The embassy to help facilitate their departure from the country, to alSo help with the process of moving special Immigrant Visa Applicants out of the country, and to provide additional security at the airport. Again, we believe this is a prudent measure given the security spacing. 3,000s a lot of people, though. Can you give any better Sense Of, like, on a daytoday, what are they doing . Sounds like they must be that shall. That people, Sounds like they must be getting people to the airport and theyre take over security. I wouldnt go that far, courtney. The turkish force are still at the airport. Theyre in the lead of security at the airport. We already have Some Security Forces, united States Security forces at the airport, including Some Aviation Elements. These 3,000 would be going to bolster that presence and to make sure that the airport is secure enough to facilitate the movement of all these people over the next couple of weeks. Again, this is about prudent preparation, and we want to make sure we got enough on hand to adapt to any contingencies. So i your question about the numbers being too high, we believe its appropriate to the Security Situation that we see now and that we can anticipate possibly in the future, which is again why were going to flow a Brigade Combat Team into the theater to be ready in case we need even more. Now, hopefully, courtney, this will be an incredibly permissive environment, and we wont need these additional capabilities, but the secretary believes the Safety And Security of our people, not just american troops but our allies and partners and our State Department colleagues is of paramount concern, and hes not going to add additional risk to that Safe Movement. Kandahar and kurat, can you confirm the taliban are saying theyve taken it . I cant. Let me go back to the phones. I know weve got lots to get to. Tara cobb. Hi, john. Thanks for doing this. A couple questions the Infantry Battalions, where are they coming from . The three Infantry Battalions i talked about are already coming from inside the Central Command, and id Leave It at that right now. Theyre already in theater. Thank you. Then the 1,000 at qatar, is the intent Theyll Stay at qatar, or will they alSo be flying into kabul to provide additional support as needed . Ace mentioned to david, right now the plan So to get them to qatar, because again, we were looking at regional sites for processing of siv applicants. Qatar is one of those sites were looking at potentially being able to use. If they need to move in part or in whole elsewhere to do this job, to help with the application process, you know, well deal with that at the right time, but for right now theyll be heading to qatar. Last one. Besides the increase in troops it becomes a Logistics Issue if you dont have enough, i guess, Air Lift support. Is the u. S. AlSo going to send additional planes or get additional contracted air to be able to, i guess, increase the throughput of people that can increase kabul . As i said earlier, we do anticipate an increased lead for u. S. Air lift, and the secretary has already had conversations with the Chairman And Transportation command about these potential needs, So we do fully expect there will be additional United States military Air Lift required. I just dont have to details today, what thats going to look like, how many tails and what its going to look like, but we anticipate being more involved in the Air Lift element of this mission. Lucas. Are you going to increase the number of drone Os Fighter jets overhead to protect these troops . Yesterday we had and today we have the authority and capabilities in the region to conduct Air Strikes if needed. Thats not going to change as a result of these new Mission Sets. Does this mean the u. S. Military withdrawal is not going to be complete by August 31st . Again, what i said is were aiming to facilitate the reduction of these civilian perSonnel by August 31st. Its lining up on the same time line. I wont speculate what the footprint is going to look like because theres the additional Mission Set of helping process special immigrants. So were going to have to wait and seem but the drawdown itself is still on trook completely August 31st. That makes no sense. Youre putting in 3,000 troops. I know what youre saying, lucas. Of the original footprint plans, thats continuing, but we are adding troops for this specific and narrow focus. Are you going to get them all out at The End of the month . Im not going speculate beyond August 31st. Our additional job is to help facilitate the Safe Movement of civilian perSonnel out of afghanistan, and the president s been very clear he wants that reduction complete by The End of august. Thats what were focused on. Have you spoken to the taliban, they know youre doing this and that you have Some assurances or maybe guarantees that they will not attack these additional forces moving in. The Defense Department has not spoken to the taliban about this. So, are you concerned theyre going to be under attack . As i said, weve made it very clear as i just did a few minutes ago that in all cases or commanders will have the right of selfdefense and any attack on our forces will be met with a swift and appropriate response. Do you consider this a Combat Mission . This is a very narrowly focused mission of safeguarding the orderly reduction of civilian