Bill terrified women have been begging u. S. Soldiers for help there. Dana desperate parents are hoisting children over Checkpoint Barriers pleading with american and british troops to put them on the next flight out. Bill if you leave 2500, do you keep the peace there. Do you need to increase it is what this administration is arguing . If we say well have to surge forces and we dont want to do that. More from the interview on abc now. Top Military Advisors warned against it and wanted you to keep 2500 troops. , no they didnt. It was split. That is not true. We should keep 2500 troops. We can do and continue to do that. No one said that to me that i can recall. You dont think this could have been handled better in any way, no mistakes . President biden no, i dont think it could have been handled in a way back in Hindsight And Look. Bill listen to this carefully. A clip they released Last Night. Much more this morning on abc. He is Hell Bent on getting out of afghanistan and damn the consequences what is going on inside the country. Lets Hope And Pray we get americans out. It could be the taliban cooperate with us. With regard to the afghans who helped us, it is a wide open question. 80,000 in afghanistan. President said 65,000. Thats a ton of people to break that Choke Hold they put around the airport. Dana President Biden makes the decision on April 14 Of 2021 and then you have to wonder then what was happening in order to try to have a plan to get them out before the chaos . He says it was unavoidable. I think that is debatable. Bill open for debate is safe. Former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe standing by with reaction, Trey Yengst the latest on the evacuations. First from the white House Peter Doocy gets us started. Good morning. Good morning. Something notable in the clip that just ran. The president is saying these reports that he overruled the advice of his Military Advisors are inaccurate because the president had been saying for weeks he was getting daily briefings about afghanistan and he now claims something different than he did last month. He claims now that he saw this coming. President biden well go back in Hindsight And Look but the idea that somehow there is a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing i dont know how that happens. I dont know how that happened. For you that was always prielsed into the decision . President biden yes. Him saying he doesnt know it all happens without chaos doesnt fit with what he said in july. Is the Taliban Takeover Of Afghanistan now inevitable . President biden no, it is not because you have the afghan troops have 300,000. President biden said he does not trust the taliban. Now he is trusting the taliban to insure americans Safe Passage to the airport and says he only wants troops to stay past The End of pullout August Deadline if it takes that long to evacuate americans. President biden it depends on where we are and whether we can ramp up these numbers to 5,000 to 7,000 a day coming out. If thats the case they will all be out. We have 10 to 15,000 americans in the country now, right . Are you committed to making sure the troops stay until every american who wants to be out is out . President biden yes. Yes. Last night the president wanted the talk about covid, not kabul. Today he doesnt have any plans the talk about anything publicly. Back to you. Bill took no questions which was stunning to a lot of us. Check with you later, peter. Dana the reality on the ground in afghanistan is not matching President Bidens records. Words. Trey yengst is live in the middle East Bureau with the latest. Good morning. The situation on the ground in afghanistan is simply not matching up to what White House officials are december describing. While there are ongoing evacuations from the airport, scenes of chaos are still erupting outside. Heart wrenching videos show people handing children over walls and barbed war to get them to safety. A North And South gate at the airport. The North Gate sees clashes as troops try to push back people with Crowd Control methods. People described what it was like getting to the airport with taliban fighters Firing Rifles and hitting people with sticks. 12 people have been killed since sunday in and around the airport. Protests against the taliban continue. Reported 200 people gathered in kabul to mark afghanistans independence day. Protest was quickly and violently dispersed by the taliban. Several people were killed during a similar demonstration after taliban fighters fired into the crowd. Concerning report that the taliban going doortodoor looking for Yaen One who worked with u. S. Ornate owe troops in the past. Major fears that once american troops leave kabul these people could be killed. Dana thank you. Bill our next guest was confirmed as director of national intelligence a month after we signed that agreement with the taliban. Former d. N. I. Head John Ratcliffe. Good morning and thank you for your time. I have an agreement that was signed of 2020. There was Escape Clause and whether or not the Taliban Constructed Negotiations with the afghan government. It gave the current commanderinchief the opportunity to do what he wanted to do in afghanistan, correct . Absolutely. You outlined the conditions and when we talked about a conditionsbased withdrawal. It was conditioned on the taliban following through on those specific conditions or dates. Had they not done that we wouldnt have gone below 2500 Troop Level in the trump administration. So, you know, i have to tell you, bill, listening to the clips that you played of the president i was struck yesterday i heard the chairman of the Joints Chief of staff say we had no idea this was going to happen at the same time the president was saying this was inevitable, chaos was inevitable and it went perfectly. Dana can appreciate that this is not good messaging. It is a Keystone Cops look right now from this administration and certainly is not inspiring confidence in our national security apparatus. Dana i wanted to ask about that. Any time a president questions the Intelligence Community, the Intelligence Community empire will strike back. I wonder what you know or hear about the relationship between the Intelligence Community and President Biden as he has continued to say they did not nobody told me this. I dont recall anybody telling me this and read in the papers anonymous sources saying actually yes we were. But to me, john, you could read this on the front page of the new york times. They werent trying to hide the fact they knew this could be the result. Dana, we had that intelligence when i was dni. All the discussions including some of the same military leaders that are still there was if we dont follow these conditions and the afghan forces are left on their own how long will this last . The consensus with everyone in the room was not very long. I remember President Trump saying i dont think they will last two days. That was why those conditions that bill mentioned were so important. And look, you dont need to be an intelligence expert. Look what was happening on the ground. 400 districts in afghanistan. Back in april the taliban controlled 77. June they controlled over 100. August they controlled 223. So this was happening and it was apparent what was happening and its really why everyone is at a loss to explain why the withdrawal has been handled so poorly. Look, for President Biden to say this couldnt have gone better, i appreciate people dont like the idea of Lobbing Grenades at our own helicopters. Thats a better outcome than leaving the helicopters for the chinese and iranians, which is what has happened. This is a really bad outcome. I think unfortunately a lot of the intelligence professionals ive been talking with saw this yesterday and we saw a president that looked confused and agitated and frankly incapable and again thats not good for our national security apparatus. Not just regarding afghanistan, but Around The World. Bill sir, thank you for your time. John ratcliffe. Come back soon. Thank you. With regard to this agreement, you could also argue rightfully so why do you allow a prison that had 5,000 prisoners, many of them taliban, held captive and allow them to go free if you try to negotiate this deal . It happened the way it did here. There was a moment yesterday. We were all watching. Call for number two when the president came out and talked about booster shots. You are waiting for him to explain just a bit more about what was happening in kabul. This is what happened at the White House. Watch. President Biden God bless you will and may god protect our troops, thank you. [reporters shouting] bill that was it. Dana it was remarkable for me. It felt so discordant. His speech happened right before the five. We thought he would say lets talk about the thing on everybodys mind. Thats the speech on boosters that could have taken place at Health And Human Services or Kamala Harris could have talked about it. Maybe the president didnt want to take questions because he gave the good Morning America Interview. Bill i think the country deserved to hear from him and we deserve to him again today. I dont know if it will happen or not. A 1 00 appearance has been canceled. The date the agreement was signed. This is remarkable to me. February 29th, 2020. You know what day that was . That the a