Checkpoints, and now u. S. Embassy as alert say the gates may open or closed without notice in that americans should use their best judgment when traveling emphasizing the u. S. Government cannot ensure Safe Passage. We have Team Box Coverage retired fourstar general Jack Keane. We begin with Jennifer Griffin Life at the pentagon with the latest ahead of the president. We have just received news that an american commander has just ordered plates resumed Fro Kabul after a nine hour pause. Fox news has also confirmed the u. S. Military does not have permission to leave the airport in carry out Rescue Operations even though british and french paratroopers are doing so great no american transport planes ha taken off in the past nine hour due to a logistical bottleneck Red Foxes learn the u. S. Military does not have permission from the White House to play people directly to the u. S. Despite preparations being made at three american bases. Many of the afghans who have been flown out, about 6,000 in the past 24 hours, are not as i holders, but fall under Refugee Status which complicates bringing them directly to the u. S. Some evacuees are being taken t ramps being air based in germany. These logistical issues are slowing the pipeline of flights out of kabul. Earlier today we heard from the Air Force C17 Flight Crew who bravely evacuated more than 800 afghans on board. 823 to be exact. Not 640 as previously reported. This iconic photo was first published by defense one. Fox news spoke with the airman first class, the Load Master in the Lieutenant Colonel who flew the plane. They said there was no time to worry about seatbelts. We saw what needed to be don in deliver hope in freedom. We knew what to do with the crewmembers i had we had the most trust in them to get it done in to make sure we could get them to Safe Passage. Our colleagues at Fox Digita interviewed a female journalist as she was attempting to flee the taliban with sounds of gunfire in the background. Her mother told her to go straight to the airport. The taliban will kill you because you are a Journalist Yo have been working on tv in thes 20 years, we have [indiscernible] they didnt sin there. The State Department says they cant ensure Safe Passage of americans to the Kabul Airport, in the Defense Secretary said it would require more than the 6,000 troops securing the airport to safely enter kabul with the taliban no controlling the safety. Officials privately told me the dont want a repeat of mogadish and black hawk down. We will check back in shortly. General, thank you so much for joining us. You penned piece coauthored with leslie graham, and in a portion of it, you very specifically lay out a Plan Tha Joe Biden could lay out for the american people a short time from now. How to contain the taliban. You said we cannot afford another disorderly exit while w have a chance to do right by those who risked their lives in their families lives fighting our common enemies. We should be willing to apply the full force of the u. S. Military to this cause. Anything less would be dishonorable. Do you believe on what we will hear moments from now, will he show that will end the priority to get these americans out. I certainly hope so great i think the mission that should have been assigned to the Department Of Defense for the department of state, vetting th process is get all of our citizens out, get our afghan partners out, make sure that we have literally cleaned the deck there, in take the time thats necessary to do that and Mister Secretary of defense, you have all available forces to accomplish that in stay there until that job is done in tell the taliban what were up too. Were going to stay here until we get our people out. That should incentivize them, because they want us out of there. It should incentivize them to help them remove some of the obstacles that the taliban are causing great hope we see that resolved today. And we dont see this continued policy, we are there to defend the airport, thats our mission. Know, the mission is to get our people out there that is the mission. We can use military forces outside the gates to do that. In addition to the french in Th Brits that you were mentioning, that jennifer mentioned, they are doing much the same thing that with all military people, but some people from the embass going out and getting other people in bringing them through the gate to be processed. This is about resolve in commitment to begin the question. It is our determination to Cake Care of our own in Take Care of our afghan partners brett. If you were drawing up this design, would you retake the airbase so you would have some assurance policy, some way to maybe defend the americans to g out into the country. If you send u. S. Troops intO Afghanistan, what is the proces there . I dont want to secondguess that military guys because they have much more fidelity on the intelligence. Yes, you facilitate the noncombatant evacuation operation, bog from airfield should have been retaken. We shouldve put forces there. Let the commercial traffic by fly out of kabul. Yes, more forces to be sure because we wouldve had to secure them Kabul Airport as well. We have plenty of forces. The mission is to get our peopl out safely. Amen. As i mentioned, you coauthored that piece with Senator Lindsey Graham this morning for eight here he is, stating the consequences if we do not act i get those americans out. Listen to this. If he does not get every american citizen out, if he get those who fought bravely along our side, the afghans out, hes has a dereliction of duty. Any literary member would be courtmartialed from leaving Ou People behind great i think it commanderinchief lucite to every american citizen in owes it to the afghans who fought along our side to get them outbred. This White House has been largely silent. Its been days since we had President Biden address the crisis. You have kamala harris, the Las Person in the room with the president , when he made this decision for a full withdrawal, we havent heard from her. Women are being brutally treate in some of them killed over there. I just wonder, what with the consequences be or should there be for the administration, for the military leaders, if Joe Biden does not stand up for the american people in make that commitment to get those americans out moments from now . I think what theyre going T Talk about likely is the succes that they have had so far and they should be commended for that. I believe the numbers that fox is reporting, some were in excess of 12,000 have been evacuated. Obviously, this is a chaotic situation. Having done that and brought th troops into do that is commendable. But weve got a lot to go here. Tens of thousands, and that is just a small portion of what i understand, 60,000 plus that have to be evacuated. Certainly having a date certain for our withdrawal is not critical anymore. The only critical thing is getting our people out and if i goes beyond the 31st, that is certainly an appropriate goal, but if it goes beyond the 31st, so be it for eight. You talk about that date specific in the taliban spokesperson have said theyre not going to do anything as far as supporting a government In Afghanistan until that August 31st date. Is the taliban in some essence making this a deadline for the united states . Certainly, they want the united states to adhere to that deadline, but they also know whats going on here. They also understand that the united states as well as our allies are going to do everything they can to get the people out of your. They are causing part of the problem. I wouldve finger in their ches in say you are the guys that ar slowing us down here. You have the goons in the stree stopping these people from getting to the airport where it what you should be doing is facilitating them getting to Th Airport you are causing the problem in were going to stay until we finish it. In want to play this video Sent In from an american stranded In Afghanistan. You can see theres a lot of people here. This is where we should deserve after serving for a while. We are bleeding. Bleeding all over. Just really brings you to th reality of the situation that i playing out on the grounds there. To the point also about the people that cant even get to kabul. If you think about how big this country is and how far some of these people will have to trave to try to flee. That incident they are, and just got off the phone before this with someone who has been trying to facilitate 30 afghan partners of ours, theyre fully documented in terms to get out of the country in they need to attempts to get to that airport. 30 people. In they got turned back twice when they got to the people tha are outside the airport in also the taliban that our right there. That problem i think, endlessly get outside the airport itself, and those 30 people, we could tell them where to go into pick them up a Pickup Hub that we have secured, you can do multiple of those. You can establish there is plenty of ways to get out this problem in certainly our military doesnt like the imagination when it comes to something like that. The second thing is you mentioned a Critical Point here. I have yet to hear of the administration utter a word about what are we doing about the people who cannot get to kabul because the taliban are blocking all the roads of acces to the city itself because they know full well anybody thats coming through there with documentation to get to the airport, they know what the intent is, to flee afghanistan. They are blocking all that. What is the Point Plan . You make a good point. Over the last five or six days ive heard you numerous times i its imperative we get every american out and get our afghan partners out. There is an interpreter. This is a soundbite i will play you he says he wishes he did no work for the united states. Watch. I am hiding in my parents house. Two or three times the taliban came in asked me. I have five children. They are now in threat of life. It means that if they see me, they will capture my children i kill them as well. I wish i didnt work with unite states. He feels like his children will be killed, and you can imagine there are thousands of others In Afghanistan who partnered with that united states and are now saying we feel like we have been abandoned. You can feel his pain in his desperation in you can certainl understand the despair in frustration that he is housing. He is worried about his kids, hes worried about himself, and he doesnt see a way out. That is ultimately the frustration particularly when youre trying to protect your family. He knows full well as do we. The taliban will systematically kill these people one at a time once were out of there and they have killed in the past many of their Family Members as well. They have supported their loved one working for the united states or working for the british or one of our other allies as well. I understand the panic in desperation he certainly feels. He is justified in it. General, can you give us mor of an inside look at how right now the White House would be in communication with the taliban, what that line exactly is, because this is a Trapped Afgha officials speaking on the taliban in claims that they are asking peacefully. This person says that is all just for show. Watch. It is just for their show up. Since there was kind of an agreement that they would leave afghan peacefully, but they are just trying to international media in international people, we dont harm anyone. They have killed many people an even now. If you go back to Joe Biden on the fourth of july, he says he does not trust that taliban, but in the image inc. Munich eight v have heard from him he talks about them communicating in the line of giving occasion we have with them. Their husband some cooperation, obviously we wouldnt have this people getting people to the airport. And, listen, the taliban are wh they are. They are marked folks. The terms that the deal they made with the taliban was outrageous. They knew full well, the only thing they wanted out of that deal is the united states to Ge Out Of Afghanistan so they coul take the place over and have full control. Yes, we will recognize Al Qaeda yes, we will talk to the afghans , yes, we will power share with the afghan government , yes will do all of these things. The only thing they insisted on was that a date certain for the united states withdraw. Once they had that, you see wha the behavior has been. All the rest of this is a facade. You cant trust them