Because there is nowhere to receive them. Ill talk about just bottlenecks and i think i talked about that earlier. As we those that Depart Kabul and get to those staging bases within U Com or Cent Com aor, we are ensuring that we place evacuees in one of the 14 locations to prevent a bottleneck sos that our increased throughput, increase that number that theyre able to hold there, Cent Come and U Com are continuing to coordinate together and with the Joints Staff in Trans Com of where to put those evacuees to allow flights to leave kabul. Those On Kabul, there is no constraint of allowing flights to leave today. We expect the throughput that we saw in the last two days to be able to continue with no bottleneck and others. We continue to manage that on an hourly, minute basis to ensure in a we know where to fly people to. Do you have enough people in the Airport Compound now in kabul i dont have the exact number. But there are evacuees On Kabul right now being processed through all stages of the process there to be ready to fly. But you dont have the number . I dont have the exact number. I dont when i left here, but we have folks ready to evacuate. We could get you the number that is on the airport now. As The General said, it changes by the hour. If you think about what we did yesterday, it is virtually, you just do the math, it is almost A Thousand people per hour over the last 24 hours. So it changes a lot. It is a fair question. Well take it and get you the number of what there is now. But i would caution you to understand that that number constantly changes. That is the whole goal, to keep the through put. You get down through a certain level and you keep moving people through. It is constantly fluid. Yeah. Thanks, good morning. I know you said your fixed on August 31st as the Departure Date. Just a second. I think we could find that number now. You could go get it and bring it up here. So we dont have to wait until The End of the briefing. Im sorry, go ahead. Youre fixed on August 31st as a Departure Date that mission could change. But does something like that fall under what you call speculation or planning, because youve always made a distinction between those two when we ask you about the possibility of things and im trying to get clarity on that. Thanks. Im not completely sure i understand the question so let me take a stab at it and if i fail, you could tell me that i failed. I would never do that. The president s direction has to been to complete this withdrawal, this Evacuation And Withdrawal by the 31st of august. That is the direction that we are operating under and therefore that is driving a lot of our plans. You heard us say and the secretary say that if there needs to be a conversation about changing that, that he would have that conversation. Im not going to get into internal deliberations about what people may be thinking one way or the other. But you heard the national Security Adviser say yesterday that he believe thats we could accomplish this mission by The End of the month. So were still driving toward The End of the month and if and when there is any change to that, well make it clear to the american people. Because in the past couple of weeks, the pentagon has come under rightly or wrongly criticism for not quote Unquote Planning for eventualities that happened in kabul. So this is a potential of having to exist past the deadline. So is there planning going on in the event that this has to happen. We are a planning organization. We plan for all matters of contingencies as we execute the orders that weve been given. Megan. The airlift is not the factor here and people are getting into the airport and getting out. What are you contributing that, to the Check Points getting more people through and we dont have the number of how many people are on hkai but how long are they spending there before they get on a plane. Within the last 48 hours the Time Line has been very short in kabul. As soon as we are getting people in and processed, as you could see, a flight every 45 minutes is a lot of getting people out there. So, as we look at what will have been the factors behind that, numerous. Weather continues to play in everybodys factor. Great coalition and partners and other People Volunteering Aircraft and as general lion said yesterday, the ability to get not only the aircraft coming into kabul, but others providing aircraft to fly, you know, people from the lilly pad or the Safe Haven into the states and then moving them around. Has allowed us to keep that throughput going. And also i think the continued ability to inform and get the word out of how to get into the gates, where to come, the processing of the of those not only through the gates but the processing internally On Kabul by our troops that are there continues to become more efficient. So are there more people showing up now than there were last week when there was so much pan panic. As we look at those showing up with the right documentation is one factor that has allowed us to increase the throughput. And the crush of the first few days as reduced as more Order And Structure around the airport has increased, security and the Processing Flow itself has just gotten better and the crowds around the airport are smaller than they were before. So, the situation around the airport right now is just not the same, it is not as chaotic as it was in the first couple of days. You for taking my questions. Ive spoken to Service Members and spouses on one of the bases where evacuees are expected to be held and they have a serious concern about covid. So what are Service Members or anyone live on bases being grieved to try to ease that concern because obviously as of yesterday they are still very concerned about that issue. Sure. They have every right to be. Were in the midst of a pandemic and conducting one of the largest airlift operations in recent american history is no small feat in the best of circumstances