saturday. That was the same day that the democrats held the primary in south carolina. That was the day that Joe Biden catapulted to the top of the crowd in the democratic fight for the nomination. It is remarkable to me as we look back on this and yeah, they argue americans were distracted and didnt pay attention. Two substantial things going on. One was the fight for the White House. The other one with the covid outbreak happening on americas West Coast just getting going. Stunning stuff as you look back on time. February 29, 2020. Fox News Alert now. Chaos unfolding in afghanistan. President biden said to meet with his national Security Team Top of the hour watching that. Also well get another briefing from the pentagon at 10 00 a. M. As well and bring it to you live as it comes up. Dana the president addressing the condition of afghan women under taliban rule. Is he striking the right tone . Former State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus will weigh in. Bill last month we thousands of other interpreters remain behind. He was a key advisor for me every day. He sat there with me making decisions. There is not enough time to get the paperwork right. The time is now. Figure out the paperwork later. Get them to a safe place. Mm. [ clicks tongue ] i dont know. I think they look good, man. Mm, smooth. Uh, they are a little tight. Like, too tight . Might just need to break em in a little bit. You dont want em too loose. For those who were born to ride theres progressive. With 24 7 roadside assistance. Okay. Think im gonna wear these home. Excellent choice. With 24 7 roadside assistance. Okay. vo the rule in business used to be, location, location, location. Now its, network, network, network. So you need a network thats built right. Verizon business unlimited starts with americas most reliable network. Then we add the speed of verizon 5g. 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Those who have never fought for the colors they fly should be careful about criticizing those who have. Dana joining us now is former State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus. That was remarkable. The europeans for a long time, we all know how they talked about President Trump and didnt like his words but never questioned his courage or resolve, morgan. The germans said yesterday that this was im paraphrasing. They said this is the worst catastrophe that nato has seen since its founding. Doesnt get more tough than that. Bill on the topic of women in afghanistan, their future is in doubt, lets be frank about it. There are women who have been living for 20 years under a whole different system and now in an instant it goes back to where it was. Here is Joe Biden on that on that Abc Interview. President biden there are afghan women outside the gate. I said get them out. Get them out. Get their families out if you can. Here is the deal, george, the idea that were able to deal with the rights of women Around The World by Military Force is not rational. Not rational. Bill what do you make of that, morgan . His last sentence is just a red herring. He is talking about a theoretical debate how to bring greater rights to women Around The World. Thats an interesting conversation to have. Were talking in the moment where women will be slatered by the taliban and rights taken away. As a 27yearold mayor in afghanistan who was at the State Department last year to get an award from us. The youngest mayor in afghanistan, a woman. There are people like that. There are faces and there are names to these pictures that we keep seeing. So remember that President Biden said there will be no hasty rush to the exit. Well do it responsibly, deliberately and safety and thats why womens lives are in peril now. Women flowing babies over their fence. Nothing more horrific. Bill weve seen the video where they lead them to the Con Wire to be handed over the wall. Dana the withdrawal the way it was handled to not get the americans and civilians first. I have to ask when President Trump signed that deal with the taliban in february of 2020, isnt what the outcome for afghan women, wasnt it going to be what were seeing now . There were no conditions really put on the taliban in regards to the treatment of women. Well, actually what we said in the deal is that after the agreements were signed both with the taliban and the government of afghanistan, remember Secretary Esper went to afghanistan. And The Next Step was interactive negotiations. When everyone had to be at the table. This is what we were trying to get to before the administration ended to have the government of afghanistan, the taliban, women, human rights, civil society, people who worked in that space all at the table negotiating the future. And ive been very harsh on president ghani. He was one of the people impeding those negotiations. A lot that we can go in after the fact but yes, the goal was to get everyone to the table to negotiate the future of afghanistan. Bill just on that point, was it Wishful Thinking to get the afghan government to negotiate with the taliban . Probably. What was the other option at President Trump and biden said. Were we supposed to stay there for 20 years . We could have kept a residual force. Even if we kept a residual force thats solving the Al Qaeda Issue were looking at to make sure that it didnt reconstitute and attack americans. Thats solving the greater political issues, just a terrorism issue. Dana which is an important one and one of the most critical. Bill thank you. Dana she talked about a counter tearism force. This is what President Biden said about terrorists. Here is the deal. Al qaeda, isis, they metastasize. There is a Greater Threat from Syria And East africa. Significant Greater Threat to other places in the world than it is from the mountains of afghanistan. And we have maintained the ability to have an over the Horizon Capability to take them out. Dana he also says we dont Str Military in syria to make sure were going to be pretty. I dont know what he means by that. We do have Counter Terrorism forces in syria, 900. Bill and in somalia and a growing threat there as well. Western africa, and Everything Weve covered on and on it goes. That does not mean that afghanistan could not pose a threat to you and if youve done all the work to stabilize the plate and all the eyes and ears on the ground to make sure the future is okay, why take all the eyes and ears out . This government could easily invite Al Qaeda back in to set up shop. They could take isis as well. We said the other day if you are a member of the Isis Caliphate operating out of Western Iraq or Eastern Syria and you got mowed down when Donald Trump came into office and you went back to your village and hung out for the last five years, now you have fresh territory upon which youve been praying every day to find a new refuge and now you have it potentially in afghanistan yet again 20 years on. This is the confounding thing. They talk about the Fog Of War and now the fog of trying to understand whats happening now. Dana the Frustration Of Forever Wars but we have forever threats and we need to deal with the threats. For those of you who may have worn the uniform, help is available around the clock if you need it. You just call 18002738255 and press 1. The Veterans Crisis Line is reachable by texting 838255 or you can chat online by visiting the site on the screen. Take a moment to right that down for yourself or a loved one. Everything is kept confidential but we understand that there has been a significant increase to calls to this hotline and people are there to help. Bill a great message, dana. Put that up for you later, too. President biden saying all americans will be safely evacuated out of kabul. Pentagon not willing to go that far yesterday given the chaos on the ground. Why the mixed message . We check in at the pentagon. Briefing coming up in 20 minutes. An afghan translator canaryly escaped from the taliban fighting to save more interpreters back him in kabul. He joins news a moment on his story and theirs. One, two one, two, three only pay for what you need with customized Car Insurance from Liberty Mutual nothing rhymes with Liberty Mutual. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. 