at all. Thats the simple facts of it. They have taken advantage of us in my judgment politically to some disservice to the american people. General keane, if you could stay by with us. Lets bring in Martha Mac callum. Martha, My Heart Skips A Beat because that Video Weve been showing of that baby that has been that was lifted up and given over into the hands of u. S. Forces. It gets you every time you see it. We have now from Jennifer Griffin at the pentagon, the u. S. Marine has been identified in the video who lifted that baby to safety just getting the new details of that. I can confirm this is attribute to a Uniform Servicemember was marine witharine expeditionary unit. The baby seen in the video was taken to a medical Treatment Facility on site in cared for b medical professionals. Arthur, God Bless that marine. God bless him is right right when you see the moment the bab is going to be in safe hands. You think about the moment that mother or a Family Member passe off a child because the only thing they can help them or perhaps keep them alive is to give them away. I just want everyone to think about that just for a moment here because just picture your own children. Imagine the only recourse you had was to pass them to a stranger. That stranger is from the unite states. We know that this baby will be taking care of. We pray this family will be reunited bared the other thing want to say about that as i think about the Reunification O families in they look at the wa that this ministration has handled the southern border. They claim they are doing what is compassionate, that theyre not separating these families. And thats one argument to be made too. These families are being separated now. They have Family Members who fought alongside us for the common goal of national securit in protection of the country is the Number One mission of the president of the nine states of america. Now you have people they gave everything in risked everything in order to do that with us. I understand there is a movemen to get out of afghanistan. Lets do it properly. Lets treat the people who helped us properly and lets show the rest of the world that we can do this. It is shameful to see these other countries pulling off Som Rescue missions outside of the gates of the airport, and we ar not. I can only imagine what the individuals who are in our Special Forces are thinking right now. They want to be Sent In, they want to be able to carry out th same sort of tasks, and they need to have those directives from the top. Er about to hear from the president. To get want to point out that Semper Fi was the last thing that Tag Lane said when they said that it was the baby was pulled away two medical authorities. He is not worried about her, hes worried about his five kids. Hes got five children, you would think that there is a lot of people In Afghanistan right now that if they saw marines there, they would hand theyre children to these marines and then go back in take their own tenses. That is the atmosphere we are talking about. When The General says again and again, we cant leave these americans behind, and we cannot leave our afghan partners behind , that could take months, but apparently he believes. A lot of people have been filling out the paperwork for quite some time. That is the other question here. The Question Isnt get out or stay in. But as a strategic question of course there the question is ho are we handling this, and what is the rest of the world. I think about President Biden a the g7 saying i was greeted Wit Open Arms by thE Leaders of the uk, france, and germany because theyre so glad that the united states is back, that we are bac to the table, that we are back to talking to our allies in all of that. I think there were no Phone Calls officially. There was some Phone Tag going on with Boris Johnson In London because he wanted to know what the heck was going on. So the lack of Coordination Wit our partners. Actions speak much louder than words read weve heard a lot of words about unity in bringing the Country Together and about being unified on the World Stag with our allies. These are our allies. These people are our allies In Afghanistan. And also, this is just, these are facts, this is the way it happens. We look at Joe Bidens past, an we know that he has shied away from similar circumstances. With the south vietnamese, ther are accounts and that he did no want to worry about getting those partners out then. He really felt it was an americ first moment in that he wasnt worried about getting our partners out in south vietnam and We Saw what happened with the collapse they are. There is also the moment of the Bin Laden raid in the president the decision that was made President Obama decided to be brave in bold in a very difficult moment, thats what leaders do. You wonder what President Biden is thinking now. Perhaps hes about to walk out there in announce that we are going to conduct a mission that were going to walk down other areas. Were going to go outside the airport in make sure we get people home and do the right thing by them. I would also say with Work Guar to what General Keane says, he going to say what a great job theyre doing, and your going t hear that the temporary Pause W sought up for eight hours of nobody getting out was because theres a backlog in copper which is the only country helping us get people out. Other we have asked other countries to be helpful. The putin story, apparently he shut down the option. So they are in a tough position at the Airport Spread we hope things will turn around and all these people are going to get out safely. As americans we all hope we get our arms around this and quickl improve that we can perform in execute this in a way that reflects the values in what we expect it. In work with the international community in our allies. And with some detailed strategies. Right if theres one thing i get when i talk about this, it one thing with afghanistan, it is complicated. When you talk about solutions, when you talk about resolving this chaos in this mess, but there has been such awkward messaging coming from the military leaders, coming from the White House, coming from th pentagon, from our national Security Advisor, that has been unnecessarily complicated. Why cant they get the messagin straight as we fight this chaos . I think just on the human level, you can look at the folk standing at the podium in even at the military leadership the other day, and they appeared to be a Bit Setback by all of this. I think they have all admitted that these cities in especially kabul fell a lot faster than they thought, and we understand that sometimes things play out in a way that No One anticipates. We were also told there were Contingency Plans if Indeed Tha happened. We also know now that back in july according to the State Department there were a lot of warnings that kabul could fall quicker than anyone was anticipating great you want to seE Leadership from the top, yo want to see confidence in the way this is carried out, you want to see our great military performing the duties they have trained to do and as the genera has said, they can pull off these missions outside of the airport in get people out and register pickup points, obviously there is risk involve in that. There is risk involved in that and if thats the way they go, we pray in hope that it goes smoothly. But it is the kind of mission that we do expect to see here h touts. We know that is the type of mission that a lot of these Teams Train for a. We anticipate the president will come out any minute in speak. Want to rewind the clock. As a last monday morning, the only thing that was on presiden Biden Schedule was the daily briefing. Certainly he came out later in the day in speak, but it makes you wonder if he is reacting instead of being proactive. Is he reacting to the pressure . Is coming out today to speak, but theres this idea that instead of going forward in saying we are taking the american people through the stepbystep, kind of Waiting T see what the pressure is. I think it will be interesting to see the President S tone here. We saw his tone with george Stephanopoulos Yesterday Mornin in he seems to feel like this i going pretty much as expected. We knew that it would be chaotic. Chaos is inevitable in Pulling Out, and that may be true to a certain extent. But there is a lot here in term of Bagram Air base in perhaps getting people out in a somewha under the Radar Way over the course of the last four, five, six weeks, what couldve been done there. It seems overall the tone He Ha Chosen so far is to say look, this is what the american peopl want. They want to leave afghanistan, i promised them i would. The chaos were seeing is inevitable in were going to ge through this and they hope to move on. They hope to talk about something else. I think theyd rather Talk Abou Covid at this point. A big story in when they would rather focus on at the moment i seems. Martha maccallum, thank you. You are going to stand by with us. Fox News Contributor Karl rove. Carl, good to see you. I think about the scenario in this whole Thing Enzyme sure yo do as well. Eve covered aviation for this number for a lot of years in they always tell you in a Plane Crash its not one thing, its series of Events That leads to these things. You look at whats happening on the ground in kabul, and you think while they underestimated the taliban, yes, the taliban, but thats not the main thing. This was a series of Events Tha led to what we are seeing all week long. Absolutely. The early pullouts of bagram heard the thing keeping the taliban intact was american airpower in afghan he ground power. We took away a big part of that equation. Why should we be surprised that they begin to bring rapidly to take over provincial capitals i move on kabul, when we remove the thing that was keeping them in check. In then the haphazard approach to identifying who was going to be moved out very was amazing. Yesterday, the department of Defense Couldnt even estimate number of americans that are ye to be removed. From top to bottom, this has been a terrible debacle. The failure of the resident to consult with allies. All the people at those allies, they are wondering in the foreign committees relations. It is a Movie Statement of what a debacle this is and what america has let the afghan people down our values down and our allies down part. Bidens saigon has become aydins tehran. The cover worse than 79, up to 80,000 held hostage by taliban checkpoints talking about those Brewing Hostage Crisis worse th 1979 iran. Fair comparison . And some extent, it has. We are going to have lots of Ou Friends in allies who are going to be left behind. I have a friend in austin who was deeply involved In Afghanistan and sent me a message. His afghan interpreter was take by the taliban, killed, his arm were cut off, in front of his family, his family was slaughtered, the only remaining member of the family is a ten yearold girl turned over to the taliban. Fetzer facing in this country i that is how relieving these men in women who stood with the united states for the last 20 years to remove afghanistan as Safe Haven for terrorists. 