the sound of low Cash Mode, giving you the options and extra time needed to help you avoid an overdraft fee. Low Cash Mode on virtual wallet from pnc bank. One way were making a difference. Theres a world where every One Of Us is connected. Everyone. Everywhere. Where everyone is included. Where everyone has access to information, education, opportunity. When Everyone And Everything is connected. Thats really beautiful. Anything is possible. Good morning. Cisco. The bridge to possible. Staying up half the Night Searching for savings on your prescriptions . Just ask your cvs pharmacist. We search for savings for you, from coupons to lower cost options. Plus earn up to 50 extrabucks rewards each year just for filling, at cvs pharmacy. Images of the White House. Any moment President Biden will be addressing the nation as chaos continues to unfold in afghanistan. Were also keeping an eye on developments with the pandemic and finally some good news. For the first time since early july, more than 1 Million vaccines were administered in a single day. The pace is about 73 higher than a month ago. And cnns senior medical correspondent is all over this. Elizabeth, nearly 60 of all eligible people in the u. S. Are now fully vaccinated. But it is still the unvaccinated that continue to overwhelm our health care system. How long could it be before we start to see the impact of those who are getting vaccinated . You know, every vaccinated body is a good thing. Thats one person fewer who is as likely to get hospitalized and is likely to die and likely to spread this horrible virus. But we need to keep going. So lets Take A Look again at the graphic that you just showed. If you look on the righthand side, thats where we are today with vaccinations. If lets look at who we have left to convince. Theres a large number of people just not getting this message. About 84 Million americans who are eligible for a covid Shot Havent even gotten a single shot yet. 84 Million people who dont understand the Death And Destruction this virus has done. Thats 30 of the eligible population. 30 of people 12 and up who are just not getting this. And this is the up swing, the good Up Tick on i suspect thats because theyre watching people die. And theyre watching people in the hospital. And they dont want to die. Its unfortunate its taken this to convince them to get vaccinated. Maybe thats what it takes. I think one thing weve learned here is in a way the science of the vaccine was easy. I think the cdc and others are having a hard way messaging this. How do we reach those 84 Million people . There is a new Study Today showing that loot of people were refusing Emergency Transport to hospitals in the early days of the pandemic, even when they were experiencing life threatening emergencies. Tell us more about this. Some of these folks in the study were having Chest Pain and wouldnt get into an ambulance. This is a study that looked at about 8 0,000 calls to 911 in the detroit area. All the calls were made to 911. Someone had Chest Pain or other Symptoms. 16,000 patients refused to get on an ambulance despite having Symptoms and 2000 of those people died. That shows you sort of the difficult situation that these Emt Workers were in, the patients. Its a difficult situation. Even though an ambulance had been called. Whats awful is were starting to see hospitals again overwhelmed and Hospital Staff saying we Cant Deal with the crush of people who are coming into our icus. Elizabeth, thank you for being with us. Starting today, if you live in san francisco, or even if you just plan to visit, bring your proof of vaccination. It is now required at places like bars, restaurants, and gyms. Dan simon is live for us. Are businesses ready . I think so, ana. San francisco Second Base a city from the very beginning, people were wildly accepting of masks and vaccines. Nearly 80 of the eligible population In The City is fully vaccinated. One of the highest Vaccination Rates in the country. So all indicators are that businesses, people ready to accept these new rules. Lets talk about what they are. If you go to a bar, a restaurant, a club, theater, or a gym, you need to show your vaccination card. You can either show the physical card or you can show a photo of it. Many restaurants and bars In The City have already been doing this for the past few weeks. They decided to do this independently. Now its a bit of a different story. Also weve had support the Bar And Restaurant industry for a very long time. Its the least we could do. I think a lot of people are going to have a stink about it. I think a lot of people will be happy theyre in an environment with likeminded people to feel like theyre taking all the precautions they can to stay safe. Now, while customers have to comply with the rules beginning today, employees, staff at the various businesses, they actually have a little bit of time to come to compliance and to be fully vaccinated. For them, it is october 13th. And this is similar to what the mayor enacted in New York where you have to show your vaccination card. One key difference between New York and san francisco, here you have to be fully vaccinated. Both doses, New York just one dose. Dan simon in san francisco. Thank you. Were keeping an eye on the White House. The president prepares to address the american people. The race to evacuate afghanistan is underway. Where things stand just ahead. 