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For the love of progress. Citi. Bill Breaking News out of kabul now reading this off Reuters Wire according to the taliban what theyre saying. They are saying we are preventing any form of violent verbal clash at the airport among afghans, foreigners and taliban members according to a taliban official. Another statement were keeping our word by providing full support to all foreign powers who want to leave afghanistan. One more here just before that we are facilitating safe Exit Passage not just for foreigners but also to afghans. That would seem to indicate it is all americans, europeans and afghans who helped americans. Dana there was a reporter for Abc News who was there yesterday. Watch the video with your own eyes. That is not true. Maybe they told their people to do that but it is not whats happening. Bill if they want this to go in their favor, they must behave this way. Dana we heard a different story from the Pentagon Yesterday saying that basically there was no Safe Passage. They said everybody is cooperating. The taliban is cooperating and the State Department said something different. Were live at the pentagon with more. Thats right. Very frank admission from President Bidens Defense Chief who said the ability to rescue americans stuck behind Taliban Lines in downtown kabul. We dont have the capability to collect large numbers of people. Sounds like youre saying this depends on diplomacy with the taliban. Thats our only option is getting them to agree to do this . Let me add something here. We have a couple of Entry Control points set up. A north one, east one and a third one at abby gate. The White House says the u. S. Military evacuated bringing 6,000 evacuated, 180 people per flight. Significant increase from the day before. The military and State Department continue to ramp up operations. Finger pointing about who did or did not predict the swift fall of afghanistan and the crumbling of the afghan army. President s top military office. You said a taliban takeover was highly unlikely in july. Was Intelligence Wrong or did you downplay it . President biden there was no con sen us. Look at the intelligence reports. More likely to be some time by The End of the year. Following our departure, there was nothing that i or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days. There will be a Press Conference in the pentagon the next 30 minutes and well update you with the latest. Dana thank you so much. Bill thank you for that. Lets go back again. The best stuff we have right now and the Oneonone Interview with stephanopoulos and here is the president talking about evacuations that we just referred to. Watch. All troops are supposed to be out by August 31. Even if americans and afghan allies are still trying to get out they will leave . President biden were going to do everything in our power to get all americans out and our allies out. You have 10 to 15,000 americans in the country now, right . Are you committed to making sure that the troops stay until every american who wants to be out is out . President biden yes. Yes. Bill we are in a position here where were negotiating with the taliban. Whether they agree or dont agree, whether they behave one way or not is directly tied to how these americans and afghans who helped us thrive. Dana Special Forces are going into the city and finding citizens to bring them out. Bill we talk about the afghan interpreters helping american troops and now they are trying to get out of the country. Moneer was able to get out only days before the collapse of kabul and speaking up. He is with us now and so is Matt Griffin who served three tours in afghanistan and one in iraq. Gentlemen, good day to both of you. Moneer, what is your story and what do you think now . Thanks for having me. I served over 12 years for Special Forces in afghanistan and im happy im evacuated to the u. K. I have done a lot for the u. S. Government. They never give me the chance. Never give me visa to come to the united states and right now more than 18,000 afghans are left behind. I am going to fight for them to not be left behind. Right now currently their situation is so bad as you can see the Kabul Airport. Everyone is going to the airport. Interpreters, civilians, locals, everyone go to the airports. But if it just continues like this we will not be able to evacuate our allies from afghanistan. We need to have a good control on the people over there. We need to talk with anyone have control of the country right now to make sure to let our allies, our interpreters come to the gate and give them a safe route to get themselves to the airport. I am talking with many interpreters at the Kabul Airport since the past couple nights theyre in the airport but they never get a chance to take themselves, get himself at the airport. Dana may i ask you something about the taliban . Just a few moments ago they issued a statement saying theyre being cooperative theyre free to go. Is that what you are hearing from interpreters there in kabul . No. Thats not true because im in contact with many interpreters right now in Kabul Airport and in kabul city. They are saying they are not letting us get to the airport because they put a lot of checkpoints on the way. Sometimes even they are beating people to get themselves to the airport. It is hard to trust the taliban. They are saying they promised a lot of stuff in the past as well. This is not correct. Bill Matt Griffin is with us. You served four tours in Afghanistan And Iraq and a friend of a green Beret Moneer worked with. I think its shameful. Moneer worked for the united kingdom for three months and able to get him out in two weeks. He worked for guys like us Special Forces and rangers and seals for 12 years and we wrote letters of recommendation to the State Department. We did everything we possibly could and it was easier for them to say no on paperwork than it was to do the work. It happened to thousands of people in afghanistan and what we just did right now is we created in the military terms a kill zone. We enabled the taliban to come in and were funneling all of their Target Interpreters through one single checkpoint. Were violating major Military Fundamentals by what we just did and what were hearing on The Street is that if you are an everyday citizen wanting to get out it might cost you 1500 to get a checkpoint. If youre on a list it could cost 100,000. They are making money while collecting all the people we said we would get out. This is shameful. It is horrible. Dana matt, could you describe what it is like to have a relationship with an interpreter that you served with . We depend on these guys for our life. Never shall i leave a fallen Kam Rad to fall into the hands of the enemy. At the core of our being as warriors were leaving our comrades to fall into the hands of the enemies. This is wrong. They are our brothers, they come out of the same vehicles and same Gun Fights and then we left them behind . I dont even know i could communicate the feeling of what it does to the warrior community. Bill their fate is still unknown. Matt griffin, thank you for your service and moneer, thanks to you as well for your service, thank you. Dana Fox News alert. Live look at the pentagon where in just a few Minutes Press Secretary John Kirby will give an update on afghanistan as the president over at the White House meets with his national Security Team and well take you there live. One of the biggest questions in all this, why did the u. S. Give up Bagram Air base back in july . Chairman. Joint chiefs struggled to explain. It would have been a lot easier. Is there any thought of Retaking Bagram in order to expedite this evacuation . And if not, why not . 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This is a Va Mortgage rate watch. Newdays rates have dropped to the lowest in their history. Two and quarter percent, just 2. 48 apr. Refinance now and Save Thousands. Dana Fox News alert. President Biden Defending americas botched exit from afghanistan argues the chaos was unavoidable and also appears to blame the Intelligence Community for a lack of foresight. President biden there is no good time if you know you have to leave eventually why not not sure that make everyone gets out so we dont have the chaotic scenes in kabul . President Biden Number one, as you know, the Intelligence Community did not say back in june or july that in fact this was going to collapse like it did, number one. They thought the taliban would take over but not this quickly. President biden not this quickly, not even close. Dana Susan Wild is a member of the house foreign Affairs Committee. Maam, are you satisfied with the president s answer there . Im not particularly satisfied with that answer but having said that let me say first that i absolutely think it was time to get out of afghanistan. I think frankly we should have a long time ago. The manner in which this was executed was clearly not a Success Story and to say anything other than that is a disservice to the servicemen and women who served all these years. Bill i think polling will show your answer to be exactly right. Most americans wanted to get out of afghanistan 20 years on. Back to danas question. Are you satisfied with any of the answer thaes have come from our commanderinchief . Well, we havent heard that much yet from President Biden. I hope he is spending most of his Time Consulting with defense and the State Department and intel and making sure that we are doing everything we possibly can. Right now i think thats a much more important function than talking quite frankly to the media or even to the public. Right now we are talking about minutes and hours that really matter. So i am not going to but no, i think bill it was quite surprising when he came out to talk about a Booster Vaccine and turned tail when all the reporters were shouting questions and had nothing to say. You are aware of a long time cbs White House correspondent. At this point in the biden presidency he has had Oneonone Interviews nine times. Donald trump did 50. President obama had 113. So has he communicated enough and effectively with whats happening there on the ground . Weve had a lot of communication from the White House. I dont think weve had enough communication on afghanistan and the situation right now. We deserve answers. We intend to get answers. You have already heard that the house foreign Affairs Committee plans to conduct