6570 percent of the population is under the age of 25. Those people only know a countr in which women had equal opportunity. Education was available a form of democracy was taking root. And they fought for its. And they with the combat with the taliban. The are leaving the Country To the tender mercies of the taliban. I just quickly want to note, 28 minutes almost 29 minutes past the hour in the president was supposed to speak at the to of the hour. Are you surprised that hes late . He was late on monday, but that was because of coming from camp david, it was 45 minutes late, does this surprise you at all o as this standard around the White House . Its a little surprising. The last minute disagreements are about his remarks at the last minutes attempts to brief him on points, theres discussions about things that are going to come up very this is an indication that theres a little bit of controversy going on. Carl, the messaging on all o this great its been where is Joe Biden. Remember, the first time that h addressed the nation as afghanistan, kabul in particula fell to the taliban, he was vacationing at camp david. He then flew back to washington delivered an interest. He went back to camp david, we have not heard from him sense other than the George Stepan Stepanov Fliss interviewed a couple of days ago where he sai some kind of Headline Grabbing things. You expect them to take Questions Today . He should take questions. Messaging has been wrong on thi from The Beginning. When he first said were going to withdraw, he said will withdraw by September 11th is i that was a good thing. Even his people around Him Said Mister President , we need to change the date it should not have the symbolic End Date of september 11. So the messaging has been operate from The Beginning and very reactive. I think part of it was his predecessor, President Trunk when President Biden announced withdraw, his Principal Criticism was you werent movin fast enough. I think they reacted in part to that. The messaging has been terrible all along. The President S people out on Sunday Morning talks were dreadful. Seeing things that were clearly not in touch with reality in as you say, the president George Stepanov fliss with a Jawdropping Affair with misstatement after Misstatement Exaggeration after exaggeration. He has said that he accept responsibility, but he seems to spend most of his time blaming everybody else, his predecessor the afghan people, the afghan military. The american people for not being willing to stay. If he had said were going to stay in make a case for the american people are supported just like the american people support the longest undeclared untainted war in korea where we still have American Troops in i europe where we still have American Troops, the american people wouldve supported a continued mission in afghanista particularly since our last casualty was 18 months ago in the american mission was generally here. Intelligence in training. What about the Vice President . Kamala harris has bragged previously about playing a key role in the President S decisio on afghanistan. If she was proud then, should she carry some of the burden no in Hold Press conferences . She has been an office now for 200 plus days in hasnt held a formal Press Conference yet. She has been missing in action on the couple of issues that he has given her deliberately, immigration being foremost. Look, the Vice President needs to support the President S message, not replace the President S message, so until w hear lots more from the president its probably inappropriate to expect much ou of the Vice President. Her Job Isnt to lay out the message. Thats the job the president in hes only now getting into that and not very effectively. I know you will stand by as the afternoon continues our coverage of this continues as w await the president we are now 32 minutes past when he said he would be speaking. If its anything to go on the first time he spoke on afghanistan he was about 40 or 45 minutes late, so we end has patent shortly. Thank you. General, it stands out to me when you talk about the afghan sphere in this moment, and how heightened it is. If we are going to havE Leaders take back this situation operationally on the ground there, taking away that fear would be key. How do we do that . What is the Strategy Need to be . The fear that all just described was very graphic. Anybody listening to that has T Internalize what that really means when they not only killed the principal, but killed the entire family. This is the barbarians that we are dealing with. These are some of the worst people on the planet, and now weve turned over our Country T them, and they are advertising it, the only way that makes sen out there in the Jihadist World is we just surrender the united states to the fanatical taliban organization who will Absolutel Provide Refuge for Al Qaeda and for other Terrorist Organizations. The currency of the taliban has gone up so dramatically that We Saw that happen when isis established the caliphate. That the Jihadist Movement in terms of recruiting in financin is going to be enhanced regardless of where they are. Finally, a Superpower Power was defeated by a radical organization in the superpower was at the united states. The second thing theyre going to want to come tO Afghanistan. International terrorists are going to want to be there and B Close to the taliban because they are the premier Radical Islamic organization in the world. The epicenter for terrorism despite the taliban protestations that theyre not going to do that. I hope that today, we see from the president , some assurances of his commitment to end this chaos that we are seeing in Get Everybody out of your. I believe in my own mind that this is one of the worst Foreig Policy decisions in disaster ive ever experienced in my lifetime in the consequences ar not going to be felt just four weeks in months, but for years. The damage to the united states in the world at large is significant in it cannot be underestimated or minimized. This brings into question the credibility of the united state as a global leader in as a Mora Leader in the world. They look to us for the conviction in the strength of our values. That is part of the currency that the united states is has hope the world so much Post World War ii. You are absolutely right. When martha was bringing up tha the President Said america is back, back on the World Stage, and now our closest allies in europe are questioning our judgment, our wisdom in making this decision. In in essence encouraging this Catastrophe Unfolding in front of our eyes. Its a sad thing to say in we was after two with it for years to come. Lets bring in rich edson, h is why first from the State Department. Were looking at diplomats i the united states and kabul warning the Secretary Of State last month about the deteriorating in worsening situation In Afghanistan. This is on top of other intelligence reports, public reports as Well Warning of a rapid taliban advance. A source familiar with our cabl said the secretary immediately saw the cable in approved the response which was an ongoing effort to bring afghans to the united states while they waited for the government to improve their visas. The ministration argues that memo noted that afghanistan could fall after the u. S. Left on August 31st, not this early. Contacts in kabul tell us it is still a chaotic scene at the airport. The State Department has told americans to get to the airport but warns that the u. S. Cannot ensure their safety on that trip. In then advises quote please us her best judgment. They also say gates at the airport can close without notic in that it is possible people could get through the taliban checkpoints in they gate if the cant, then all of this is moot. Then there are tens of thousand of afghans who worked with the united states over the past two decades. We spoke to a former interprete that says hes trying to get hi family to cobble. If they can get there, try to get through to the airport. Weve obscured his face here to protect his identity. At now we In Afghanistan. I am hiding in my friends house. Two or three times the taliban came in asked me outside my door. I wish i didnt work with the united states. To process all of these claims, if people can get to Th Airport, the State Department says it is urging what he calls consular staff to process all o this. We know yesterday there were about 20 of those officials working at the airport. Its unclear how many more are going to be there over the course of the next few days. Adam boler has twice travele to the united states to the Middle East to meet with the taliban. Adam, it is great to have you o the show in you have some great insight for is here. Im fascinated because you say youve generally found what you were talking in Negotiating Wit the taliban that they tend to d what they say, and yet they say that they are going to be a different or peaceful taliban and some of the things weve seen on the ground do not drive drive with that. Great. I think the key when youre Negotiating With a Terrorist Group like the taliban, diplomacy alone doesnt work grade you need to have the forc behind it. The big difference now versus before when we were negotiating is that we had that force. People knew that we took out Th Number two guy in iran. The taliban knew that, so the key to Negotiating With a Terrorist Group like this is to have that carried in the stick. You need both, and thats what im worried about right now for an Execution Perspective is we are out, we are Pulling Out, that doesnt give you leverage to have real discussion. Adam, i believe we have pictures to show our Audience O View with members of the taliban. You have a firsthand look at what it is like to speak with them, to interact with them. You have watch the coverage for days,. It is hard to watch like every american, its hard to watch. We as the united states have a commitment to americans and we have a commitment to those that help us. What i would say, my partisan view here is our time being In Afghanistan couldnt extend another 20 years, its in the execution that there is an issue. I would say that in terms of negotiating or discussions with the taliban, on one side, they are a disciplined group, its regimented, and you can have discussions for the other side, its a very tribal organization. During some of the discussions, one of the guides that had a larger beard was i dont think sniffing or eating his beard during the time pair there was another guy that was picking hi nose in putting it on his hand like that grade you can pretty much tell when somebody is picking their nose even when they go like that great its a militant group, but its a tribal group the. In this region, tribal groups respond to diplomacy when there is as strong hand too. You need both in order to make an impact. I found, and, there was a possibility of that discussion, but only if you have the strength behind it. In want to play the soundbites. He is talking about they claime that they are now peaceful. He says its all for show. Over 2300 american soldiers sacrificed their lives In Afghanistan, we also had over 1100 soldiers who were nato allies. Britons, canadians, germans, french, all of those people the came to her defense after 9 11 and they participated in a war In Afghanistan, their worst sacrifices made all around, and yet they were the. That was the wrong soundbite but the point im trying to get to is there a disconnect . You talked about how thE Leader of the taliban, they are seekin legitimacy. Is there a disconnect between thE Leaders in the militants in the field who might be doing harm to people and as there a way for thE Leaders to control those who might be out and abou In Afghanistan doing wrong. I think the disconnect is we are the united states of america. We are a strong nation, we are strong internationally. We have a lot of strength when we leave, we dont leave with our tail between her legs. We leave from a position of strength. On our terms. And so the taliban, again, its a tribal area. They are a militant organization , a terrorist organization, they respond to strength. So first and foremost, you can have real discussions in expect a Terrorist Militant Group to engage in to do what they say i there is nothing to ensure accountability. We need to ensure accountability. They need to know that we have the strength in the Willpower T follow through. They are armed to the teeth now with u. S. Weaponry and sniper rifles. Humvees, helicopters. Make no mistake, we are america, so if we want to be there and we want to be strong, then we can be. The key is, were not going to stare down the taliban and link. We are the u. S. A. We are remembering our strength in our ability. We cant leave like this. We cannot leave people that supported us behind. You are talking about the strength, the ability, the capability, which we know our military has come up but as Thi White White House, moments from know now going to show the will . Thats exec we correct which is what is the difference. They were planning attacks on u. S. And u. S. Bases, that is what we needed to do. The taliban, the region saw that , the entire region saw that , so when we are discussing with them and when we are negotiating, we know Theres Muscle in willpower behind that. We still have that muscle of course, we are the united states. The question is is the willpowe they are in our elite you leaving on your terms with strengths, or are you leaving with your tail between your leg straight its never too late fo us, but its time to say listen there was an Execution Failure here. Fine, lets rectify that failur now and lets show our strength. If you were negotiating that she would tell the taliban were going to go in in were going t get every american Out And Wer going to get everyone of our afghan