an this one is obviously not the best of circumstances because in addition to this were doing it in the midst of a pandemic. I could tell you that screening occurs at every stop, at every stage of the process. And were doing best we can to make sure that weve got enough visibility on everyones health. But, again, were really, the focus is on getting the numbers out and so there is a elementary screening done at kabul for those who are symptomatic. Additional screening takes place at the temporary Safe Havens and then of course upon arrival here at the united states, there is screening that is done as well. So it is on everybodys mind. Believe me. We also are mindful of the health of our Air Crew and our troops at the airport. It is a constant process and were not were not leaving anything for granted. Were taking it seriously. [ Inaudible Question ]. I dont know the exact medical process. Let me go over here. Apparently im missing. Go ahead ill come back to you, i promise. Youre hearing different statements from the White House, pentagon, for Example Number of troops, operation and kabul, can you talk about whery there is a constance among the highest level of the state and is there any Communications Issue . Im sorry, i misunderstood. What is the dissidents that youre talking about . For Example Biden said Al Qaeda came from afghanistan but yes, it is Al Qaeda so we could see different statements from the White House, different comment from the pentagon, is there any Communication Issue from the highest level . No. I think youre reading way more into things that you need to. I think were all cited on the fact there is still an Al Qaeda threat in afghanistan. And as well as Al Qaeda affiliates that we know are there. Weve said that consistently. There is no gap in understanding here. No, just for example, how could you say 11,000 in afghanistan but you say 10,000 5,000 between 10,000 so a different statement so i have to ask. The Defense Department Cant speak specifically to the number of americans in afghanistan. I think we already addressed this earlier in the briefing. There is no firm certain hard number on that because not everyone american that goes to afghanistan has to tell the government that theyre there. We have made it clear that any americans that wants to leave were going to find a way to get to them or get the information to them to help them make the right decisions for transportation out of the country. But everybody is cited on the the that this is a dangerous perilous environment, it is very dynamic and very fluid and were doing the best we can to move as many people as we can as fast as we can. If they cannot reach the airport leaving afghanistan, the americans, dont taliban and Isis Trade for them if they cannot communicate we absolutely understand that afghanistan is a dangerous place right now which is why were trying to move as many americans as we can as fast as we can and we want to get that done before The End of the month. Gordon. You could address the situation and the conditions at qatar to be described as squalid for a lot of the people coming through there. And then if you could i cant quite understand what the gem said about the 14 different Weigh Stations because i understand the main hubs to be Ryanstein And Qatar and bahrain. So are there way more now. Ill let The General come up here and say. Let me just say just set this a little bit. Yes, those are three main hubs. But we are adding to that. Youve seen italy, u. S. Military instillations in italy, u. S. Military installations in spain and there are other countries in the Gulf Region who are willing to take on a temporary basis some individuals. So it is a bigger, broader sort of hub and spoke network than it was a few days ago and ill let The General fill that out for you. On your first question, Let Me Level set it right away, we are aware of and as concerned as anybody about what had been some terrible Sanitation Conditions at qatar that were facilitated by the sheer numbers an the speed with which those numbers got there and we are all recognize that. And nobody, nobody here wants anyone to be less than safe, secure, comfortable, and well cared for as they go through this process. We take it very seriously. But well be the first to admit that conditions there could have been better. They are improving now. Im going to stand up here and tell you theyre perfect, because theyre not. Because evacuees continue to flow into qatar. And there is a lot on the ground right now. And as The General said, were working hard to clear out that population so that we could ease the pressure there and continue to move these people along their way to their new lives. Nobody is making the excuses. Nobody is ducking from this. We recognize that things were and in many ways still are not at the level of sanitation and good hygiene that we want. Coy tell you from the secretary on down, everybody is folked on trying to improve that and you saw a statement from Central Command last night, they are taking measures to ease that pressure and to improve conditions there. But it is something were going to watch not just there but at every other temporary Safe Haven that were operating from. Before The General speaks to the hubs, you could just speak and clarify, you said you dont think there is a crush around hkai or less of one or you could clarify what you meant . That the Crowd Size is smaller now than it was in the first few days. And so were not experiencing to the degree we did last monday, the physical crush and chaos. Im not suggesting, gordon, that there arent desperate people outside of the airport that want in. Absolutely. Were not ignoring that. Im saying that to megans question, were not seeing the same pressure put on the system now that there was in the early days. General. First go back to question, so approximately right now 5,000, a little above 5,000 are on hkai going through the processing. Continuing