hearings as early as next week. Well be in washington i will be there. I have an awful lot of questions. I know my colleagues on both sides of the aisle do as well. And every single member of congress should be focused on this right now. Right along with the administration. We should be focused on damage control. What can we do to right the situation as much as we possibly can . Dana one of the other things communications with our allies. You are on the foreign Services Community and know how important that is. The telegraph of the u. K. Is reporting that Boris Johnson, the prime minister was trying to reach President Biden since early Monday Morning and he wasnt able to talk to President Biden until 10 00 p. M. Their time on tuesday. So in some ways it is not just the american people but our closest ally not getting calls from the White House. I will always say it is important to communicate with our allies. It was one of my greatest objections to the last administration that i didnt think there was enough of that. And i will certainly be criticizing this administration if it fails to do so. We need the help of our allies right now. Well have to rebuild a lot of relationships, this is a prime example of why we need our allies so much. And so lets move forward. Lets get this done and lets move towards bill you are right about the allies overseas. The hearings next week will they be public and not Behind Closed Doors . I Cant Guarantee that but bill will you push for it . We all want to know, right, as do you. Let me just say this, we also often have classified briefings and i am not opposed to also having classified briefings if there are matters that the Defense Secretary and the Secretary Of State cannot talk about publicly. We can have classified briefings but we also need to have public hearings. The public does deserve to know what happened. And most importantly, Gold Star families and veterans deserve to know exactly what happened here. And quite frankly the afghan people who we have pledged to help, they deserve to know what is going on. And also we need to learn from this failure. Dana congresswoman, thank you. Susan wild, we appreciate it. Bill democrat from pennsylvania. Please come back. Weve been talking about the senate got a briefing. Well check in admiral kirby. It has been pushed back 30 minutes. Stand by. It is a moving target at the moment. Well bring it to you when it begins. The Taliban Takeover Weighing heavily on Gold Star families. The family of Javier Gutierrez saying his death was not in vain and his father is here to share his thoughts when we continue. In their history. Two and quarter percent, just 2. 48 apr. Save thousands a year. vo at tmobile for business, unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. Whether its ensuring food arrives as fresh as when it departs. Being first on the scene, when every second counts. Or teaching biology without a lab. We are the leader in 5g. 1 in customer satisfaction. And a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. Without tradeoffs. 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Javier gutierrez was one of the last people to die in afghanistan in february of 2020. He and a fellow soldier were killed when their unit was fired upon during an Insider Attack that year. His father also named javier is with us now out of san antonio, texas. Good morning. Were thinking a lot about people like you and certainly your son. How are you to make sense of what you are watching over the past couple of days . Obviously to me it is very difficult and trying to make sense of this, you know, this departure that was supposed to be welldeveloped and go, you know, according to a plan and it didnt. Its more of a debacle than a departure. My reaction to it is im upset, mad, frustrated because of 20 years, you know, it just is a sad way to end this whole War On Terrorism ordeal. In one weekend it is ruined over 20 years. Bill the commanderinchief said chaos was inevitable. Do you accept that . No, i dont accept that. The reason i dont accept that is because first of all, the u. S. Politicians from what ive seen in the news throughout my time watching the news, they are notorious to give deadlines and dates and alerting the enemy what were doing, you know. And second the commanderinchief said last month said that everything was going to be methodically planned in place and the departure would be met on the deadline of August 31. It didnt turn out that way. Everything is just wrong. The troops went out first and there is no protection for the citizens to go out. It should have been citizens, equipment, and troops to go out. That would have been a better way. Of course, now we have to rely on the u. S. Citizens have to rely on the taliban for Safe Passage to the airport . You know, thats just unacceptable. Dana tell us a little bit about your son. I love that you named him javier jaguar gutierrez. Tell us about him. Yes. My son, oh, he was a you know, i know he was My Son and to me he was the perfect kid. He was the perfect kid. In my eyes he was perfect. I know he had his faults. We gave him the Name Jaguar because i thought i played music and i thought maybe he would be in a Rock Band and able to have a stage name. It turned out no, he didnt have nothing to do with music. My daughter did instead. And just a great he served his country. That was his purpose. As a small youth, he just wanted to join the military. He wanted to serve his country and he joined in a time of war. And i spoke to him the last time i saw him was December 19th yeah, december, can Christmas Holidays in 2019. We were in the van and i told My Son hey, you know that you are going into a very volatile place. I know, dad. This is what i was called to do. Bill your son was perfect and we thank you for sharing his memory today. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Dana we appreciate you. Fox News Alert. Pentagon briefing on afghanistan coming up this hour as the u. S. Military ramps up evacuate efforts in kabul. Chaos spreads rapidly across the country in face of taliban violence. Well bring it to you live as it happens. President biden is meeting with his national Security Team now to get an update on the worsening Security Situation in afghanistan as thousands of americans and our afghan allies in fear for their lives try to get out before its too late. Welcome to a Brandnew Hour of americas newsroom, im dana perino. Bill im bill hemmer. Listening to the story were coming up on 9 11 and well hear a lot of this about the sacrifice. Look, this was americas sacrifice for 20 years and it was the war on terror. People like jaguar fought it for us. President biden saying he is committed to the safe evacuation of every american out of that country. Thousands of people in kabul struggled to escape the taliban in that city. [people shouting] bill thats the first time ive seen that. More videos like that throughout the day. President biden saying there is no way to avoid a messy exit No Matter when it took place with abc. President biden we went there for two reasons, george, two reasons. One to get Bin Laden and two to wipe out as best we could and we did the Al Qaeda in afghanistan. We did it. Sounds like you think we should have gotten out a long time ago. President biden we should have. Bill and accept the idea it will be messy No Matter what. President biden getting out would be messy No Matter when it occurred. Dana fox team coverage. Rich edson at the State Department and Bret Baier with reaction from washington and Jackie Heinrich at the White House. Hi. Good morning, dana. There has been considerable reporting that the president had more confidence in the afghan Militarys Ability to hold off the taliban than the intelligence supported and top Military Brass tried to shoot that down saying that there was really nothing to that effect and the president doubled down on that yesterday. Listen. Top Military Advisors wanted to you keep 2500 troops. President biden no, they didnt. It was slight. That wasnt true. They didnt tell you they wanted troops to stay . President biden not in terms of whether we would get out in a time frame all troops. They didnt argue against that. The Military Brass saying no intelligence predicting such a Swipt Collapse and the president said there was no consensus among intelligence reports and the taliban takeover was more likely to happen at The End of the year. In july he denied a taliban takeover was inevitable and now arguing that he always planned for this. President biden well go back in Hindsight And Look. The idea that somehow there is a way to have gotten out without chaos en shoeing i dont know how that happens. I dont know how that happened. That was always priced into the decision . President biden yes. Jake sullivan said the president has confidence in his intelligence team. Criticism from outside the president s party has been unrelenting. Utter disaster. Overall what were witnessing. We now have more troops in afghanistan than we did before the withdrawal just trying to get our folks and friends out of the country. Yesterday the president delivered remarks in front of the Press Corps for a second time since the taliban took afghanistan and again took no questions. Today the White House has no events planned with the press, not even a briefing with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and