partners out, and thats the way its going to be. If he goes a month past the deadline, then so be it. In God Help you if you stand in our way. Got it. Adam, thank you for joining us. Of course. We have Fox Team Coverage continuing as we await Presiden Biden at the White House a second time addressing the nation. Lets get back to the national correspondent Jennifer Griffin, she is live at the Pentagon Wer we just got confirmation of Tha Marine who is a hero, handed over that baby safely into our u. S. Forces hands, and now are getting an update on that baby. Sandra, a little bit of good news in a place that doesnt have very much good news right now. As you said, we had identified the marine from the Marine Expeditionary Unit you have lifted that baby to safety from the crowd outside the airport. We have just learned that the baby has been reunited with his father, so they are both safe a this time. That according to a statement from the u. S. Marines that we received just moments ago. Again, the scenes outside that Kabul Airport, very disturbing in the State Department telling americans that it is still too dangerous to come to the airport. They come at their own risk. I can report that u. S. Commanders say that flights hav resumed out of kabul just moments ago. Those flights had been stopped for the last eight hours, for about an eight hour pause, and that was due to a bottleneck i told in qatar and where the u. S military was having to fly thos 5700 afghans who they have airlifted out 24 hours prior to that. That bottleneck beginning to th resolve, and i understand that some of those Air Force planes will be able to land in germany but there is a problem because there is not permission, political permission from the White House in others for the u. S. Military to bring afghan refugees, and many of the peopl on these lights are refugees, theyre not special immigrant visa holders, they arent american citizens, but bringing the refugees to the three american bases that have been identified here in the united states for some of the processing that will be needed for the afghans fleeing afghanistan. At political permission has not been given. Right now, people are scramblin to try to find other countries who will take some of these afghans and allow military flights to aunt land. A lot of those are putting in pretty strict caveats about where they can stay and of course many of them have. We got the Twominute Warnin from the White House. I quickly wanted to ask you, theres nobody better to talk about this then you. You have covered this at the pentagon for the 20 years weve been there. Before their we were based in the Middle East. Have you ever seen in your career, anything handled the wa that this as been handled so far . I must say i havent. Ive been going tO Afghanistan since 1993 so even before the taliban were formed, i lived i islam a bad pakistan. I never thought i would see the day that the u. S. Would not learn from mistakes of the past of what happens with you create a vacuum in the Middle East. When you pull out forces overnight which is what we did, Setting Deadlines arbitrarily ending what shouldnt have been described as a war, but a Listening Post that the u. S. Ha set up two keep Paris At Bay In to keep the taliban from taking over the government. We now have another failed stat that we will history repeats itself. With isaiah in the 90s when the u. S. Tried to disengage frO Afghanistan after the soviets pulled out, the people we had armed became Al Qaeda. They were the ones that backed up on 9 11. Now fastforward you have a taliban armed with hundreds of thousands of small arms and advanced weaponry that the u. S. Military left behind for the afghan national national army, and now who knows what where they will be in a few years, bu give the president in the Vice President have just walked out. Good afternoon. I have just met with the Vice President , secretary lincoln, secretary austin, Security Advisor sullivan, members of Th National Security leadership team, the Situation Room to discuss our ongoing efforts to evacuate american citizens. Third country civilians, afghan allies, in vulnerable afghans. Want to provide the american people with a Brief Update on the situation In Afghanistan. Since i spoke to you on monday, we have made significant progress. Weve secured the airport. Enabling flights to resume. Not just military flights, but civilian charters from other countries and ngos taking out civilian in vulnerable afghan people. Now we have almost 6,000 troops on the ground including the 82n Airborne Camera providing runwa security, the army tenth Mountain Division standing guar or on the airport, the 24th Marine Expo very assisting the departure. This is one of the most difficult airlift in history by the only country in the world capable of projecting this much power on the far side of the world with this degree of precision, is united states of america. Weve already evacuated more than 18,000 people since july, and approximately 13,000 since our Military Lift began on august the 14th. Thousands more have been evacuated on private tarver flights facilitated by the u. S. Government. These numbers include american Citizens Department of resident as well as their families. It includes Sib Applicants in their families. Those afghans who have worked alongside us served alongside o us, gone into combat with us an provided infallible assistance to his such as translators in interpreters. The united states stands by its commitment that we made to thes people in includes other vulnerable afghans such as womE Leaders, in journalists. In fact, working in close Coordination With the managemen of the new york times, the Washington Post in the wall street journal, we have successfully evacuated all to hundred four of their employees In Afghanistan and u. S. Militar aircraft earlier this week. Weve established the flow of flights, and weve increased Th Number of people we are moving out of the country. We paused flights in cabell a few hours this morning to make sure we could process the arriving evacuees eat at the commander points. The military has given the orde for outbound flights to resume. Even with applause, we have moved out 5,700 Evacuees Yesterday we are working on a variety to verify that number with the american still in country as we work on this because were not knowing the exact number of americans who are there. Those who may have come home to the united states. We want to get a strong number of exactly how many people are there. How many american citizens in where they are. Just yesterday, among the many americans we evacuated, there were 169 americans who got over the wall and into the airport using military assets. Were also facilitating flights for our allies in our partners. We are working close operationa Coordination With nato on this evacuation. For example, we provided overwatch with the Rent Wrench Convoy bringing hundreds of people from the french embassy to the airport. These operations are going to continue over the coming days before we complete our drawdown. We are going to do everything, everything that we can to provide safe evacuation for our afghan allies, partners, and afghans who might be targeted because of their association with united states. Let me be clear. Any american who wants to come home, we will get you home make no mistake, this Evacuation Mission is dangerous. It involves risks to Armed Forces, it is being conducted under difficult circumstances. I cannot promise that the final outcome will be or what it will be that it will be without risk of loss. As commanderinchief, i can assure you that i will mobilize every resource necessary. As an american i offer my gratitude to the brave men in women of the u. S. Armed forces who are carrying out this mission. They are incredible great as we continue to work the logistics of evacuation, we are in constant Contact With the taliban working to ensure that civilians have date Safe Transi to the airport. We are focused on making sure every american who wants to leave can get to the Airport Area where we have been seeing challenges of americans, we hav thus far been able to Resolve Them. We have made, look, we made clear to the taliban that any attack, any attack on our Force Or Disruption of our operations at the airport will be met with swift and forceful response. Were also keeping a close watc on any potential Terrorist Threat at or around the airport including from the Isis Affiliates In Afghanistan that were released from prison when the prisoners were emptied. Because they are by the way i want to make everybody understand, that the isis In Afghanistan have been the sworn enemy of the taliban. I have said all along, we are going to retain a Laser Focus o our counterterrorism mission, working in close Coordination With our allies, and all of those who have an interest in ensuring stability in the region. Secretary lincoln is with me today and we met this morning with our nato allies in consultation about the way forward. So that afghanistan cannot be used in the future as a Terrorist Base to attack the united states or our allies. For 20 years, afghanistan is been a joint effort with our nato allies. We went in together and we are leaving together. Now we are working together to bring our people in our afghan partners to safety. In the past few days, i have also spoken directly with the british prime minister, mister johnson, Chancellor Merkel of Germany And President mccall of france. We all agree that we should convene in we will convene at the G7 Meeting next week, a group of the worlds leading democracies so that together we can coordinate our mutual approach, our united approach O Afghanistan moving forward. We are united with our closest partners to execute the mission at hand. Weve also discussed the Need T Work with the international community, to provide humanitarian assistance such as Food Aid and medical care for refugees who have crossed into neighboring countries to escape the taliban. In to bring international to Th Treatment of afghan people overall including women in girls. The past week has been heartbreaking. We have seen got ramping images of Panic People acting out of sheer desperation. It is completely understandable. They are frightened. They are sad. They are uncertain of what happens next. I dont think anyone, i dont think anyone of us can see thes pictures in not feel that pain on a human level. Now we have a mission, a missio to complete In Afghanistan. Its an incredibly dangerous operation for our military. We have almost 6,000 of americas finest fighting men i women at the Kabul Airport. They are putting their lives on the line in our Doing It in a dangerous place to save other americans, our afghan allies in citizens of our allies within. You know, i talked to our commanders on the ground there every single day as i adjusted few hours, an hour or so ago. I made it clear to them that we will get them whatever they nee to do the job. They are performing to the highest standards under extremely difficult dynamic circumstances. Our nato allies are strongly standing with us. Their troops are Keeping Sentry alongside ours in kabul as as the case whenever i deploy our troops into harms way, i take that responsibility seriously. I carry that burden every day. Just as i did when i was Vice President in my son was deploye to iraq for a year. There will be plenty of time to criticize in secondguess on th operation is over, but now, now i am focused on getting this jo done. I would ask every american to join me in praying for the wome in men risking their lives on the ground in service to our nation. As events evolve over the comin days, my team in i will continu to share the information in update the american people on exactly where things are. We will use every resource necessary to carry out the mission at hand to bring the safety, American Citizens In Ou Afghan allies. This is our focus now. When this is finished, we will complete our Military Withdrawa in finally bring to an end 20 years of American Military Action In Afghanistan. Thank you, may God Bless our troops, and our diplomats in although serving in harms way. Now i will take questions. Ap. The world expects america delete up two its promises very few promised to bring out those who helped america in its War Efforts, we have seen these images of the Kabul Airport in we are seeing people that cant get to the airport. You made the commitment to the American Troops to get the american citizens outrightly