to be manifested and ready to fly. So gates are still open. We will continue to assess those numbers throughout the day. When we go back to hubs and spokes, ill give you the macro. And then we could possibly get back with you on the the real details of their so both within the Cent Com and the U Com aor, we have main hubs, think of ramstine and then going into qatar. From there, Wb The Last 24 to 72 hours, both of those commands have started billing up and going from an initial operational capability to get full what we would call smaller Satellite Areas to ensure that with the throughput that weve had, that we could safely and humanitarianly keep those people there until their flights go back into the states. When you specifically talk about and talking to Cent Com this morning as we look at capabilities, and i talked about this a little bit earlier, but a lot of work has been done in the last 48 hours in terms of bringing in more portable Hand Washing stations and Refrigeration Trucks to ensure there is Cool Water and the food is there to ensure that people have these humanitarian capabilities. I would also say just as a scheduling note, this Afternoons Briefing ill be joined by general Van Herk of Northern Kpland and general waters of European Command so they could address some of the specific questions about the temporary Safe Havens and youll have a chance to talk to them directly. Laura. Thank you. Can yoU Commit to evacuating the afghan commander of other troops that are helping with the evacuation currently. Yes. All of them . Any of them that want to leave and we have to assume that that is thats all of them. They will be evacuated, yes. How many do you estimate . I dont have any an exact number. I think as we talked about before, The General has, somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 to 600, we know afghan forces are there at the airport with us and actually helping us in the Security Mission and they will all be able to come out. Even if they dont have siv they will all be able to come out. And as a follow up, what is happening to the money that was intended to go for the afghan Security Fund . Obviously and were working closely with Congress Orn that. But that money is being held now. Yeah, absolutely. Let me go to the phones. I havent, in addition to not getting one of the room, ive not done a good job on the phobes. Dan. Thanks for taking my call. Looking to check in just to get some additional fidelity at what is going on at the gates. Weve heard a lot of frustration with some of the veterans groups an other organizations that are trying to assist people to get to the gates and through the gates. Sounds like there is at least to some Degree Inconsistencies on who is being allowed in and when theyre being allowed in and just some chaos there that is to a degree understandable but also frustrating. Thanks. Yeah. Gates continue, the coordination there is the critical piece of understanding, getting through the checkpoints and that is been a lot of the work that has been done over the last 48 hours is the coordination between u. S. Forces forward there, the commanders to ensure who comes through and what checkpoints that people are coming through to expedite. And the key has been, we have had an increase in information coming to the to the commanders on ground of who needs to come. I think that is been one of the of the increases in our throughput is understanding in all of the populations of who is where and who needs to come through the gates so that we could provide better information, which gate, when to come in and make sure that those conditions are set to come on to hkai. Okay. Time for a couple more. Silvery. Youve been very patient. I wanted to go back to the airport. I know i you dont want to speak about the decline, the deadline and the August 31st or not. But whenever the u. S. Troops are leaving, are you speaking about, with the taliban about the talibans own third Party Country about the security of the airport . To allow the airport to remain open . Ill let The General take it. Would you j i would just say e are in communication with the taliban about the situation at the airport now. Our folk frus a military perspective is right now the plan is to end the mission on the 31st august. I dont want to suggest that is not what were planning on. As we get there, as i said earlier, we want to preserve as much capability as long as we can to continue to conduct evacuations while safely removing our people and our equipment all at the same time. That is our focus right now. Is on properly executing a mission and effectively and safely drawing it down. But ill ask The General if he has any other thoughts. I just think when you talk about transition, absolutely there is planning going on of how to transition all of the pace that we currently occupy here in the future. Okay. Terese. Go ahead. It is just a follow up to my previous question. For those that are symptomatic, what are they being told when they arrive for processing and then once theyre being told . So once theyre arriving, are they being told, hey, like what is the process for those who may have symptoms . I dont know how the information, how theyre getting the information about where they need to go, which gates they need to go to, et cetera, et cetera. So what are they being told. Let me take the question and see if we could get a more contextual answer. I think what theyre being told and how the process is going to be done varied at each location. Because there are different demands. The demand at Hamid Karzai International Airport in terms of timing is a much more urgent than it would be, you know, at r ramstine. So i think it is going to vary, but let me see if we could get you a better answer. I have to wrap it up. Well see you again at 1500. 