pointing to updates coming from the pentagon and State Department. Dana thats unusual. Thank you, jackie. Let me just spend a moment on some other points. The European Union minister of Foreign Affairs, ministers of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs ministers of the e. U. Changing conditions on the ground at all . Weve been Reading Statements for days. This is all Part And Parcel of our efforts to forge conditions on the ground to help shape conditions on the ground. Bill that voice you heard was Rich Edson pushing to get answers. No clearances from the State Department. Insisting more troops are being sent to kabul to get Control But Havent provided a clear explanation of what the plan actually is. Rich edson looking for answer episcopal. Rich, hello. The State Department says the international community is watching what the taliban does here. Critics say these international statements do nothing to solve the situation at the airport in kabul. Contacts are telling us there is another Day Today of crowds, massing at the gates, taliban checkpoints throughout the city, and violence. The State Department is advising americans to get to the airport but warns the united states cannot insure Safe Passage. The State Departments Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman says the world is monitoring here what the taliban does. The united states and the international community will be vigilant in monitoring how any future government in afghanistan insures the Rights And Freedoms that women and girls in that country have come to expect. The Deputy Secretary says the u. S. Has made it clear the u. S. Will use every diplomatic, political and economic tool to insure safety though no specifics beyond that. She also described a trip she took in 1997 to afghanistan, one of the most searing meetings she said she had as a diplomat. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted of that I Cant believe what i heard from the State Department Briefing Podium by Wendy Sherman. She went through her efforts to improve the lives of afghanistan women going back to 1997 and now think those words matter. The united states saturday has evacuated 6,000 people from kabul of a total of 15,000 americans who are in the country and some up to 65,000 afghans, many of whom worked with the united states and trying to get out. Bill we just heard that there is nothing scheduled from the white House Today, which i think is absurd. Nonetheless were waiting on the pentagon. Will they take Questions Today . Well have a 2 00 briefing at the State Department with Spokesman Ned price. Bill Rich Edson in d. C. What did you think when you first saw the pictures . President biden we have to gain control of this. We have to move this more quickly. We have to move in a way which we can take control of that airport. And we did. Dana President Biden also saying he thinks the current chaos in afghanistan was unavoidable and no possible way to handle it better. Bret baier anchors special report. A lot going on or maybe not a lot going on at the White House. I guess theyre having a national Security Meeting Today but we wont hear from the White House apparently today. Think about youve covered the pentagon, the White House, you were in afghanistan. What are you thinking this morning . Well, im thinking its just sad. I think its really indicative of what were seeing that there wasnt really a plan. All this stuff about the chaos was not avoid was not avoidable is just not possible to be true because there were contingency plans that could have happened differently. One of the things is these different countries are also involved. They are also expressing concern privately and publicly about President Biden and what he is saying and doing. These different countries like the brits, for example, when it first started going south they took their paratroopers, got in vehicles and got british Nation Nls in shelter in place positions around kabul and brought them to the airport. The aussies are trying to do the same thing right now and i just spoke to somebody who said its really going south around the airport once again which is what weve seen in recent days. So the chaos not being avoidable is a horrible answer for a president of the united states. Bill if you listen to the Abc Interview he was Hell Bent on getting out and damn the consequences is how i hear it. Hard not to hear it that way. He talked about taking care of the americans first and well, thats been his policy now for 12 years with regard to afghanistan. Talking about that Strike Force that was going to go in in 2009 when obama overruled him. Wall street journal. The White House may fear that a more robust show of force will cause the taliban to take americans hostage but that concern underscores the degree to which the White House is letting the taliban dictate the terms of the evacuation. This is a rolling humiliation. The reason i read that. Last hour the taliban put out a statement to reuters and said theyll make sure there is Safe Passage for any american or anyone who wants the leave the country. Thats quite a gamble right now. Well, thats right. Dana might be losing bretts shot there. Bill sorry about that. Hang on a moment. It is covid cable, right . Dana what he was going to say, i did think the line Last Night was Bret Baier, you are still there . Yes, im here. Sorry about that. Listen, the taliban is never a trusted ally. They never have been. And the fact that we are putting our hands of getting americans to the airport in their hands is pretty remarkable. I also think that Laura Logan earlier had this piece where she talks to the taliban spokesperson and asks them the key question. Why have you not renounced Al Qaeda . Well, the reason is because they essentially are Al Qaeda. They are one in the same in some places and we have to realize that by handing the country back over like this Al Qaeda is making a resurgence. Dana the war on terror doesnt end even if we depart. Thank you so much, bret. Bill this whole idea about not hearing from the white House Today is a little astounding to me. Dana i can only im trying to think what they would be thinking. Jen psaki is not afraid to brief. She briefs almost every day even on the tough days. It is possible theyre thinking the good Morning America Interview that President Biden did will suffice for today. Fast moving. With the time difference. Bret reported there is additional chaos at the airport. This probably changes. You might hear from the White House later. Bill based on the history in the first persian Gulf War we were waiting for the updates on tv in 2001 after 9 11 the buildup in afghanistan every day. Looking back in time it seemed like every hour of every day. 2003 same deal leading up to the invasion of iraq. You have a job to communicate to the american people who are hanging on your every word to understand our fate. Dana not only that. Our adversaries are listening to. A good reason to keep talking. Bill the situation out of control in afghanistan. Matter of days. It wasnt supposed to be like this. Greg palkot on the ground. On this spot that is being called the symbolic end of the American War In Afghanistan was declared. But for the Military Brass and the afghan politicians behind us, there are many questions looming about what will happen with the taliban. That was only one month ago. Greg was on the ground in kabul. A different scene there today. He joins us live with reflections on what comes next. Dana what british and nato allies are thinking as the u. S. Cuts and runs. Nigel farage with reaction from americas closest western ally. What does it say about nato if were entirely dependent on a unilateral decision taken by the united states . The best time in history to use your Va Refi benefit and get cash. You could take out 50,000 or more because the newday 100 Va Loan lets you borrow up to 100 of your homes value. Use that cash to pay high Rate Credit Card Debt or plan for retirement. The newday 100 Va Loan. We did it again. Verizon has been named americas most reliable network by rootmetrics. 