make the same commitment to those who assisted in the american War Effort are the las 20 years, Number One in the number two, what is your messag to americas partners around th world that apart criticized the conduct of that withdraw in mad them question Americas Credibility on the World Stage. I have seen no question of our credibility from our allies Around The World. I spoke with are not nato allies , in spoke with nato allies in the secretary of stat come at the national Security Adviser has been in Contact Wit his counterparts throughout the world as has the secretary of defense. The fact of the matter is, i have not seen that great as a matter of fact, the exact opposite. Acting with and committing to what we said we would do. Lets put this thing in perspective here. What interest do we have In Afghanistan at this point with Al Qaeda gone . We went tO Afghanistan for the express purpose of getting rid of Al Qaeda In Afghanistan as well as come as well as getting Osama Bin Laden in we did. Imagine, just imagine if that attack, if Bin Laden had decide with Al Qaeda to launch an attack from yemen, would there ever be any reason we were In Afghanistan . Controlled by the taliban . What is the actions of the united states in that circumstance . We went ended the mission. In nova mind my position for a long long time. It is time to end this war. The estimated cost of this war are the last 20 years range fro a minimum of 1 Trillion to Think Tank at one of the University Universe using 2 trillion, that somewhere between 150 Million a day in 300 Million a day. The threat for terrorism has metastasized. There is a greater danger from isis and Al Qaeda and all of these affiliates in other Countries By far than there is from afghanistan. We are going to retain an over the rising capability if they were to come back to be able to take them out. Surgically removed. Of this is where we should be. This is about america leading the world in all of our allies have agreed with that. By the way, before i made this decision, i was at the g7 as well as met with our nato partners in i told them all, every one of them knew in agree with the decision i made to jointly end our involvement In Afghanistan. The first part of your question was i cant remember now. Will you make the same commitment to bring out afghans who assist in the War Effort . Is, we are making the same commitment. There is No One more important than bringing american citizens out, but they are equally important almost are all of those people who in fact help us , they were translators that went into the battle with us they were part of the operation as well as were also trying to get out as many ngos, nongovernment organizations, womens organizations, Et Cetera , were doing all we can. In the meantime, the secretary in i are going to be working with our allies to see to it that we can bring international pressure on the taliban. They are looking to gain some legitimacy. There going to have to figure out how to maintain that country. That is going to be some harsh conditions, strong conditions that we are going to apply that will depend on whether they get help based on not how well they treat women in girls, how they treat theyre citizens. So this is just beginning on that score. They asked the 31st too make that happen . I think we can make it happe by then, but we will make that adjustment as we go. You just said that your lase focused on u. S. Counterterroris levels. You dont see as great of a threat from afghanistan as of the part of the worlds great i you so badly miss assess how quickly the taliban would sweep through afghanistan and we no longer have an embassy there, how can you at all be confident of your assessment of the threats of terrorism in the ability of the u. S. To conduct missions to keep it in check fo it can you tell americans that they are safe in will remain safe from terror attacks In Afghanistan . I think youre comparing apples to oranges. One question was whether or not the afghan forces we trained up would stay in fight in their Ow Civil War that they had going on. The consensus was that it was highly unlikely that after 11 days a collapse of afghanistan thE Leader of afghanistan would leave the country. Thats a very different question on whether or not ther is the ability to observe whether or not large groups of terrorists began to accumulate in a particular area In Afghanistan to plot against the united states of america. Thats why we retained an over the Horizon Capability to go in and do something about that if that occurs. In the meantime, we know its happening. We know its happening in terms of whats going on in other countries where there is a significant rise of Terrorist Organizations in the middle eas and East Africa and other places. The Bottom Line is we have to do , we are dealing with those Terrorist Threats from other parts of the world in failed states without Permanent Military Presence there. We have to do the same In Afghanistan. Sir, on the initial assessments, we have learned over the last 24 hours that there is from the State Department saying that the taliban would come faster through afghanistan. Can you say why after that cabl was issued, the u. S. Didnt do more to get America Out . There are all kinds of cables , all kinds of advice. If you notice, they range from this group saying that they didnt say it fall when it did fall, but, saying that it would fall, to others saying it wouldnt happen for a long time they would be able to sustain themselves through The End of the year. And made a decision for the buc stops with me. I took the Consensus Opinion, the Consensus Opinion was that in fact it would not occur if i occurred until later in the year. It was my decision. And my next is stephanie ramose abc. Thank you, Mister President. The military has secure the airport as you mentioned, but will use sign off on sending troops into kabul to evacuate americans that have not been able to get to the airport safely. We happened heard that theyve not been able to get. We made an agreement with the taliban and thus far they have allowed them to go through. So we know of no circumstance where american citizens are curing american passports are trying to get through to the airport. We will do whatever needs to be done to make sure they get there. Last month my colleague interviewed abdul, an interpreter who was on the fron lines with u. S. Forces In Afghanistan. Overnight, we received a photo of taliban militants coming to the door of his home, literally hunting him down. Thankfully, he was able to escape, but he is obviously still in mortal danger. What would be your message to jicama his wife, into his three young daughters. We want you to be able to ge to the airport. Contact us, we will see what we can do to get you there. We have got to get you out. We are committed to deal with you, your wife, and your children to get all three of yo out of afghanistan. That is the commitment. Meredith lee. You mentioned just now using every resource available for evacuations, why havent you ordered the military to expand the Security Perimeter around the airport . You have any plans to do so tha will likely require more u. S. Troops, and are you considering Rescue Operations to recover americans and afghan allies stuck behind taliban checkpoints . To get the last answer is Yes T the last question considering every opportunity in every mean by which we can get folks to Th Airport. That is Number One. Number two, the reason why we have not gone out and set up a Perimeter Way outside the airport in kabul, is that its likely to draw an awful lot of Unintended Consequences in term of people who in fact are not part of the taliban, weve been in constant Contact With the taliban leadership on the groun in in kabul as well as the taliban leadership in we have been coordinating what were doing. Thats we were able to example, how we got all of our Embassy Personnel out for it how we got everyone out of the embassy safely. Thats how we help to get the french out. Out of their embassy. The question remains, there wil be judgments made on the ground by the Military Commanders at the moment in i cannot psyching is each of those judgments that will be made very the idea of again, let me get back to the fundamental point i made at the outset. When the decision was made by me in it was made sometime ago. And i said i wanted to get us out of afghanistan. One of the things that is a reality, is people now say to m in to others, and many of you say it on the air, that why did we have to move because no americans were being attacked . Why didnt we withdraw those 2500 troops, no americans were being attacked. As i said before, the reason that we werent being attacked was a part of an agreement that trump had made a earlier. We will leave by May 1st as lon as theres no attack on americans. Thats Number One, number two, the taliban was taking Hard Swats at the Countryside North in south, none of the major points of the capital of each o these providences, but they wer all over the country. The idea that if i had said May 2nd or 3rd, we are not leaving, we are staying, it Doe Anybody truly believe that i would not have had to put in significantly more American Forces sending your sons in daughters, like my son was sent to a iraq, to maybe die . And for what . For what . So the only rational thing to d in my opinion was to set up and reposition American Forces for the purpose of evacuation in th aircraft, to reposition those ahead of time, so that we would be able to begin the process of evacuation of american citizens sibs, in others that helped us. The last point i will make is this. If we had decided 15 years ago to leave afghanistan, it would have been really difficult. If we decided five years ago, i we start in we continue to work for another decade in try to leave, there is no way in which he would be able to leave afghanistan without there being some of what youre seeing now. But what weve done so far is been able to get a large number of americans out, all of our personnel at the embassy out, and so on. And thank god so far, knock on wood, we are in a different position. Scott. Npr. Thank you, Mister President. I wanted to followup on something you said a moment go. You said there are no circumstances in which american Citizens Cant get to the airport, it doesnt square with the images were seeing around the airport with the reporting on the ground for my colleagues that are describing chaos in violence. Are you saying that any america that wants to get to the airpor is getting there in is getting past the Security Barrier into the plains where they want to go . He get the question was how can they get through to the airport from outside the airport. The answer is, to the best of our knowledge, the taliban checkpoints, they are leading through people showing american passports. Now, that is a different question when they get in the rush in the crowd of all of the folks just outside the wall nea the airport. That is why we had to guess it was yesterday or the day before we went over the wall and brought in how many . 