perSonnel out of afghanistan, and thats what were going to be focused on . Its not a Combat Mission. Ive described this mission now three times. Were mindful that the Security Situation continues to deteriorate in afghanistan, and as i said before, our troops will as always have to right of the selfdefense, but this is a narrowly focused Mission To help safeguard an orderly reduction of civilian perSonnel. Jeff zeldin. John, thanks very much. If i could follow up on lucas question. With all these new troops, reSources going into kabul, is there any consideration of using the Kabul Airport as a Staging Point for what had been the over the horizon capabilities . And has there been any progress on securing anything closer to afghanistan in terms of stage organize basing for the over the Horizon Air strikes . And then secondly, how worriSome is it that a city like karat, kandahar, where u. S. Air power has been focus in the recent weeks in attempt to assist the afghan Security Forces, are either falling or have fallen to the taliban despite the additional u. S. Support. Im Sorry, i didnt get what the question was on your second one. Sorry. Over the last couple of week or So, the u. S. , were told, has focused Some of its Air Strike Capability on cities like kurat, kandahar, in an effort to bolster the efforts of afghan Security Forces there. How worriSome is it that those cities appear to be falling or have fallen into taliban hands despite the fact that the u. S. Has focused what capabilities it has on those areas . Well, obviously no ones pleased to see that the Security Situation in afghanistan continues to deteriorate and the taliban acts as if they believe the only path to governance is through Violence And Brutality and oppression and force. Contrary to what they have said previously at the negotiating table. So of course nobodys happy to see that, and as weve said before, jeff, with these Air Strikes, we would provide support to the afghan national Security And Defense forces where and when people with the Expectation And Knowledge its not always going to be feasible. As to your first question about the airport, there is no planning and no discussion of using karzai international airport as a base for conducting Air Strikes in and around afghanistan. There is a small Aviation Element at the airport that is rotary based and its for the Facilitation And Logistics and movement, that kind of thing. Yeah, mike. John. Bring divide there. Troops in kuwait. Whos in charge of this . Whats the Chain Of Command . Is there Somebody in charge of the collective Military Effort . Do they support to the Embassy Security Officer . As we said, we have In Kabul and has been replaced by general mckenzie to be the commander of u. S. Forces afghanistan forward. Ashley from janes. Yeah, hi, john. Just to follow up on Some of the other questions, in addition to any additional aircraft is there additional equipment these three battalions are going need . And then can you walk us through how you arrived at the need for 3,000 additional troops . Im not going to get into the deliberations over exactly how these particular units were chosen. This was based on consultation by the secretary with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff and general mckenzie based on the Mission Set. And again, its a narrowly defined Mission To safeguard the movement of civilian perSonnel and to help process at an accelerated pace, special immigrant visas. We Sourced a mission, and based on consultations with top Military Leaders the secretary decided this was the appropriate amount right now, and again, to have additional forces available closer into theater if that was required. Sorry, i missed your other question. Oh, in addition to potential aircraft being sent into the country to help with the evacuation, is there additional equipment being sent and to help with Transportation Or Anything else at this point in time . As i said, we anticipate the use of additional military Air Lift as required, and were working through the requirements for that right now. And these Infantry Battalions come with Some measure of selfdefense congresswomen. Mortars, machine guns, and of course perSonally carried weaponry. So i mean, they have selfdefense capabilities, but im not going to and im not able to detail specifically what each battalion will be carrying with them, but they will obviously have to capabilities they need to defend themselves. One Term Weve heard in the last couple of days is the noncombatant Evacuation Operation. Thats a significant number. Is this an n. E. O. . And if not, why are you not calling it that . Were not classifying this as a noncombatant Evacuation Operation. This is a Mission To facilitate the safe and orderly departure of additional perSonnel from the State Department and to help accelerate to help the State Department colleagues accelerate the processing of siv applicants. We are not classifying this as an n. E. O. At this time. Theres a certain irony here that the drawdown was for 2,500 troops and youre sending an additional 3,000 to get out civilians and ramping it up super quick. On top of that, another 3,500 in kuwait. I mean, what is the irony here . And for people who might be asking literally, isnt this ironic that in order to get out 2,500 youre having to ramp up significantly . I dont see i dont share your view of the