3 00. Sorry. With general Van Herk from Northern Command and general walters of European Command. I will basically turn the podium over to them and i assume that that will be the focus of the briefing if i need to stick around after for other issues, ill do that as well. So well see you later this afternoon. Thank you. All right, hello, im kate bolduan. Weve been watching the update from the pentagon. John kirby and general Hank Taylor taking questions from reporters on the the Evacuation Operation under way from afghanistan. Let me bring in for some more on this Cnn Jeremy Diamond at the White House. Cnns Sam Kylie is on the ground in kabul and retired u. S. Army major dana petar. Jeremy, given what we just heard from the pentagon, Progress made, but so far no change in their mission. What do we expect President Biden to say today when he addresses the situation on the ground. Reporter well, listen, today is supposed to be, has to be Decision Day for President Biden in terms of the August 31st deadline. Hes facing immense pressure from the g7 allies, particularly france and the United Kingdom in the meeting underway as of the last hour, to extend that August 31st deadline. The military is also telling him in that if he wants to extend the August 31st deadline he needs to tell them today. But you heard from John Kirby, the pentagon spokesperson, saying that as of now, the military is moving forward as if the August 31st deadline is when u. S. Forces will withdraw from there. And he made clear as this withdraw takes place, they will not provide daytoday updates on how that happens to ensure there remains order at that airport and that u. S. Forces are protected as they retrograde, as they say in the pentagon lingo. But again, this is clearly something that the president is going to need to decide. As of now, we know that president has been warned against extending that deadline. There is a lot of concern inside of the White House and around the administration about the possibility of terrorists attacks at or around the airport. We know that while the u. S. Has been coordinated with the taliban on security around the airport, there is one Terrorist Group that is not coordinated with the taliban and not with the united states and that is isisk, an off shoot of isis which is not in cahoots with the taliban and could pose a threat, Day By day that threat increases of course. Sam, does the situation on ground in kabul reflect what we heard there from pentagon officials, from inside of that briefing . Reporter okay, here on the ground, at the International Airport, the numbers of people waiting and this is afghans predominantly waiting to get on aircraft are significantly visibly down from where they were yesterday. There had been a peak of some 20,000 people here on the Air Base. That is down to around 4 1 2 Thousand and small numbers coming in. Some through covert routes and some being Filt Rated or filtered in through gates which we understand from Military Officials here are being opened at different times and for relatively short period of times so that perhaps they dont generate the magnetic effect that theyve had in the past of generating crowds and posing a danger both to people inside of the Air Base but presenting themselves as a bigger target for isisk which is a very real and persistent threat. Today Taliban Commander told one of my cnn colleagues on the ground that they had arrested four isisk members who they believe were filming in order to try to assess targets around kabul. That is a worrying development, not great surprise but a worrying development, kate. Thank you so much for that. And general, i have several questions for yoU Coming from this briefing. But first, just on the the Progress'>Prorg Progress that has been made. Yes, a rough start for the administration. But despite that, overnight they did make huge Progress. 21,000 people evacuated in 24 hours. What do you think made the difference . What is your assessment of this operation right now . , good morning, kate. I think the evacuation going fairly well and part of that is unleashing u. S. Military which has best logisticians in the world to get after it. It was obvious that the noncombatant Evacuation Operations also called neo was not really thought through as part the initial withdrawal plan. If it had been, then the key airfield at bagram Air Base would not have been given up so easily. So despite that, the last 48 hours, the evacuation itself is going well for inside of the Kabul Airport. The key thing that must be discussed though is the american citizens and afghan allies who are outside of the Kabul Airport and how do you get them to the airport. Absolutely. And one thing that we heard there the in the briefing and it is a question, is how many americans have been evacuate. Asked again today, John Kirby said he will leave it at several thousand and he didnt want to go into more details on it. Do you think this dont have that level of specificity and im getting to the place, general, is there a strategic or Security Reason for them not to be more specific with that number . Well, im not sure why they wouldnt be more specific on american citizens that have been evacuated. What should be held close is number of american citizens to yet be evacuated. Theyre outside of the Kabul Airport for Security Reasons. So i do understand that. And that is a really fluid number as theyve described many times. As Jeremy Diamond was laying out, we are going to hear from President Biden and he really does have a huge decision, this is a huge Decision Moment for him in terms of the deadline. Hes getting a lot of pressure from g7 allies, he met with virtually today to extend the deadline to get more people out. What do you think he should do about this deadline, general . Well i think he should ask his advisers and assess whether or not the mission has been accomplished and the mission is to evacuate american citizens and our afghan allies. And August 31st artificial deadline is immaterial to that. Has the mission been accomplished. If it is not