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Indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. Visit indeed. Com hire get ready. Its time for the Savings Event of the year. The Homeandautobundle Xtravafestasaveathon at this Homeandautobundle Xtravafestasaveathon, theres no telling what we might bundle Homeandautobundle Xtravafestasaveathon bundle cars, trucks, colonials, bungalows, and that Weird Hut your uncle lives in. So strike up the Homeandautobundle Xtravafestasaveathon band for the deal that started forever ago and will probably never end. Homeandautobundle xtravafestasaveathon. Say it with me. Homeandautobundle no ones leaving till you say it right. Homeandauto. At philadelphia, we know what makes the perfect schmear of cream cheese. You need only the freshest milk and cream. That one and the worlds best, and possibly only, schmelier. Philadelphia. Schmear perfection. Were back with our breaking news. The president getting ready to address the american people as chaos grips afghanistan. Well be bringing you his speech live. I want to continue our conversation with analysts. Lets start with Jeff Zeleny at the White House. Why dont we know how many americans are still in afghanistan . Well, that has been a question thats been asked around washington for the last several days, and officials have been unwilling and, in fact, unable to put a number to it. But theres a good explanation. You have to register as a u. S. Citizen when you go into afghanistan. So with the embassy, of course, before kabul fell just a few days ago, but you do not have to deregister. So the last several days have been chaotic. There have been charter planes leaving. 11 left last evening alone with the help of the u. S. Military. So there could be some americans on those flights. In fact, there likely are americans on those flights. Thats why there is not necessarily an exact accounting for how many americans remain in afghanistan. Its something that the State Department, The Pentagon, and here at the White House, officials have been trying to get a better estimate of that, but they do believe the numbers are dwindling and are quite low. Well see if the president addressing that specifically when he talks shortly in the East Room of the White House. But ana, i am told he is going to give an operational update. That means hes going to essentially explain exactly what the u. S. Military is doing on the ground at the airport more than 5,000 u. S. Troops are there. Theyve been working for the last several days. Im told hes not likely to say where the evacuees are going to be flying. They are looking for other locations as we know there was a halt in operations for about eight hours or so because they simply could not find places to fly. So i do not expect the president to necessarily get in the yeeds on that. But hell be doing through a list of how the u. S. Military is trying to bring americans and some afghan allies to safety and get them out of the country. But it also affords the president an opportunity to essentially reset what his administration has done and try and get on the offensive. Hes been essentially very defiant and defensive all week long about that his strategy for withdrawing troops from afghanistan. Widely popular, but the execution, many questions remain on that. So his tone will certainly be interesting when he addresses the nation and the world shortly, but that is one of the explanations why they cant say exactly why how many americans are still there. Although, they do believe as the small number the bigger question is how many afghan allies and partners will be able to be air lifted out in the next two weeks. And Thats Something hes supposed to address according to what the White House initially put out the remarks were goipg to be about. The president has been under fire by not just republicans but democrats as well. Are you surprised more democratic Lawmakers Arent speaking out in the president s defense . I mean, i think you have heard from a lot of key democrats on Capitol Hill who will be chairing Committee Hearings starting next week. So there is clearly an opportunity here for congress to perform its Oversight Function of the administration, and even though they are loyal biden supporters, these democratic Chairman And Chair women, they are going to do their jobs in that way. Theyve made clear, and as jeff was saying, so many questions still linger about the execution that theres nothing that President Biden is going to say today thats going to make those Committee Hearings next week when we see Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin go up to Capitol Hill go away. I mean, these questions are still going to be asked, and accountability is still going to be demanded from the legislative branch, and the White House is keenly aware of that. This moment is for Joe Biden on a third attempt this week to show total demand of what is going on right now, and the plan to bring it to a safe resolution by the time that August 31st deadly comes around. And an opportunity also for us to hear from him. We know his priority as everybody would say it should be are american citizens. Weve heard from many of his administration about the moral able obligation to also help the afghan allies and families. Those that helped the u. S. Over the last 20 years. We havent heard as much about that from the president himself. And im curious to see if he addresses that today. And as we talk about the tone that this president has set since the fall of kabul. Hes been defiant and said theres been no mistake. If we step back and think about four president s who have overseen the War In Afghanistan. President biden says he would have brought all americans home, even if former President Trump Couldnt have negotiated the withdrawal. Why do you think hes digging into this . Well, President Biden has longthought that this war had spun out of control. That the initial mission had gone beyond what it was to a kind of Nation Building. Thats essentially where americans are too. If you look at polling, at least a decade going back now, americans turned against this war, essentially saying it hasnt been a War Worth Fighfighting even as obama grappled with this and biden all along said this was not Something America could do and should do, and were seeing that on our screens now. That Nation Building isnt possible in a place like afghanistan. It might not be possible at all when youre trying to graft one culture onto another culture. So i think youll see him sort of remake that argument. Its probably the strongest part of his speech and his public statements over the last couple days, making that argument about why troops should withdraw, and also saying that listen, the united states can continue