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And there you have it woah. Wireless on the most reliable network nationwide. Wow. Big deal . We get unlimited for just 30 bucks. Sweet, i get that too and mine has 5g included. Thats cool, but ours save us serious clamaroonies. Relax people, my wireless is crushing it. Thats because you all have Xfinity Mobile with your internet. Its wireless so good, it keeps one upping itself. Dana were watching a situation in afghanistan that may get worse before it gets better. Senior Foreign Affairs correspondent Greg Palkot made several trips to afghanistan and in kabul last month and with us now. So good to see you. Bill nice to see you in person. They say they planned for all contingencies. This had to be one of them. Was that talked about when you were there . It had to be a big one. A month ago when we were there we talked to people on The Streets and they were all saying theyre coming and we dont want them. We know the taliban. Theyre bad and we want to get out of here. We were at a Passport Office where people were scrambling to get passports to leave. Military officials were saying the same thing. They were proud how they withdrew the troops but knew something bad could happen. Listen, i was there 20 years ago too and taliban was in charge and i saw what they were doing and i know what the people were thinking. Their memory is long enough to remember that. Dana they say theyve changed and put out a statement this is a we are cooperative and helpful now and everything will be fine. Women can do this. Do you believe any of that . I dont. I dont. I was just on phone this morning with our leading Womens Activist inside kabul and she said absolutely not. They havent changed. I know what they are doing. Theyre going doortodoor trying to find people. Going through Cell Phones and in the areas where they have been occupying just in the past couple of months theyve been arranging marriages, theyve been seizing property, theyve been going around doing some of their own very tough, rough justice. All part of what theyre doing. It is for show. Bill you have a force of 2500, right . Plus an additional 5,000 on behalf of nato. Why was that force able to for lack of a better phrase, keep the peace for the past year and a half . Do you think it was sufficient enough to continue that peace . To be honest with you i think probably. If you had the troops there, 2500, you have other nato. Listen, weve gone a dozen times to South Korea and have 38,000 troops there and weve been out of that war for 70 years. Troops in germany and in japan. Very carefully they could have been kept there and psychologically it could have No One wants the war to go on forever. Everyone agreed a lot of mistakes on both sides of the fence and there should have been something done but it could have held in place for a little bit longer while things were bill i first met Greg Palkot at the airport in kandahar in december of 2001. Nice guy then. Still is. Dana what is your secret . Neither of you age a day. Thanks. Bill im eating the same stuff that he is. Nice to see you in person. Be well. Thank you, british lawmaker served with nato forces in afghanistan blasting the president for calling into question the courage of afghan soldiers in the house of parliament. The Commanderinchief Call into question the courage of men i fought with, to claim that they ran. It is shameful. Those who have never fought for the colors they fly should be careful about criticizing those who have. Nigel farage with us now. Dana was reading last hour that suggests Boris Johnson tried to reach President Biden Monday Morning and finally talked at 10 00 your time in london tuesday evening. Can you verify that . Yes, that is absolutely true. Joe biden, despite the fact the mission in afghanistan was not purely an american mission, it was a nato mission. We were the second biggest partner. It had been going on for 20 years. Joe biden chose unilaterally without any consultation with nato, without any consultation with us, your closest ally for the last century and a bit more, chose unilaterally to decide the timing and method by which american troops would leave afghanistan. That left the rest of us simply with no option just because america clearly is bigger than we are and the rest of us. This is not how you treat allies. It is certainly not how you treat a Nato Alliance which since the late 1940s has done so much to preserve peace in the world. And I Cant think in my lifetime of a moment when my friends in this country who are naturally inclined to be proamerican have been more critical of america and asking the question how could we ever trust america again . Thats just how serious this is. Not just for us, but for Americas Place in the world and it does seem to me on a number of angles that what biden has done is given china a massive leap up the global agenda. Dana you wrote about that. You think china already has decided well figure out a way to deal with the taliban and well take their resources as well. Oh, yes, of course. America spent a trillion dollars in afghanistan. Not only has it given the taliban hundreds, billions of Dollars Worth of up to date Military Equipment it deserted lithium resources, mineral resources worth 3 Trillion and it has given it over to the control of the chinese communist party. You cannot have a green revolution. You cannot have electric cars without large quantities of lithium. So militarily it is a disaster, strategically it is a disaster, and it in terms of geo politics. Were asking the question over here is this The End of america as the global Super Power . Ill tell you this. The Word Disaster is used far too often to describe events but this is a disaster. It is a watershed moment. Im not sure anybody has quite yet realized the damage Joe Biden has done to america and to the free world. Bill Nigel Farage from london. Well see where we go next. Thank you for your time. Dana thank you. Were just minutes away from a Pentagon Briefing and well take you there as it begins. The situation in afghanistan is troubling not only to veterans. These Freedom Fighters from the ground. We cant it cant last much longer. It cant last much longer. Veteran homeowners. If you havent refinanced yet, get in on record low rates now. The Newday Two and a Quarter Refi is the lowest rate in newdays history. Two and a quarter percent. Just 2. 48 apr. 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Veteran homeowners, Newday Usa is holding the line on Interest Rates. Its a whole New World out there. The Newday Two and a Quarter Refi is the lowest in their history. Two and quarter percent, just 2. 48 apr. Save thousands a year. President biden authorized there be 6,000 american troops to flow in to accommodate this exit. Still a lot of pandemonium outside the airport. President biden No One is being killed right now. No one is being killed right now. Dana President Biden defending the u. S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan Something our next Guest Calls utterly incompetent. Geraldo rivera is here. Great to have you. Weve been talking about people who helped the allies and us. You have stories. On the phone right now, we will not name him for fear of compromising his security. One of the people waiting, Dana And Bill to get out now is on the phone. He is so trusted by us. He saved our life on numerous occasions. He has come to the united states, visited, stayed with me as a family. Now he is terrorized and on pins and needles waiting on this process. Dear friend, brother, how are you . Tell us how are you . I should say im fine. We should always thank the gods but there is a desperate situation in kabul at the moment. We do not know what will happen to us because these guys are just going doortodoor and looking for the people, the ones who are working for the international community especially for the americans and they are chasing them. Im here with my family in one of the hotels here in afghanistan waiting for this flight we were told we would have a Flight Today but we waited the whole day and we still have no flight. We are in a desperate situation and people in afghanistan are in desperate situations. Thousands of them went to the Kabul Airport and they are asking anyone, begging the americans there to let them on the flight to go. Especially the women. The women are going to be diplomatic corps of afghanistan international communities. The u. S. , british, and french and other embassy. There is No One at the moment. They are thinking there are foreigners there who will help them. People are really scared. They are really in a tense situation and desperate to leave afghanistan. Bill how are your children doing . You know, the first time im keeping the children in a cage in this hotel. We cannot go out. Keeping them inside the rooms. Do not let them out in the lobby or other places. We are in our room. They are crying and i cannot put them 24 7 in the room. They want their house and they were free and Going Out but now i put them in a cage. They are doing fine but are really stressed and it is a bad situation. Here is our friend, bill hemmer. You know bill. He has a question. Bill two points. Earlier 90 minutes ago the taliban put out a statement said that they will see to it that americans and afghans who want to leave the country will be given Safe Passage. Im assuming are you in kabul. I dont want to give your whereabouts at this point. Can you verify any of that Safe Passage that has happened . Do you think that you will get the Safe Passage that the taliban has promised bill asks . Hi, bill. Nice to hear you. Well, we are hoping for that. We are hoping for that. Taliban promised a lot of things and theyre saying we arent in the 90s they wanted to give rights to the women and we will not touch anyone who worked for americans. They say theyve forgiven all those people. But we will have to see if what theyre promising to the people. I am not sure because im still waiting and i am really hoping that i may give that but I Cant see any signs at the moment. Here is dana perino. She was, as you know, in the White House, and now a wonderful Fox Anchor and correspondent. Here is dana for you. Dana the pentagon is starting to brief reporters and we will get to that in a moment. I do want to do you feel like america will follow through on its promises to you . Well, i should say americans are fulfilling their promise because i am sponsored by the americans and i am they want to approach me if my Life And Family is in danger and they are the ones who speeded up and