been accomplished, then you need to extend the deadline until it is accomplished. I dont know if this is a complicating element so this, but i just saw across into my email that the taliban spokesperson held a Press Conference and was asked about the August 31st deadline. And the taliban said it is not in favor of allowing afghans to leave and said we wasnt and saying that they wont allow it. That seems to be that seems like a very real problem right now. Yes, kate. It may just be an issue over the use of language because it is very nuanced here. The taliban has said all along they would reluctantly allow the afghans that choose to leave, they could leave. It is not clear and were seeking clarity from the taliban as to whether they are now saying they cant leave. There are afghans here at the gates, there are afghans getting through to the International Airport here. They mostly have visas issued to them either by the united states or other countries as part of the coalition. So there clearly hasnt been a total block on it but were not clear yet whether it is a absolutely new policy or a rephrasing of the existing policy which is that they dont like the scenes of these mass movement of people running away from their regime. They say stay. There is a general amnesty, and there will be no retribution. But the facts on ground in the particularly out lying areas of afghanistan with Human Rights Organizations in the u. N. And pointing to talibandriven atrocities and other attacks against members of the government and former members of the security forces. Particularly in out lying provinces of afghanistan. Something that the taliban will investigate and punish, kate. So that is not jyet clear. But they are clear and repetitively so about that August 31st deadline, that might be or might have been extended being completely nonnegotiable as far as their concerned and that is why maybe were still hearing that the instructions from the commanderinchief to meet the August 31st deadline. The numbers of people are down in terms of the number of people needing to be evacuated from the airport. There has been a massive airlift over the last 48 hours in particular, kate. And to your point on the deadline, we now have important Breaking News just coming in. Go back to Jeremy Diamond, if you could hear me at the White House. It sounds like the president has made his decision on this deadline . Reporter that is right, kate. The president has made a decision. According to my Colleague Kevin Lip tak, a official said that President Biden has decided to withdraw u. S. Troops by that August 31st deadline. He made this decision according to the official in consultation with his national Security Team and mindful of the Security Risks that would be posed to u. S. Forces the longer that they stay in country. Particularly after that August 31st deadline which the taliban have said is essentially a nonnegotiable for them. That being said this official also told my Colleague Kevin that the president has asked for Contingency Plans in case he determined at a later date that u. S. Forces need to remain in country. So that is a notable caveat there. But that being said, the u. S. Military officials were very clear with the White House and with the president that if he wants to stay in country longer, that he would need to make in a decision by today. And for now at least that appears to be the president s decision. To withdraw u. S. Forces by August 31st as planned previously. And we should note, kate, that while the u. S. Has Dram Atly stepped up the number of people evacuating from kabul, 12,700 on u. S. Military flights alone in the last 24 hours, experts say it is doubtful that the u. S. Could complete particularly the withdrawal of those afghans who have helped the united states in just a week in addition to withdrawing those nearly 6,000 u. S. Troops who will need to get on planes by August 31st. Again, that is just seven days from today. And it is notable because the president last week, not only committed to bringing every american who is in afghanistan home who wants to come home, he said that commitment extends to those afghans who have helped the united states. It is difficult to see exactly how he will pull that off. But again those numbers of evacuations have been increasing which is a good sign. General, let me get your reaction to this because two important things happen. Not only do we now have this important and huge decision by the president of the united states that he is sticking with this August 31st deadline. We also heard from the Pentagon Today in this briefing, John Kirby said very clearly, that they have the capability to get this done by The End of the month. But what he was saying, they could get done, is get all americans out who want to get out. Not clear if he means get all of the afghan allies out, the siv applicants and such. Youre reaction in. What the president committed to was getting american citizens out and the afghan allies who fought sidebyside our u. S. Military and their families for last two decades. So as long as that can be done by August 31st, i think that is fine. But if not, then what are we saying . That well leave before the mission is done . My hope is that the president and his advisers have looked at this and determined that they could get everybody out. To that point, it is a decision yet the caveat that jeremy is reporting, i think it is important and i will admit is a little bit confusing in the reporting that hes asked for Contingency Plans in case that he determines at a later date that the u. S. Needs to remain in the country longer. That seems in direct conflict with the need to decide today because they have to make plans to retrograde. General . Correct. But what you always have Contingency Plans that are good. And i assume there are courses of action to Go Get American Citizens and or afghan allies who cant get to the Kabul Airport. So having