169 americans. It is a process to try to figur out how we deal with the mad rush of nonamericans, those that didnt help, those who are not on the priority list, just any afghan to be able to get ou of the country. So my guess is that no matter what, no matter what circumstance, there is not a lo of afghan knees who just assume come to America Whether there was any involvement with the united states rather in the pas in stay under taliban rule. So what i was saying is that we have an agreement that they wil let pass through the checkpoint. But given this, given the negotiations. Can you explain why the Plan Wasnt to go about with the evacuations before the drawdown began, before bagram was closed because whether it was now or several months from now, there seems to be a broad consensus that the taliban would make these gains in these would be needed at some point. Yes, at some point. But the point was that although we were in Contact With the taliban, for this whole period of time, at some Point It Wasn expected to be a total Demise O the afghan national forest, which is 300 persons. Lets assume the afghan Nationa Force had continued to fight. And they were surrounding kabul it would be a very different story. A different story, but the overwhelming consensus was that this was, they were not going t collapse. The afghan forces they were not going to leave, they werent going to just abandon in put down their arms in Take Off. So thats what happened. Thank you very, very much. Why do you continue to trust the taliban, Mister President . For the first time is of the site standing at the signs sides of president Joe Biden, Joe Biden saying we will get you home, saying the past week has been heartbreaking, an american who wants to come home we will get you home. I cannot promise he said with the final outcome will be great he went on to claim that Al Qaeda is not gone from afghanistan. I have seen no question of our credibility from our allies Around The World. I have seen the exact opposite. Jennifer griffin as life right now at the pentagon. Jennifer, that is certainly not what weve seen, in fact they called the fall of Kabul Catastrophe in criticized the president for withdrawing u. S. Troops. French parliamentarian we thought america was back commit Angola Merkel is Questioning Hi motives very calling for accountability on perhaps on behalf of the united states saying the u. S. Bears the main responsibility for the current situation. We Cant Fact check it fast enough because there were so many Wrist Representations of what is happening on the ground to hear the presidenT Talk abou still having an over the rising capability. And even the taliban, that woul have required partners on the ground. What we seen in recent days is those partners on the ground have been abandoned, they are i hiding, they are fearing for their lives. They fled the country, we dont have partners, we dont have eyes in ears, the reason the u. S. Military cant leave the airport to go rescue any americans out in kabul when british and french Special Forces can do so is that they dont have any partners left, they dont have partners who ca help them safely navigate. I dont see how you can say tha with a straight face that theyre going to be over the horizon capabilities to see the Terror Threat In Afghanistan when this is all said in done. The damage done two international relations, international standing we heard as you said from international leaders Around The World that nato allies or Gob Smacked at the Senate Announcement in withdrawal of troops from afghanistan. And i remember at the time when shortly after the Biden Ministration took over and the secretary went over to tell Nat Allies that, it wasnt a discussion with allies, it was we are leaving. And that left other countries, and i remember when the italians , the french had to make quick decisions to get their people out in they were shuttin their embassies over the summer. There is still no good explanation for why the Siv Process was going so slow we. That was a State Department Run Effort that we have talked to and documented the issue for four years, and there has been slow rolling in ridiculous amounts of paperwork in 14 step only in the last 24 hours the reason you are seen 6,000 peopl be flown out on u. S. C17 plane is because they stopped asking for all the paperwork in are no flying refugees out. The reason you see a bottleneck in nine hours where u. S. C17s havent been able to Take Off from kabul in get any more afghans out of afghanistan is because there are no thirdpart countries willing to allow u. S. Flights to land. They are not being given permission by the White House t come straight to the united states. This is an alternate reality that was just presented from th White House in i just feel very very a great deal of empathy no only for the people of afghanistan, but are poor marines who have been sent back into the airport after having been pulled out unceremoniously having to lift those babies ove the wall and see the scenes of humanitarian disaster that were anticipated, there were discussions about this in the Situation Room, that this of what would happen if the u. S. Pulled out and resident biden made the decision anyway. I know youre going to standby with us for the continuing coverage. Jennifer, good stuff. We are back with retired genera Jack Keane grade you hear from Jennifer Griffin, in its amazing. She has been tO Afghanistan since 1993 covering the pentago for 20 years she lived in the Middle East for 20 years, knows the areas, knows the regions, and she said couldnt fact chec it fast enough in real time because there were so many missed statements made by the president i want to know if we have the soundbite keyed up the President Said something you might have found a little bit unbelievable where he said theres been no criticism of Ou Credibility from our allies. This is about america leading the world in our Allies Agreein with us. I have seen no question of our credibility from our allies Around The World. As spoken with our nato allies who spoke with that nato allies in the Secretary Of State, our national Security Adviser has been in Contact With his counterparts throughout the world in our allies as has The General or excuse me, i keep calling him The General, but secretary of defense. Have not seen that. Seen the opposite very we are acting in committing to what we said we would do. Essien for just laid out, al of the foreign leaders you have criticized him, does he believe this thing has run plays for praise from Around The World . This is the President Of The United States, folks. He is surrounded by people who have access to global information. There is a president ial daily briefing great its not just about intelligence its about other things happening that are impacting the united states. Certainly its very unusual feeling for our nato allies to openly criticize the President Of The United States for his actions In Afghanistan and to have that as universal criticism , and youre telling me that No One has told the President Of The United States that . That is pretty outrageous. He is standing up there and looking us in the face in telling us there is no Al Qaeda left In Afghanistan. Now that is just not factual. The fact is, even in Open Force Un reporting, the United Nation has reported that the taliban i in 15 different Provinces Insid of afghanistan. That is the reality. We have to deal with that reality. I am stunned that he still is holding to that kind of information. This over the horizon thing. We are going to track the development of international terrorism inside of afghanistan from over the horizon. Remember what has happened here we had a huge intelligence robust capability that we wante to keep in place. Its publicly disclose that we had a significant Cia Presence on the ground whose Number One task was to stay focused on the Al Qaeda, after all, its from their capability that they went on to kill Osama Bin Laden across the border in pakistan. So that is gone. How do we track in maintain eye in ears of what is happening with International Terrorists including Al Qaeda inside of afghanistan when we lost the eyes in ears of our Intel Community on the Ground Fraid W bless the eyes in ears of the afghan people and weve lost th eyes in ears of all the afghan troops that used to be out the reporting whats going on. This is wishful thinking to a fault. In to continue to use that term it gives us a false impression that we are going to be able to effectively track Al Qaeda and radical islamists and then intervene militarily as we have done over the past 20 years to keep these folks down. I am stunned by some of these comments. It makes no sense whatsoever in terms of what reality is. It appears hes living in an alternate reality. Biden did claim in his own words , Al Qaeda is now gone In Afghanistan. General keane, before he spoke you said you wanted to hear a very specific mission as to how were going to get those american home. Here is what he said on that. His promise. Listen. Let me be clear. Any american that wants to come home, we will get you home. Make no mistake, this Evacuatio Mission is dangerous. It involves risk to Armed Forces , and it must be conducted under difficult circumstances. He went on to say we still dont have an exact number of americans they are. We know the pentagon said they didnt know, we know the State Department didnt have an exact number. In Joe Biden said we wanted to get a strong number of how many americans our there. Did he show you any change in action or was this just words . The White House Things Everything went great. In the wake of how this is all unfolded, did you think perhaps there may be should have been some sort of announced change i leadership from the White House . I do take solace in the sens that he said we will mobilize all resources to accomplish thi mission. I fully agree with that. However, that does seem to be a little out of line with what Th Secretary was saying the other day when he said i dont have the resources necessary to go outside the gate in facilitate movement of people through all the taliban checkpoints. And what he was referring to there, i take it he doesnt hav the resources, but he also doesnt have permission. I dont think weve done anything to alleviate that. The president , i dont think he truly gets it that yes, america citizens, not all, but most are transiting through checkpoints with passports in hand. But most, and very few of the afghans getting through the checkpoints even though they have documentation in The End which justifies their exit from the Kabul Airport to a destination. That is what is being stopped. He is clueless that were never going to be able to accomplish the mission that he is giving himself which is to extract all of our afghan partners. I think what he saying to us is were going to do the best we can. I dont feel the same Resolve T get that done regardless of how long it takes. He should be out there saying guys, get out there in figure out what we need to do to break through these checkpoints. We will get the taliban involvement, but if they dont cooperate, i need you to get Ou People through the checkpoints in find alternate places to pic them up where they dont have t come immediately to the airport in make this a little easier on everybody. Great insight from jo your. Of Fox News team has been reading on all this, everything afghanistan, not just recently but from some of them from the very beginning of this were over 20 years ago. Those decades of experience can help us understand how the crisis is playing out in this moment. Jennifer griffin still with us, along with this is many others. Things to all of you for your coverage of this war, and now this crisis. To you first on what we heard from the president. I am scared of a couple of things for it im scared first of all as to what could happen next because were talking about several thousand potential hostages that the taliban will know how who used to get as muc as they want. This could go very bad very soon. The only thing that really scares me is just how wrong the were and how surprised they wer about the army that they built, the Afghan National Army. I remember going to a graduatio Training Class F afghan soldier in they all spun theyre diplomas around because they didnt know which letters were up. No one could read after graduation. Anyone who has been around the afghan national government soldiers know that you have to do a mission before payday because when payday comes, they all disappear in if theyre supposed to work with u. S. Troops, they might be an hour late, they might be days late great anyone who has been on Th Ground In Afghanistan knows about this force. How did he end his Rogue Schola advisors be completely fooled b this . Its a good point. Benjamin hall, to, E Listen to the residence in we talked abou this earlier when he comes out in says, listen. We believe that our allies thin in what we did a good job on this. We have the reaction from the E Leader calling a catastrophe in so on friday have a better concept of what is happening in with the feeling is around the rest of the world. Or you surprised by that statement . Absolutely devoid of reality. Couple of days ago we watched the parliament here stand up on after the other, and categorically say they would no leave afghanistan. They left in the dark for they were scrambling to keep up. The biggest question now from s many of them is what is the future of Nato Look like. A lot of them are even saying President Biden campaigned on the idea that america is back, and they are saying this is how can we possibly trust american allies that we might have to fight with in the future if thi is how theyre going to treat a freight in he said fairly clearly today, we went in as a coalition, we are leaving is a nato cablevision. That is simply not true. The same has been said across European Nations