irony, lui. This is a temporary mission for a specific purpose. Thats a big difference than saying youre deploying for eight, nine, 12 months forces to stabilize and Security Afghanistan which we have been doing for the last 20 years. This is a narrowly defined mission. Once this very narrowly defined mission is over, there are only going to be 650 troops to protect the Airport And Embassy staff . Once this mission is over i wont get into specific numbers here but we anticipate having less than 1,000 u. S. Troops on the ground to support the diplomatic presence In Kabul, which we all agree we want to be able to have. I defer to my colleague whos been very gracious. After three questions . Yes. Are you more troops if the situation were to deteriorate. What changed in the last 24 to 48 hours which concludes in an incredible acceleration of plans for the u. S. To get out . To your first question, no. I think we laid out pretty clearly that three Infantry Battalions on The Way now and a big good day Combat Team being brought into the region as a reserve, So theres no plans right now for additional forces before to david. There wasnt one precipitating event in the last couple of days that led the President And Secretary to make this decision. Its a confluence of events. And as i have been saying now for several weeks, we have been watching very closely with concern the Security Situation on the ground, and far better to be prudent about and it responsible watching the trends to make the best decisions you can for Safety And Security of our people than to wait until it too late. We believe this is not only the right thing to do, but its the right time to do it. At what point is the fall of kabul inevitable . I wouldnt speculate on im not going speculate about hypothetical situations in the future, and im certainly not going to get into intelligence assessments. But really you think its close if youre evacuating americans. Im not going to speculate about the future of kabul and im not going to talk about intelligence assessments. We think this is the right thing to do and believe its the right time to do it. And as my State Department colleague said earlier today, there is still a diplomatic presence In Kabul, and the intention is to maintain a diplomatic presence. Is the State Department or any departments talking to the taliban . We have a Special Envoy who routinely talks to leaders of the taliban in terms of the pursuit of a diplomatic negotiated settlement. Are you warning them of this massive deployment . I would refer you to my colleagues. Why arent you calling this a deployment . Its insulting for americans. I disagree. I dont think its insulting and im not sure i share that sentiment at all. This is deploying into kabul. Are you telling me that the marines and Soldiers about to strap ongoing to Kabul Arent saying this is combat . They will have to ability to defend themselves. They will be armed. Of course theyre going for a security mission. Theyre going for a narrowly defined Mission To safeguard the movement of these civilian Pen Nell as well as the movement of special immigrants, Men And Women and their families who are applying under that process. Its not a Combat Mission. Thats the goal. Im being clear here im responding to emails im getting from people in afghanistan. Thiss a narrowly defined Mission To, as you just said, for our diplomatic perSonnel and those in the siv program. It is not for any other individuals who are in the afghans In Kabul who may have worked for u. S. Agenies or who work for other governments. And the other question, at Some point, without speculating, this is a nato mission. Is it possible the u. S. Could work with other nato allies to evacuate other perSonnel. On your first question, again, i think ive characterized this mission appropriately and im going Leave It at that. On your second question, this is a u. S. Decision by the commander in chief to reduce civilian perSonnel and to have u. S. Military Sonnel-flow'>PerSonnel Flow in to help with that reduction. So its not a nato mission. That said, we fully anticipate to be in close consultation with our allies and partners going forward, and if we can be of assistance to them, if they desire to make changes in their footprint, then the secretary fully intends to make it clear to them that well be ready to help as needed. Thank you. Yeah. Lets see Dan Le mans. Yes, thank you, john. Can you clarify how this doesnt qualify as an n. E. O. . And regardless of that, if you cake it clear if an n. E. O. Is needed because it speeds up still, youve got everything you need in place for one . Yeah, again, the purpose here is to help with the reduction of civilian perSonnel out of an embassy. Thats not the same as a noncombatant Evacuation Operation where youre moving a massive amount of people who arent necessarily u. S. Government employees. This is a different its a different operation altogether, and were just not there. The other thing were going to be doing is helping the State Department, again, accelerate The Process For Special Immigrants Visa process. That alSo does not fall under the rubric of what would be a noncombatant Evacuation Operation. Jeff shugul. Thank you very much. I know youre telling us as much as you can, and i know The Pentagon is committed to transparency. It is in that spirit that i ask, can you say where these Infantry