Contingency Plans i think is good. But lets talk about if we go beyond the August 31st date, the taliban have said that is a red line. Well the taliban want to ensure that u. S. Forces leave their country. That is what their goal is. The last thing that taliban want to do is provoke the u. S. Military to stay longer just because of an artificial deadline. And part of jeremy and kevins reporting is part of what is leading to this decision is that the president as it is written here is mindful of the Security Risks and remaining in the country longer, general. You are very familiar with the threat of isis, youve written a book about your experience in fighting isis. How real do you assess the threat of isisk on the the ground to americans, to american troops as well as what the taliban would do if u. S. Would go beyond this deadline . Well, the threat of Isis And Isisk in particular is very real. So that is understood. And our u. S. Military has the capability to protect themselves. But again, the reason why the u. S. Military is doing the noncombat Evacuation Operations is to get american citizens and afghan allies out. So that must be done despite the threat. Sam if youre still with me, im curious how you think this is going to be received on the ground for the people Beyond The Gates . Well, they do know that there is this deadline. Me may hope that it gets extended. There is a pretty aggressive effort, i have to say, being conducted not just by americans but other Coalition Partners here involving the Special Forces to reach out and find people to whom they owe a debt of loyalty to people who are in danger to bring them here into the airfield. Those are the small numbers that have been arriving, i suspect and weve seen quite a lot of that sort of activity going on. The real issue, though, is how many people out there who are really genuinely in danger or have a good reason to feel that their in Danger Need to get on to this airfield. There is still perhaps time to do it. There is still a massively improved Processing System here. Theyre moving huge numbers people out of the airfield. Today the numbers as of lunchtime were around 9,000. By now they must be, this is just on the american side, up to 11,000 or 12,000 in a day. So theyre almost running out of people to move. And ultimately that means that there will be space for others to come in. And the issue is whether or not now with the harder language emerging from the taliban, people who want to get into the airfield, will be able to do so, kate. Sam, talk to me still about, and we heard this from the briefing, as i think general taylor said it in the last 24 hours there has been an aircraft taking off every 45 minutes. I mean, the improvement, yes, it may have started in the basement but the Progress that the military on ground has been making in the harshest of conditions has been remarkable. What is it youve been there, youve been on the ground in kabul for quite sometime now, how does it look to you . Very briefly, what happens is once we get through the gate theyre prescreened and then go through a series of screening process. There are now pretty rapid. You do see large numbers of relatively large numbers, at least yesterday, of people of families sitting on ground and improvised shade and the marines and others have built large boxes for people to sit in to get out of the sun. This is all been done on the fly using the resources available on the Ground And Recycling pallets created Impromptu Holding Areas and then to the department, from the state department, that go through it very rapidly and then they are issued with the great the white wristband with a Bar Code on it. That effectively is their ticket out. And by then theyll have a computerized personnel if you like on the it looks like the signal for sam just locked up. Well try to reconnect. Hes on ground in kabul. I believe we connected with Barbara Starr who is was in the pentagon briefing. Were listening to your questioning and just as youre coming out of briefing we have word from sources at White House that the president is sticking with this August 31st deadline. Hi, kate. Well what we knew is that he was going to need to decide by today in order to get the military enough time to finish getting as many people out as it could and also get itself out of there. There is 5800 u. S. Troops on Ground And Weaponry and defensive measures around the airport. They need to pack up as much as they can and they need to be able to start packing up their own stuff by The End of this week. Even as they try and continue to evacuate people. Americans and afghans, Third Party nationals out of the airport in kabul. This is going to be a very complex and very sensitive operation. Because, look, they are in a situation where they are going to be dependent somewhat on the good will frankly of the taliban who want them out by August 31st, dont want them to stay. But the u. S. Has been talking to the taliban which has been providing some minimal measure of assurance that security will be assured at the airport. And i say minimal because of course there is a good deal of taliban, what we believe is taliban inspired if you will by their own People Violence around the airport. There is also an Isis Threat. So that is considerable. The u. S. Troops, as they pack and go, think about the last 48 hours, last two days, maybe the 30th and 31st, that they will be on the ground, it will be a minimal amount of u. S. Troops, a minimal amount of ability to defend themselves. Perhaps they will be in the middle of taliban territory as well as that Isis Threat that the u. S. Strongly believes is out there in kabul looking to try and attack the airport. So, what were already hearing is this whole withdraw, essentially the second withdraw from afghanistan will be very close hold. They dont want to talk about it. They dont want it to be visible. But we are coming up on this situation whereby The End of