to do counterterrorism even if theyre not boots on the ground. Thats something that will be interesting to hear him address, too. I think weve heard from a lot of experts. It will be much more difficult to do that kind of counterterrorism if you dont have a real footprint in afghanistan. So well see what he says today, and if americans are still with him in terms of believing that he is a competent president. Thats what he sold. And not only competence, but also expertise in Foreign Policy. I think his credibility at this point is taking a bit of a bit, not only from democrats but certainly republicans as well because of the poor execution of this withdrawal. I mean, it is chaotic. It is messy. The pictures are heart breaking and infuriating. The polling does show the majority of americans say the War In Afghanistan is not worth fighting and coming back to something that you had said previously about could this have started earlier in terms of the withdrawal and the evacuation after not just american citizens in afghanistan but also afghan allies, the president has spoken a little bit about that in recent days saying that apparently it was the afghan government who urged america not to do a Mass Evacuation prior to a larger withdrawal closer to the date, because they were fearful that that would create a sense of lack of confidence in the afghan government. And so i guess, you know, its easy to be the Monday Morning quarterback. Right . What more could have been done to avoid this current chaos. Well, that tension was definitely there. The now former president of afghanistan he fled last weekend had been to the White House in late june, saw President Biden at that time. And asked him to be pretty conservative about getting people out of the country, particularly those who worked for americans. And to be pretty cautious in how much they publicized it. He was clearly sensitive to the thought that this could become a selffulfilling prophesy if it appeared that the united states was giving up on afghanistan, that then the afghan forces would give up and the government would fall. Which ultimately, of course, is what happened. So the u. S. Was being cautious on it. They did offer him at that time continued military backup. And they did that. I think one of the big questions that will be haunting us for some time is that even if you believe that the president s logic was solid here, that there wasnt much more we could accomplish in afghanistan, that we hadnt already accomplished or failed to in 20 years, that seeing the last americans leave would basically kick the legs out from underneath a afghan force that barely had much will to fight to begin with. I think thats going to be one of the big questions were going to have to go examine. For the president today, you know, hes kept falling back on his original logic to get out of afghanistan. As you pointed out, that is Something Americans support. I think the big Question Today will be can he reassert the Kons Ept that he now has a plan for getting autoamericans out and for getting out the afghans who had been loyal and served the u. S. And that second part is going to really be the hardest. And again, that deadline is creeping ever closer. If all americans arent evacuated by August 31st, that deadline, the president has indicated the u. S. Will still continue those efforts. How big of a deal would that be . Im sorry. I lost you for a moment there. I had a technical issue. Well, it would be huge, because first, they have to start by essentially getting the taliban permission to do it. And they dont know how many americans are still there because not everybody registers with the embassy and people leave the country and dont tell the Embassy Theyve left. So working through that list of exactly who is there and where they are. If there are people outside of kabul, that is extremely problematic. Even to go help people in kabul get to the airport, you have to have vehicles. You have to have security. How long do you wait for all of that . How long will the taliban have patience to have the americans there . And dont forget, there is considerable concern about potential threats from isis and Al Qaeda operatives in the country. The pentagon is very clear in its mind that they believe even if there is not current intelligence about that, they have to plan against the possibility of that, of an attack against the airport. So its a tradeoff, because the longer you stay, the greater the risk. Sam kylie, you say the president needs to address the anger and the discomfort around nato. Explain. Well, today the foreign Minister And Nato Secretary General, and if you sort of interpret the diplomatic language that nato likes to use, the Secretary General saying there will have to be a serious examination of the role that nato played in afghanistan. And that was actually in response largely to our own melissa bells questions asking him whether the chapter five mandate upon which the international community particularly in the form of nato came in behind the attack on the united states, one for all, all for one, and joined the battle against Al Qaeda and afghanistan in that country was matched by a similar commitment to allies when theyre pulling out. Now, the united states habiterly criticize bitterly criticized by the members of the government, members of the Ruling Party in the United Kingdom. Very bitter, indeed, about the manner in which the united states pulled out. Not least in the lack of communication with Boris Johnson. It was not clear that Boris Johnson refused to even properly address questions as to when he was told whether or not he asked for more time and whether or not the United Kingdom was in any Way Part of the Decision Making to withdraw u. S. Forces. Of course, u. S. Forces being the main force for Security And Air support in that country leaving nato naked. On top of that, nato having an internal reckoning as to how it might conduct operations in the future without what in the view of many generals and ive spoken to a lot of them, they now see the united states as something of an unreliable ally. Something within nato that was once inconceivable and is now on the lips of many generals. And theres obviously so much more for us to discuss. Im going to try to squeeze in a break. The president was expected to make the remarks around 1 00 today. 