geraldo and the team and other people during the night but in the other offices. They are very generous. This is a very tense situation here. Not have Military Presence except the Military Personnel at the Kabul Airport but they do their best and i can see that the flights are taking off from the airport. Thats a sign of fulfilling promises. Bill coming up in evening. Take good care and well be in contact through herald dough with you. We love you, brother. Stay safe. Dont stray. Be there when the call comes. If anything happens in the meantime call us. Bill thank you very much. Breaking news from the pentagon. Dana Pentagon Briefing weve been waiting for has gotten underway. Lets listen. Somewhere near 12,000. That number includes american citizens, u. S. Embassy personnel, individuals designated by the State Department as siv and other evacuees in coordination with the State Department. Were ready to increase through put and have scheduled Aircraft Departures accordingly. We intend to maximize each planes capacity. We are prioritizing people alove all else. We are focused on doing this as safely as possible with absolute urgency. We have not experienced any Security Incidents nor interference since my last update. We continue to recognize the inherent danger of operating in this environment but our Service Members in kabul remain agile, professional, and postured to continue mission and to respond if required. On this topic as we look at the last 24 hours, f18s from the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group threw Armed Overwatch Heights Over Kabul to insure security. We maintain a watchful eye and conducting assessments to protect the safety of americans. Well use all of the tools in our arsenal to achieve this goal. I want to reinforce that were absolutely focused on this mission of national importance. We are committed to the safe evacuation of as many people as quickly and as safely as possible. In haiti yesterday, eight united States Army helicopters, Three Ch47 and blackhawks from the bravo out of Honduras Repositioned to launch and support operations in support of haiti earthquake operations. Those assets have already started moving Disaster Relief personnel and supplies and supported Jtf Haitis Assessment of Air Fields and roads throughout the area. A ch47 completed a partial move of 60 of a Field Hospital which we believe the rest of the Field Hospital will be airlifted today. The u. S. Coast guard continues its lifesaving missions and again all of the helicopters involved will be on airlift missions to ease the suffering and to get people and capabilities where they need to be. As you know, the u. S. S. Arlington is now underway and expected to arrive later this week to provide additional lift and medical capabilities and serve as another resource for the people of haiti. Finally, special tactics airmen assigned to the special Operations Wing are currently augmenting the lifesaving and humanitarian aid efforts if haiti and responsible for conducting various airfield surveys to determine suitability for bringing in follow on humanitarian aid via airlift. Thank you very much. Couple of items to go over. So here in Washington Secretary Austin did have a Phone Conversation this morning with his Counter Part in bahrain. This afternoon the secretary will be welcoming his excellence see Deputy Prime Minister of the Defense Affairs to the state of qatar in the building. Well issue a reedout for each of those events later today. With that well start taking questions. I think bob you are on the phone, yeah . Yes, thank you, john. General taylor said there were aircraft departed with evacuees in the last 24 hours which is a smaller number than the previous 24 hours, i believe. My question is regarding with the clock running down toward August 31st, does Secretary Austin believe it will be necessary to extend the deadline . I know its not his call but has he recommended that the deadline of August 31st be extended . Bob, you heard the Secretary Yesterday say that we are very focused on making sure we get as many people out as possible and as fast as possible. And were working on that very diligently as you heard The Generals update. And you also heard the president say that if he believes that there is a need to alter the timeline, that he would revisit that at the appropriate time. What were focused on right now, bob, is head down, shoulder to the wheel trying to get as many people out as possible as quickly as possible and i think ill leave it at that. Since the president has left the door open to troops possibly staying past August 31 has the Admiral Begun Conversations with the taliban . I dont know that level of detail what Conversations Admiral is having with his counterpart out in town. Again, our focus right now, there has been no decision to change the deadline and we are focused on doing everything we can inside that deadline to move as many people out as possible and if and when there is a decision to change that, then obviously that would require additional conversations with the taliban as well. But i dont believe that those conversations have happened at this point. As a follow up on the flights by the f18s, do they have authorization to fire if they come under attack . These are not low pass flights. They are overwatch at high altitude. The f18 flights but other aircraft that general mckenzie and the admiral have at their disposal to provide this kind of overratch. They are not low passes. To your second question i would say as always we have the right to defend ourselves, people and operations. How many f18s are there . Was there a specific reason or did you see something that led you to move them or we just have them so why not . Good question. Just going back, these were not low passes. These are providing Air Support. This Isnt Anything new. The Ronald Reagan has been there providing support. These f18s are flying more than just yesterday. These were continuously in Support And Part of the assets that i briefed early on that were always available to the centcom commander. We mentioned them to give an update of the type of capability the commanders of the ground continue to have to do and insure we can provide the selfdefense and assets to the commander. Also there has been some reporting out there that there were low passes and that there was some sort of shows of force. I think we felt it was important for The General to provide some context about what is happening in the air and why and thats why we mentioned it today. I dont think you are going to get a daily update from us about every aircraft and every Flight Plan but we felt that given the context of some of the erroneous Reporting Yesterday they wanted to clear that up. Are you receiving credible threats against u. S. Forces at the airport that if you dont leave by a certain date that Al Qaeda or other groups will begin attacking the airport . I wont speak to intelligence assessments one way or the other. Obviously Force Protection is a high priority. You heard that in The Generals opening comments as well. We always evaluate the threat. Not only a Daybyday Thing and an hour by hour thing. It is a perilous environment. We are going to do everything that we can to make sure that we can protect our force, protect the people that were trying to move onto the airport and protect their movements out of kabul as well as protect the entire operation at the air force. You heard the secretary the need to defend the airport. Something we are looking at hour by hour. British paratroopers are leaving the airport going into kabul to rescue and evacuate some of their citizens who are trapped, cant get to the airport because of the taliban. Why isnt the u. S. Doing that . At this time our main mission continues to be to secure the airport to allow those american citizens and other sivs to come and be processed at the airfield. How are you fueling your planes, the c17s Going Out. Are you in a position you have to buy fuel from the taliban . The assets on the airfield are what we need to maintain the operations, all operations to support the mission. Thats a no, you arent buying fuel from the taliban . There is plenty of Fuel Sustainment Capability at the airport and as you know, jen, to fuel our aircraft as needed. Im still unclear about the f18s. Why do you have armed f18s . Explain more about what overwatch means and what exactly theyre doing and providing. I will let The General talk to that. The ability to provide close Air Support is something that needs to be immediate if the condition on the ground ever required that. As prudent military operations, we insure there are always assets available so that the commander, if required, can insure the time and space of reaction is as little as possible. So prepare if you need to do Air Strikes and go over kabul there to insure they can support the commander on the ground. 