furd we heard it from the germans, the french the head of Germany Cdu Party has said this is the deathknell for nato. It is remarkable to hear Him Sa that. Frankly, its bizarre because not only does it give no solace to the allies in the left, it gives zero solace to the In Afghanistan. To the Tens Of Thousands of afghanistans many who weve spoken to in the last few days, they will still be cowering in their houses, terrified in knocked on the door is coming theyre way with no idea how to get help. The idea that the french in the british are going outside the wire in bringing people in in the u. S. Isnt where thats going to be a huge difference. President biden just said they were giving overhead support to the french so they could go Int Kabul in pulled people out, but they werent doing so because they thought it might lead to a escalation. Clearly theyre not terribly afraid of President Biden hes more afraid of them attacking him. At the moment they are relying entirely on taliban goodwill allowing people to get inside that airport. It is. Benjamin, thank you for your perspective. A couple of things. I want to add onto What Benjami said about the taliban sort of scaring everyone Around The World including. I dont want to be a part of this war anymore and he pretty squarely laid the blame on because of their involvement in the u. S. Government with fighting the war on terror. I dont know if anybody noticed there was this question that multiple reporters kept asking in different ways of the president. He never quite answered. Obviously you will have u. S. Citizens that will show theyre passports at the checkpoint to get through, but what about the allies, the translators, the linguist, people who have been helping u. S. Forces on the ground. How are they supposed to get to the airport because i have in m hands right now documents for a Translator Trapped In Kabul in house right now, hiding out wit his wife in his four children absolutely terrified. He cant leave the house, he hasnt gotten approval yet from the u. S. Government to come to the airport, and he is wonderin how hes even going to make it to the airport because of the afghan he taliban checkpoints i then you think about the people even further away from kabul right now like in kandahar, tha is 300 miles away from kabul. Our team does have, we can roll the tape i know exactly what youre saying. When he was pressed on those that are getting blocked headin to the airport, here is how he responded. He said he has no indication that they havent been able to get to kabul through the airport. Thats remarkable when you know are there many stories like tha out there that you just shared. It is terrifying because i have friends that have families on the ground right now and the are telling theyre Family Members, please, reach out to anybody you know at the u. S. Embassy. They are asking me for email addresses, Contact Numbers to reach out to anybody at the embassy. They have no way of contacting the u. S. Government on the ground right now because there is so much chaos in what they are looking for is just the green light. They dont want to go out of their homes until they have the green light to be able to travel. Here is how he defended it. We are in constant Contact With the taliban working to ensure civilians have Safe Passage to the airport. We are focused on making sure every american who wants to leave can get to the airport where we have seen challenges with four americans, we have thus far been able to Resolve Them. We have made, look, we have mad clear to the taliban that any attack, any attack on our forces , or disruption through our operations at the airport will be met with swift and forceful response. Again, just specifically, hes talking about american citizens in while that is incredible and amazing to hear, what about the people that have helped americans on the ground. There are hundreds of them all over the place. I know my friends have Family Members who are translators in linguists, and they are trapped. They could not leave until they get the green light from the u. S. Embassy on the ground to make it to the airport, and then , keep in mind, in my hands all these documents, this is what theyll carry with them. And this is exactly what the taliban are looking for documents that link them to the u. S. Government in that is what they are afraid of. Jennifer griffin, about ten minutes ago the pentagon reported in the business it on our air, she could in fact chec the President Speech fast enough , that would be you, we gave you a few minutes, did you come up with anything else you thought might have been a littl unusual for the president to include in this . I think what struck me, and just want to mention that my relationship with Afghanistan And Pakistan goes back to 1993 when i lived in after as Llama Bat in started going tO Afghanistan. With the President Said as the u. S. Has no National Interest i afghanistan, and what i remembe is that is what successive american President S, president bush, Hwb Ish said after the soviets pulled out and after th u. S. Had Provider Sink Stinger missiles to the weapons that we didnt get back, which created the seas for Al Qaeda. What is shocking to me is how little understanding of that region after 20 years of war that leaving a vacuum In Afghanistan, President Biden said we have no u. S. National interest In Afghanistan. When we tried to pull out of th region when i was a young reporter in my 20s living in as llama bad, one of just a handful of reporters going back and forth tO Afghanistan in listening to visiting intelligence officers from washington coming through, Stat Department officials telling us the taliban were actually a Goo Idea because they would come in bring peace in calm tO Afghanistan after the civil war that broke out when the soviets pulled out. I can tell you, you fast forwar to a few weeks from now, a few months from now, we already see signs that the afghans are starting the, the resistance will start to build with groups in the valley the defendants of other leaders in warlords that go back to that postsoviet period, they are going to come back in there will be a civil war In Afghanistan. U. S. Military commanders knew it , they told the White House about it, in the president was willing to leave a civil war behind In Afghanistan saying theres no u. S. National interest. We know what happened in iraq when the u. S. Pulled out, when President Biden was vice President Biden in that same national Security Team told us that they could pull out of ira with no consequences. Three years later, u. S. Troops were Sent Into fight isis. The idea that there is no u. S. National interest in afghanista is hard to stomach after seeing the same things were said back in 1993, 95, before the taliban came, basis to Al Qaeda and in latin. Just a member, without intelligence bases In Afghanistan, without partners i afghanistan, we couldnt carry out the mission against Bin Laden that u. S. Troops did ten years ago. All of those things, we have just gone dark in a part of the world that is very dark. I can tell you, it is like Groundhog Day listening to the words coming out of the White House about how the u. S. Does not have a National Interest in that region. Steve harrigan, as you have covered many terrorist attacks over the years, the president was just asked about the threat now of terror in the threat tha we face here in the homeland in he said this. With listen. The threat from terrorism as metastasized for its there is a greater danger from isis and Al Qaeda and all of these affiliates in other Countries B far than there is In Afghanistan. We are going to retain an over the Horizon Capability. When the taliban takes over afghanistan would you wonder what the threat is here at home . I do think this story could get a lot worse. What im interested in is if that happens, how much attention , how important is it going to be to americans. Ive seen it before when a country is beaten in the war, when a country is humiliated, there are repercussions. This story has happened before. The soviets in 1989 had to leav with their theyre legs. After ten years In Afghanistan, they lost, theyre empire was defeated into and did have a huge effect. Many people think it helped bring down the soviet union, it really broke trust in government. How angry, how upset are people going to be about this . What are the implications domestically especially if this goes south . I try to look at ways of how this can be solved in i just se it getting worse, much worse. I go back to looking at you back in 2001 government in you were the only correspondent out there, you had a four Dog River that was in the middle of the field and thats the only coverage coming out of afghanistan for a while. You were working for somebody else at the time in i remember the President Said get that guy. Get him for us and you became a member of Fox News channel. Deep, when you hear the President S of the united states now saying that they are really trusting the taliban, they are literally trusting the taliban to play by the rules during Thi Evacuation of americans and our afghan partners, what you think about that . Thats just patently absurd. Anybody but self with them. In pointing back to those days, its been a strange vision for me to see this happen so quickl when the taliban took over so many city so quickly because it was almost like the exact reversal of 2001. They took the city the City Thi is he. The taliban has just flipped th script. These are not people who fight to the last man in some people say, they are cowards, but they defeated the u. S. , they defeate the soviet empire, they defeate the british empire. This is the kind of strategy come up melting back into The Public in wading your chance, developing weapons like ieds. Evolving, in waiting in they come back and defeated three major empires in the last 200 years. Thank you for that. And especially that look back a well. Benjamin hall has been reportin recently from afghanistan and w were showing video of you reporting on the ground there. We think about what is happenin there right now in this moment come up with such a growing fea for the people there. You have seen a great transitio over the years of your reportin on the ground there as well. I wonder if the producers might stop running this clip from The Beginning with the sound because this is that in november and one of the things that i heard back then that was so hotly debated was the couple would fall so quickly. This was what we reported last november. Take a listen. Night after night, they launch attacks on police checkpoints in they take over districts like this. They are knocking on kabul. They are taken over by the taliban at knightsbridge when night falls they come in and they put up roadblocks they arrest in kill people who work for the government. Night after night they launched attacks on police checkpoints. Back in november, we were going out there and they were telling his than that at night time the taliban came in took over. They were looking for people wh worked for the afghan governmen in killing them. The idea was they wanted intelligence that they were inside kabul ready to take over afghanistan is ridiculous. They knew who worked for the americans back it then. They were going out and systematically targeting them. Outside kabul, we were speaking to people around it, they also said at nighttime, this area is all controlled by the taliban. We have no control there. So to hear the President Say time in time again, the intelligence was a bit vague, w didnt think it was fully scripted, but we were reporting back in november that it was absolutely ready to fall. In a lot of people we spoke to outside of the city, some of them, quite a few of them said after 20 years, we would welcom the taliban back into our villages because in some of these rural areas where war has been going on for so long, wer the Afghan National Army has been fighting for taliban who have said just bring in the taliban as long as it brings peace in we accept the harsh rule over reality. Of course its totally differen in the citys. A city of 6 Million like double these are people that have neve expensed Anything But Freedom i they are the ones that are goin to come facetoface with a whole new reality. Its different than biden same are going to push forward in think about the human rights in the liberty of women, will do everything we can to make sure thats the case In Afghanistan, how are you going to do