this week and into the 31st, the u. S. Military, the u. S. Forces on the ground will be in a very tough situation, trying to get people out, trying to get themselves out, in the middle of at least two potential threat situations, the taliban and isis. Kate. Barbara, you pressed on this during the briefing. Is it clear to you if they if the pentagon thinks they could get everyone out by the August 31st deadline, and by everyone that is not only americans but it is also these siv applicants, afghans who fought alongside of americans throughout the two decades of war. Is it clear to you . No. It is not. It is a pure time and space is evaporating right in front of the worlds eyes at Kabul Airport in afghanistan. The clock is ticking to use a very well warn cliche. They only have so much time left. I think youre seeing a very slight softening of the language that they will get out as many people as they can. I think it is very clear there are no guarantees in this situation. So lets take the americans first. They continue to talk about from all of the podiums if you will in washington, how theyre not sure how many americans are even in kabul. Because americans are not required of course to register with the embassy and theyre not required to tell the embassy or the u. S. Government when they come into the country necessarily although it is on their passports and when they leave. The u. S. Is trying to contact as many americans in afghanistan as it can. There is still a sense, if you will, that there are some number of americans outside of kabul. Whether there are missions to go out and get those people outside of kabul, americans and americans at some distance from the airport in kabul is understandably something that the administration is not talking about. Because those would be very close hold missions. So theyre not talking about how theyre getting americans to the airport. Theyre not talking about how many americans they estimate, but Cant Guarantee are left. Now, for the afghans. We were told today that the crowd of afghans around Kabul Airport is smaller. But that may be because the taliban is not letting people approach. There are the special visa folks that are trying to get through and there is any number of afghans that are also trying to get out. One of the interesting things that we learned today at briefing is the several hundred Afghan Security Forces who are on Kabul Airport for the last several days trying to help the americans, they will be airlifted out. But there is no guarantees. I think it is very fair to say for the afghans there are people who are going to want to get out who will not be able to, kate. There is a lot of reality that really needs to start setting in of how time is left to get people out. How these evacuations are you said it, theyre up against the clock. Barbara, if you could stick with me. Ill bring in David Chalian as well. This is not only this is a huge decision that the president is making here, sticking with the August 31st deadline and it has Ripple Effects far and wide because hes going against the request and the urging against the urging of g7 allies. He is going against the urging of some allies here. But it is a precarious moment of politics here for Joe Biden. Because throughout this entire process, for the last couple of weeks, he has every time recommitted to where he believes that the country needs to be going with regard to its involvement in afghanistan which is to bring it to an end. And he is firmly committed, as he said day in and day out when he talks to the american people about this, kate, that bringing an end to this 20year war is paramount. So anything that would sort of delay what is obviously a selfimposed deadline would have some political calculation in there as well. That is one. Two, a little less important is going to be of course the criticism that will come his way that it could be seen, lets say by some who are on the right and very much want to see a continued presence of the u. S. Forces in afghanistan, that somehow Joe Biden is accepting terms being dictated by the taliban, right. That they say you must be out by August 31st and now the u. S. President is here saying, well, we have to be out by August 31st. That is not that is not how Joe Biden will portray this decision when we hear from him. But certainly his critics on right will. I dont think that is what is driving the calculation inside of the White House as much as it is to end this. And that with the ramped up evacuation, a belief that they could get this done by next week and get to the place where Joe Biden is comfortable in having all forces out. The problem will come, of course, if indeed there is any american left behind who wanted to get out, and perhaps in dangers way, that will have real political repercussions for President Biden, No Doubt he is aware of that as he made this decision, kate. And if you dont have full eyes on how many americans are in country, and you dont have full eyes on how many americans youve evacuated, that is a hard thing to plan for at this moment. Well have much more on this david, if everyone could stick around to cover this Breaking News. Coming into cnn that President Biden has decided to stick with the August 31st deadline to withdraw all u. S. Forces from afghanistan. Were going to have much more on this after a quick break. Doesnt have to be harsh on your sensitive skin. New cetaphil gentle clear contains balanced formulas that gently clear breakouts and soothe sensitive skin. Cetaphil. Complete Acne Care for sensitive skin. Now in the acne aisle. upbeat music [announcer] introducing the grubhub guarantee, our promise to deliver your order on time within the Delivery Window and for the lowest price compared to other apps, or youll get back at least 5 in perks. If you have this. Consider adding this. An Aarp Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan from unitedhealthcare. Medicare supplement plans