1 00 was the timeline we were given. We are still waiting for him to come to the podium. We will take those remarks live just as soon as we see the president. Stay with us. Youre watching cnns special kovrm. Coverage. Ittle as 25 a month. And the best part . Its p powered by verizon. But it gets crazier. Bring a friend every month, and get every month for 5. Which is why i brought them. Two 5amonths right here. both hey. Plus the players in my squad. Hey. Whats up . Then finally, my whole livestream. Boom 12 months of 5 wireless. announcer visible. Unlimited data as low as 25 a month. Or bring a friend and you both get a month for 5. Wireless that gets better with friends. Again, we continue do monoer the and wait the president s remarks on afghanistan as soon as we get those, as soon as he comes forward, we will make sure you dont miss a word of what he says. I want you to know whats happening in other parents of the country. This may be a first nationwide. A California School District says come November Coronavirus vaccines will be mandatory for all eligible students and staff. Joining us now is the superintendent for Culver City unified schools. This is the district requiring vaccines. And also joining us is the School Board president. Its great to have both of you with us. Thank you for taking the time. I know its stressful as you get ready for students to return. How did you come to the decision and how many students does this requirement apply to . Approximately well, first, let me address the why did we come to this point . I dont think its anything new. From the beginning of the pandemic, we knew that mask wearing helped. If you put it with testing regularly, it helps with the containment of the virus. And when the vaccine became available, then perhaps vaccine as a Layer Number three of protection should also help presli. So our thinking was that to maximize everything thats available to us, and cdc is already saying to protect those who do not have the vaccine available to them, those who are eligible for the vaccine should be vaccinated. So that we can protect the entire population of students and staff in the school. So thats where we went. Our district is about 7,100 students and about 950 teachers and classified staff altogether. And 12 and up are eligible for the vaccine. Forgive me for interrupting. The president is about to address the nation. Ive just met with the Vice President , Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin, National Security Advisor Sullivan and other members of the National Security Leadership Team in the Situation Room to discuss our ongoing efforts to evacuate american citizens, third country civilians, afghan allies and vulnerable afghans. And i want to provide the american people with a Brief Update on the situation in afghanistan. Since i spoke to you on monday, weve made significant progress. Weve secured the airport, enabling flights to resume. Not just military flights but civilian charters from other countries and the ngos taking out civilians and vulnerable afghanis. And now we have almost 6,000 troops on the ground, including the 82nd airborne, providing runway security, the army 10th Mountain Division standing guard around the airport, and the 24th marine Expeditionly Unit assisting with civilian departure. This is one of the largest, most difficult Air Lifts in history, and the only country in the world capable of projecting this much power on the far side of the world with this degree of precision is the united states of america. Weve already evacuated more than 18,000 people since july and approximately 13,000 since our Military Lift began on august 14th. Thousands more have been evacuated on private charter flights facilitated by the u. S. Government. These number include american citizens and permanent residents as well as their families. It includes Siv Applicants and their families, those afghans who have worked alongside us, served alongside of us, gone into combat with us and provided invaluable assistance to us such as translators and interpreters. The united states stands by its commitment that weve made to these people and it includes other vulnerable afghans such as Women Leaders and journalists. In fact, working in close coordination with the management of the New York times, the washington post, the wall street journal, we have successfully evacuated all 204 of their employees in afghanistan on u. S. Military aircraft earlier this week. Weve established the flow of flights and weve increased the number of people were moving out of the country. We paused flights in kabul a few hours this morning to make sure we could process the arriving evacuees at the transit points, but our commander in kabul has already given the order for outbound flights to resume. Even with the pause, weve moved out 5,700 evacuees yesterday, and were working on a variety to verify that number of the americans that are still incountry as we work on this because we dont have the exact number of people who are americans who are there and those who may have come home to the united states, we want to get a strong number as to exactly how many people are there, how many american citizens, and where they are. Just yesterday, among the many americans we evacuated, there were 169 americans who, over the got over the wall into the airport using military assets. Were also facilitating flights for our allies and our partners, and were getting close operational coordination with nato on this evacuation. For example, we provided overwatch for the french convoy bringing hundreds of their people from the french embassy to the airport. These operations are going to continue over the coming days before we complete our drawdown. Were going to do everything, everything that we can to provide safe evacuation for our