that . That is absolutely impossible and less he said, except that commitment to the taliban and what were going to do. We made a commitment to the taliban. Not going to happen. To benjamins point, it was made very well there. He has the video going back to november of 2020. We knew the intel reports were coming in in april that the taliban was moving faster than anybody imagine. And we had this department through this private Distance Line where the State Department the Secretary Of State was warned that the taliban was moving faster and today the president was asked about that and he said we get all kinds of different reaction but the consensus was that they were no going to be able to take over kabul that fast. You could have called your friends in the country in they would have told you the scenario. It boggles my mind how often we underestimate the taliban an what they are capable of and ho organized they are. I can tell you right now jusT Talking with my friends from afghanistan, there is so much hopelessness. They have live the reality before and they know whats in store for them if they could no get out. They feel like they have only a very small window of opportunity. They feel he can the next few days the American Forces will b gone in their chances of leavin the country will also be gone. In want to highlight something said yesterday as well. This is not just In Afghanistan problem. To think of the taliban will somehow just keep within their borders in do what they want to do within their borders is unrealistic. The pakistani taliban has Cause Chaos in my Home Country of pakistan. I was there in 2016 when the pakistani taliban sets off a bomb on Easter Sunday in a park next to my grandmothers home. It is traumatizing to me. I remember not knowing for hour for almost half a day if my mom or my dad were alive or dead. I had no idea i couldnt reach them. I just find it very hard to understand how we can sit here in think that the taliban will somehow just stay within their borders. Jennifer griffin at the pentagon. You go back to what we just heard, right now from the president as the Secretary Of State stood to his side along with Vice President kamala harris, the first Term Weve seen them altogether since this withdrawal began in since the fall of afghanistan to the taliban. We did not hear from grade he turned around and referenced hi a couple of times he did not jump in and he certainly did no take questions. The President Spoke for ten minutes he took questions for 18. The White House as since told u that is it for the day. It doesnt look like we will be seeing or hearing from him Grea Something else that we did not hear from him either in the questions or the speech was about the taliban members now armed to the teeth with u. S. Weaponry. The helicopters they have now that they have seized on the ground there. The sniper rifles, the humvees, the trucks, and as you say, the smaller weapons they have in their possession from the u. S. Military. I didnt hear anything about that from the president just a short time ago. Any plan to try to seize those or get them back. Its really impossible, sandra, we are looking at image of the taliban, they are holdin american m16 rifles that we have basically resupplied the taliban which had 70,000 member a few weeks ago, and now they are flooded with 85 Billion of american weaponry, and not just small arms. Small arms you can get anywhere but its the advanced communications, the equipment that you can use to move around the battlefield. That Something Russia and china would love to get their hands on. There are advanced weapons. You have warplanes that were left behind, you have so much. Military drones for its. Its not possible for the u. S. To go in in shoot every person holding an m16. We have just flooded this country with weaponry great if you think that is not going to blow back in that the u. S. Doesnt have a national interes in Afghanistan And Pakistan, i want to follow up on something that aisha said about pakistan, but lets not forget where they were formed. They were formed, i was living in islamabad at the time by the Interior Minister of pakistan. Intelligent service of pakistan has been funding the taliban fo the entire 20 years of the war in we have been able to do nothing to stop it as the american government. We almost gave up on diplomacy with pakistan after the Bin Laden raid. We have the groups that are the strongest taliban commanders ar all from pakistan we did not la the groundwork for Pulling Out of afghanistan. We did not involve the pakistanis. We did not get assurances. All we did and this started under the Trump Administration the elevation in legitimization of the we ask pakistan in 2018, we pressured them to release from a prison in karachi, so that ambassador could negotiate with him, a Peace Deal if you will he was flown back in will be coming into kabul in the coming days. It will look like the ayatollah returning to tehran. We have left a vacuum in we do not know where this will end. I can tell you this, the taliba are not going to keep their word. The taliban cannot be relied on coming in i fear for every woma in child in that country becaus it will be a reign of terror in the coming years. We thank all four of you for joining us for this incredible look in perspective from all of you. Thank you. Best in the business, lets go back to Adam Boler who has twice traveled to the Middle East to negotiate with the taliban facetoface with its leaders. I just want first of all, you heard the President Speech, i want your reaction. Figure think first and foremost the american ethos is no person left behind and that doesnt apply just to american citizens in our troops, but its applies to allies in people that stood up for us. One of the questions i asked is its good to have words in good to talk about how were working with the g7 in other countries, but this is a crisis. In a crisis, you take action. And you do what you need to do. One of the concerns i had listening was a reporter that asked about the translator in the Translators Wife in their three children, in the answer was they should call us. Collis how . Do we have a 1800 american number . I wasnt quite clear of the answer. The Answer Shouldve been this is our operational plan to get the u. S. Citizens in our allies out one thing in a crisis in le me use covid, in Operation Warp Speed we throughout her convention in thats what we were successful. We ran something called where w had hundreds and hundreds of Fedex And Ups planes airlifting ppe from asia to the united states. Thats not normal, so the key here is why is it taking so lon on the passport side. Weve added 20 people per state on the passport. We are the united states of america, 20 is not a lot of people. What are we going to do. Lets call a spade a spade here. Weve bundled the execution list. It is what it is, how are we getting out of it . Taking he still has no number o how many our there, but he said this about the taliban, that th White House is in constant Contact With them. To get the only country in the world capable of directing this much power on the far side of the world with this degree of precision is the united states of america. Weve already evacuated more than 18,000 people since an approximate 13,000 since our military began on august 14. He said just then that they are in constant Contact With th taliban working to see that the is a facets of the Airport Righ in wanted to see what you said and i want to see if you believ the messaging the taliban is giving the White House. I never trust a terrorist organization. At The End of the day, the taliban is an army of militants so the way you negotiate with a army of militants as you can have discussions, but what is the force behind that . What im concerned about is where is the belief that we wil execute in back up at fort totally out of the country in ten days. I dont see how thats working. You can negotiate with a militant army if you have strength, and if you can execut on that great when they see wha happened to iran, they know wha will execute. That is my concern, where is th backup behind our words. I think that is a valid concern. Thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. Fox News Contributor Joey jones, i know you have been joining with the channel at length through this crisis, he just heard the president , what was your reaction . 11 years ago this month, i was laying on the battlefield both my legs were gone in i had a bunch of in in that moment when i felt like i was going to die in had no regrets and no worries my regrets were not there because i wasnt worried about if my sacrifice meant something. Men in women would go home alive. Wasnt worried because i knew M Body would make it home and my parents would be notified. They wouldnt have to sit Aroun And Worry for days in weeks at time what happened to their son. A it didnt have to worry about that. The american flag went down on the u. S. Embassy on sunday grea it took the President Six days to tell parents in sons in daughters in mothers in fathers that their loved ones, he would to bringing them home. Were noT Talking about afghans were talking about u. S. Citizens. It took the president in the united state six days to guarantee americans that theyr family would come home that he would do what was necessary to bring them home. I couldnt imagine what a marin or a Soldier Fitting on a plane about to go to kabul right now, i cant imagine how they feel very they have no guarantees from this it ministration that they will be able to do theyre job in that they will come home or even their bodies will come home. We have in a ministration relying on Negotiating With an that takes 12 Euros little boys in use them as counting fighter to put ids in bombs in the ground. An organization that is never had a word to keep an organization that terrorizes it own people and hands out justic by men standing in a circle stoning someone to death. Negotiating and working with them to ensure the safety of ou citizens. In trusting them to help get our citizens to an airport that we now control. From the inside out. Its a dangerous situation, in the President Of The United States lied to our press in als to us today on multiple occasions. Jennifer griffin did a great jo of pointing it out. None of our allies are questioning our credibility. There is from raitt britain. A man tells Joe Biden and elected official or an official in great britain tells Joe Biden , if you have born in thought for the colors, be careful of questioning those that have. Thats a heck of a there. Joey, he says theres been n criticism, quite the opposite from our allies break he also said that there has been no americans having difficulty getting to the Kabul Airport, which is stunning as well. With the less than a minute or so we have left, show, joey, ho are the men in women you served alongside, how are they doing right now . They are mad. They are mad in upset for they understand that their sacrifice meant something in the moment i happened, but there worried. Not about them, but about the people that our there. For the soldiers in Marines Tha are over there now, if theyre given the opportunity, they wil make us proud, i have no doubt that whatsoever. So important to say that and to hear that. We have faith in our military each and every day. Thank you so much for joinin us. We appreciate your insight on that. General Jack Keane has said man times, the fighting In Afghanistan gaped a safe, the sacrifice was worth it, we stayed safer those years in it was important for us to be there. The pullout has been a whole different story. A special thank you to all o our guests that have joined us in our amazing reporters with their firsthand stories covering afghanistan over that decades. The best in the business. Continuing coverage on the Fox News channel. The story with Martha Mac callum start right now. What annout standing middle East Team we have and the coverage over the years brings something to this story that i dont think youll find anywhere else. Good afternoon, everybody. Im Martha Maccallum in new york. We continue our coverage right now on the story. Were about to get another update here. Were going to go to the pentagon and the State Department. A lot of questions left unanswered and according to some of our reporting were answered incorrectly, not based in fact. So we hope theres another goround here in just a moment and well get some answers from the administration. We have 17 minutes of q a with