7,000 people taken out since the 14th and you are hoping to increase that 12,000 total out since The End of july. How many more do you anticipate having to move . So as i said the Military Capacity continues to be 5,000 to 9,000 a day and were ready to do that. As mr. Kirby said, our increased interactions with department of state will allow that to as youve seen the ability to increase more flights a day. Can i ask you is there any update to any efforts or talks with the taliban allowing afghans the get through the checkpoints and get to the airport safely . No update. You heard the Secretary Talk about this yesterday. Were in communication obviously with the local Taliban Commander about making sure that those atrisk afghans, special Immigrant Visa Applicants and additional afghan citizens that we want to move through are able to move through and it comes down a lot to the credentialing and making sure they can prove and we can prove these are appropriate people to move through and we have indications this morning that that process is working. Im still confused by the f18s as well. First of all, this is the first time i recall you telling us about overwatch flights since u. S. Troops arrived. Are these the first armed flights over kabul since u. S. Troops arrived . No. Barb, what you have to remember is before we began noncombat evacuation operation, we had been in the midst of drawing down our forces. Im asking specifically since operations with u. S. Forces began at the airport. Since they began at the airport, were these the first armed overwatch overkabul. They are not. You say close Air Support. But to be clear, what you are saying is you are prepared now to conduct Air Strikes over kabul barbara, i wont talk about potential future operations. I do think its important to level set here. Even throughout the drawdown we had overwatch capabilities. Throughout the drawdown we had overwatch capabilities. So the fact that we are flying overwatch missions now and have been since the 14th we were doing it before the 14th, as you would think we would. To my previous answer, Force Protection is a high priority and we are going to have at our disposal all the assets and resources necessary to make sure we can accomplish this mission safely and efficiently just like we were accomplishing the previous mission of drawdown safely and efficiently. This is a continuum, not something new. The reason we decided to talk about it today and i dont think you will expect to see us talk about it every day. We thought it was important to talk about it today that there was reporting we were flying low passes over the city or shows of force. Thats not what this is. It is the prudent and responsible thing to do with Force Protection. On your discussions with the taliban now that the potential is in public for staying, does the u. S. Military Defense Department feel it would at least need taliban acquiescence if you were to stay beyond the 15th . Do you want if not tlair agreement at least their acquiescence to stay . It is a fundamental fact of the reality of where we are that communications and a certain measure of agreement with the taliban on what we are trying to accomplish has to continue to occur. Again im not going to speculate past August 31st. I havent gotten to anybody on the phone. Thanks for doing this, john. Can you just briefly update us on the policy of nationals who are trying to get into the airport for evacuations by other countries . Mentioned what the brits were doing and the dutch plane that left without any afghan nationals. How exactly is that process being done and how are the u. S. Troops helping with that process . And then one other question quickly if i may. There has been reports of Resistance Outside and possibly other places. Is the u. S. Doing anything to support the afghan forces trying to push back . On your first question, we obviously you heard the Secretary Talk about this yesterday willing to support the movement safe movement of citizens of our allies and partners. In fact we have already done that and some of the numbers The General briefed that got out of the country were obviously citizens of other countries, allies and partners. We are doing that and will continue to do that. As for the exact process, im afraid im not qualified to speak to that. That is a better question put to State Department colleagues in terms of how it works from a process perspective. Were in full support of that. But again our main mission at the airport is security, safe operation of the airfield and continuing to get people out. On your second question, Weve Seen Reports of the same as you, of potential pockets of resistance but i would just again stress our Military Mission in afghanistan right now is to conduct this noncombatant evacuation in a safe and orderly way and thats what were doing. You mentioned the Phone Call between the Secretary Today and his Bahrain Counterpart and he will meet the Qatar Defense Minister later today. Can you talk about the role these Gulf Nations In General are playing in helping this operation and are they putting assets in this operation to evacuate some of the afghan or u. S. Citizens . Those Nation States will speak for themselves and well have a readout of both conversations later today. I dont want to get ahead of that. But obviously both countries are key partners in the region. As you know bahrain hosts the u. S. Fifth Fleet Headquarters and is a key partner, maritime partner in the Gulf Region and qatar as well. In many different ways. Were always interested in having good conversations with these key partners in the region but i dont think im going to speak to specifics with respect to afghanistan. I will let those Nation States speak for themselves. Thank you so much. Question is this any behavior by the taliban towards u. S. Citizens or afghan trying to reach the airport. Has any red lines been communicated to the taliban . Weve made it very clear to the taliban any attack upon our people and our operations at the airport will be met with forceful response. There has been as The General noted in his opening statement, there has been no hostile interactions between the taliban and our forces or american citizens getting through. Weve seen reports of the taliban harassing and physically so some afghans that were trying to move to the airport. We are in constant communication with them to make sure that they have the same visibility on the people that we want to see get through as we do and some of that has to do with a common Sight Picture on the credentialing. What about americans outside the airport . We havent seen any hostile interactions between the taliban and our people and we havent seen them impede or harass or obstruct the movement of american citizens from the environs into the airport. I will say we want to see that continue. Two things. General taylor, discuss the nonamerican flights going in and out of the airport. How many people have been evacuated and what countries are still seeking to take people out . I have a followup on the taliban. So what i will say is that when we talk about all flights going in and out of Kabul Airport, are being synchronized and worked through centcom. That coordination is being done. When i talk as the numbers, we are starting to include those numbers of everybody that is leaving from other countries. I dont have the details right now of which countries left within the last 24, but all of those type of flights, anything coming in and out of Kabul Airport is being coordinated through the controlling piece there with centcom. Can we get any details and who later . I have a followup on the taliban. Is there anything the taliban in this cooperation, is there anything they arent doing . Is there anything the u. S. Is not happy with in terms of how they are involved in the airport operations . And have they asked or demanded access to the airport . I dont know requests or interest by Taliban Commanders to access the airport now. It is our understanding that they understand why were there and what were doing. And again as the secretary said weve been able to have that kind of communication with them. I wont detail every conversation that were having with the taliban. Again, i think its important to let the results speak for themselves and as you and i are talking here today, we have an understanding and they are helping to facilitate Safe Passage for those that were trying to get into the airport. I will leave it at that. Let me go back to the phones again. Paul, u. S. News. Hi, john. Has u. S. Confidence and the ability to carry out Counter Terrorism strikes in afghanistan now or in the future changed at all since the fall of kabul given the coordination between the Taliban And Pakistan with airspace that the u. S. Needs to access . No, short answer to question, paul, is no. We still maintain robust Counter Terrorism capability in the region and we will still have the Authority And Capability to use that Counter Terrorism capability should we need it. Verify the Evacuation Capacity has reached the 5,000 to 9,000 goal and i wanted to ask whether the limiting factor is the State Departments afwoilt process people or the ability of people to physically get inside the airport as we understand they are lined up outside . Lets talk first about the movement, the Air Capacity is set. As i briefed a couple times before that ability to air move up to 5,000 to 9,000 a day has been set and continues. As i think youve seen in the Report Today of the increased numbers, we continue to see the ability to build those ready to fly on Kabul Airport to increase to allow us to fly those out. With the ability to continue obviously as mr. Kirby said. We want that to continue to increase as we continue to bring more people, more american citizens onto the airfield and siv