afghan allies, partners, and afghans who might be targeted because of their association with the united states. But let me be clear. Any american who wants to come home, we will get you home. Make no mistake. This Evacuation Mission is dangerous. It involves risks to our armed forces, and its being conducted under difficult circumstances. I cannot promise what the final outcome will be or what it will be that it will be without risk of loss. But as commander in chief, i can assure you that i will mobilize every resource necessary. Armed forces are carrying out this mission. Theyre incredible. As we continue to work the logistics of evacuation, were in constant contact with the taliban working to ensure civilians have safe passage to the airport. We are particularly focused on our engagements on making sure every american who wants to leave can get to the airport. Where we have been seeing challenges with americans for americans, we have thus far been able to resolve them. Weve been able weve made, look weve made clear to the taliban that any attack, any attack on our forces or disruption of our operations at the airport will be met with swift and forceful response. Were also keeping a close watch on any potential Terrorist Threat at or around the airport, including from the Isis Affiliates In Afghanistan who were released from prison when the prisons were emptied, and because they are, by the way, and make everybody understand, that the Isis And Afghanistan are the have been the sworn enemy of the taliban. Ive said all along, were going to retain a Laser Focus on our counterterrorism mission. Working in close coordination with our allies and our partners. And all those who have an interest in sharing stability in the region. Secretary blinken is with me today, met this morning with our nato allies in consultation about the way forward so that afghanistan cannot be used in the future as a Terrorist Base of attack to attack the united states or our allies. For 20 years, afghanistan has been a joint effort with our nato allies. We went in together, and were leaving together. And now were working together to bring our people and our afghan partners to safety. The past few days, ive also spoken directly with the british prime minister, mr. Johnson, Chancellor Merkel of germany, and President Macron of france. We all agreed that we should convene, and we will convene the G7 Meeting next week, a group of the worlds leading democracies, so that together, we can coordinate our mutual approach, our united approach on afghanistan and moving forward. We are united with our closest partners to execute the mission at hand. Weve also discussed the need to work with the international community to provide humanitarian assistance such as Food Aid and medical care for refugees who have crossed into neighboring countries to escape the taliban. And to bring international pressure on the taliban with respect to the treatment of afghan people overall but including afghan, particularly women and girls. The past week has been heartbreaking. Weve seen gutwrenching images of panicked people acting out of sheer desperation. You know, its completely understandable. Theyre frightened. Theyre sad. Uncertain what happens next. I dont think anyone i dont think any One Of Us can see these pictures and not feel that pain on a human level. Now we have a mission. The mission to complete in afghanistan. Its an incredibly difficult and dangerous operation for our military. We have almost 6,000 of americas finest fighting men and women at the Kabul Airport. Theyre putting their lives on the line, theyre doing it in a dangerous place to save other americans, our afghan allies and citizens of our allies who went in with us. I talked to our commanders on the ground there every single day. As i just did a few hours an hour or so ago, and i made it clear to them that well get them whatever they need to do the job. Theyre performing to the highest standard under extraordinarily difficult and dynamic circumstances. Our nato allies are strongly standing with us. There are troops keeping sentry alongside ours in kabul, as is the case whenever i deploy our troops into harms way. I take that responsibility seriously. I carry that burden every day just as i did when i was Vice President and my son was deployed to iraq for a year. There will be plenty of time to criticize and second guess when this operation is over, but now, now, im focused on getting this job done. I would ask every american to join me in praying for the women and men risking their lives on the ground in the service of our nation. As events evolve over the coming days, my team and i will continue to share the information and update the american people on exactly where things are. Well use every resource necessary to carry out the mission at hand and bring to safety american citizens and our afghan allies. This is our focus now. And when this is finished, we will complete our Military Withdrawal and finally bring to an end 20 years of American Military Action in afghanistan. Thank you, and may god bless our troops and our diplomats and all those serving in harms way, and now ill take questions. A. P. , zeke miller. Thank you, mr. President. You promise to leave afghanistan but you also promised to bring out those who helped america in its War Effort. Weve seen these heartwrenching images at the Kabul Airport of people trying to get there, to say nothing of the people who cant get to that airport. You made the commitment to get american citizens out. Will you make the same commitment to those who assisted in the american War Effort over the last 20 years, number one, and then number two, what is your message to americas partners around the world who have criticized not the withdrawal but the conduct of that withdrawal and made them question Americas Credibility on the World Stage . I have seen no question of credibility from our allies around the world. I have spoken with our nato allies. We have spoken with nato allies, the secretary of state, our National Security advisors have been in contact with