help by paying some of what medicare doesnt. And let you see any doctor. Any specialist. Anywhere in the u. S. Who accepts medicare patients. So if you have this. Consider adding this. Call Unitedhealthcare Today for your free decision guide. If we can get through this winter and get really a majority overwhelming majority of the 90 Million people who have not been vaccinated vaccinated, i hope we can start to get some good control in the spring of 2022. Turning now to the pandemic, dr. Anthony fauci saying spring of next year is the timeline for when he believes the united states could get the pandemic under control if many more people get vaccinated. Thats on the heels on the big announcement of the Pfizer Vaccine. The hope is that convinces at least some of the 90 Million people not vaccinated yet to get the shot. Will it be enough . Joining me right now, the director of the national institutes of health. Dr. Collins, thank you for being here. I want to get to dr. Faucis timeline in a second. First, do you see full approval of the Pfizer Vaccine as a Game Changer in the fight against the pandemic . I think it was clear that something like three out of ten people who are still not vaccinated were concerned about the Emergency Status of the vaccine and indicated full approval would sway them in the direction of rolling up their sleeves, and i hope that is what is happening today, because those 8 5 Million people are at risk of getting infected, getting in the Hospital And Icu or even dying. That virus is looking for them. This Delta Variant is extremely contagious. I think its a big deal, having a Ray Of Sunshine in the midst of the dark covid clouds, and let us hope that both inspires people to do this and maybe also encourages businesses and universities and weve heard the military to start requiring vaccinations since we have now clear evidence of full approval by the Gold Standard in the world, the fda. But how many people will this will convince remains a question. Weve talked to trump supporters. Some vaccinated some not. I want to play for you an example of what were hearing from them. Nope. Dont want it. No . They aint tested it enough for my opinion. Yeah. The pfizer shots is about to get full fda approval. Will that change your opinion on it at all . Not until they do a whole lot more investigating in on it. Yeah. Nothing is going in me until then. Right. Do you think that would take a long time . About ten years or so. If full Approval Isnt enough for some, what is the next step, dr. Collins, from a public Health Standpoint . Throw in the towel . No. Were not throwing in any towels now. We have got to try to get this safe and effective vaccine in all the places where it needs to be. And i do think at this point the growing momentum for businesses and universities and now the military to make this a requirement is the other Tool Weve got right now to try to get the attention of those 8 5 Million americans who are still at risk and who are putting the rers of it at risk too. I think youll see more of the mandates now that any concerns about whether Emergency Use made that a little less viable, its now totally viable. Im a federal employee. I run an organization of 45,000 people. Im glad to see this as well. One more reason were going to require vaccinations for federal employees or those who will refuse will have to be tested once or twice a week. Thats a big pain for them to do. I think this may be a turning point, kate. Do you . Do you think the i mean, do you think i know that youre kind of youre promoting businesses and Government Agencies and the military requiring vaccines. Would you like to see all private businesses, all schools, and all agencies requiring vaccines . Is that what you would wish right now . Scientifically and as a doctor, yes. We have the evidence. These vaccines are what we need to get our country through this. It is heart breaking with all the evidence to see so many people still standing back. If it means becoming a little bit more directive, then i say lets do that. So dr. Fauci and what he said last night, that if theres a Big Push and an Up Tick in shots, that he hopes we can get some control of the virus in the spring of 2022. What does getting good control mean to you . What is the measure . Well, im sure dr. Fauci would agree. All the models about what happens in the coming months are hard to be really sure of. A lot of this is going to be up to americans. Its not just about getting the vaccinations done but also the mitigating measures like wearing masks, all of us when were indoors, in crowded spaces. Keeping that physical distance. None of those things have gone away. If we could actually as a country agree that we were going to stop politicizing all of those points, and try to do what we can to tackle the real enemy which is not those people on the other side of the argument, its the virus, then i think we could get to this point of having the kind of life that we are all hoping for with perhaps some restrictions. But what we dont want to do is to have shutdowns, lockdowns, schools closing, all of that. Thats going to be up to all of us to take these other somewhat simple measures, decide not to fight about them, just do what the public health data says we should do. Dr. Collins, thank you for being here. Glad to be with you. Thank you. Up for us, more on the Breaking News this hour. Cnn learning that President Biden does not is sticking with the August 31st St Deadline to withdraw all troops, all forces from afghanistan. Well have the very latest. Stay with us. Here are some eas. No sugar. No pizza. No foods you love. Stressed . No stress. 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Right now nearly 5,000 people are waiting to board military and commercial planes inside the perimeter at the airport in kabul. In the last 24 hours, major Progress on the part of the u. S. Military. More than 21,000 people have been evak nated