Battalions are coming from . The new york times is reporting the marines are coming from a marine expeditionary unit. Can you tell which . Im going leave you at letting you know theyre coming from an area inside Central Command responsibly and im going Leave It at that right now. Thank you. Which brigade from bragg is going . Im not going into detail, but it is a brigade from the 82nd airborne. Megan, did you have a question . Okay, sylvie. Ill take one more and then well have to call it a day. Thank you, john. You said that you dont want to speak about intelligence, which i understand, but you can speak about image. What do you think the evacuation for civilian by the military will look like, and how do you how are you going to avoid a parallel with The Fall Of Saigon . What this is going to look like is what it is, sylvie, and thats the united States Government looking after the Safety And Security of our people, first and foremost, and making sure that we, the military, are supporting the Safe Movement of these individuals out of afghanistan. As i said, which we believe is a prudent step. Were not walking away from our commitments to the afghan forces. Were not completely eliminating our Diplomat Presence on the ground. Were still going to have diplomats there. Were still going to be doing work as Ned Price said earlier. And the military will still remain committed to helping protect the diplomatic presence that remains inside afghanistan Some nobody is abandoning afghanistan. Its not walking away from it. Its going the right thing at the right time to protect our people. Okay, one more. Anything here . Tim, you havent had a question. It may seem a little strange, but does this operation have a name . No, it does not. Uk announce its sending in troops theless to help evacuate its people. You know more than me. I was going say, you dont i wasnt aware of that. Are you worried about this Triggering Panic in the people of kabul . Its already happening. Again, this is about the Safe Movement of our people in afghanistan, and we obviously want civilians who live there who are going to see a large number of americans being whisked away by the military while theyre stuck there what id say is what id i have been saying for the last few days. They have ability, cape to believe the protect their territory and their people. They have the capacity to do that. What i think the afghan people want to see and what they deserve to see is the leadership and will to use those advantages to their benefit. Thanks, everybody. Got to go now. Can you clarify 3,000 into the airport, 1,000 going to qatar and then going to siv . The 1,000 enablers will go qatar. I cant predict whether there will be onward movement. And then 3,000 then 3,000 to the airport in the next few days, and then there will be a Reserve Force out of bragg that will stage out of kuwait, and thats roughly 3,500 to 4,000. All of that in addition to the 650 who are there. Thanks, everybody. Of the immigrants, though, is that just transportation, or are they helping processing their applications. Really . All right, you were just listening to the Son'>Pentagon SpokesperSon John Kirby taking questions from reporters after the United States announced its sending troops back the afghanistan in what u. S. Officials are describing as a narrowly defined Mission To help reduce the number of american perSonnel in the u. S. Embassy there In Kabul based on the deteriorating situation. As we mentioned were following this Breaking News on multiple fronts. Just before The Pentagon officials spoke, we heard from the State Depp as well. Were going to wrap up all of that for you. The United States announced this drawdown in embassy perSonnel saying the Department Of Defense will send in about 3,000 troops to facilitate that exit. Its calling it a reduction as opposed to an evacuation. Now, all of this as the u. S. Embassy In Kabul issued a Warning Today urging all american citizens in the country to leave immediately. The taliban now control twothirds of the nation, and their offensive is getting closer and closer to the capital city, reaching just 80 miles South of kabul, the latest file to fall, ganzi. Joining us now from kabul courtney, i want to begin with you because of the stunning announcement from the United States of america i heard your question there i to John Kirby about why this specific number is going to be needed to take out the american perSonnel they deem have to leave. Walk us through what was the Tipping Point from The Pentagon. Because i did not hear a specific explanation as to what was the deteriorating situation. I heard it generally, but they didnt say why this step had to be taken now. Yeah, thats right. And John Kirby didnt want to point to one thing. He just spoke about deteriorating situation. But a Son'>Defense PerSon put it this way. Theyre iSolating kabul, they have been successful, and thats what led to the decision today. They have been rolling through the country faster than expected. Theres no surprise. As Soon as the u. S. Announced they were leaving there was this Handover Ceremony in july. U. S. Assessments all said the taliban was going to begin taking territory. What has change second down how quickly theyre doing it and as they are doing it theyre beginning more and more momentum. Theyre gathering afghan Military And Police equipment as they go. Theyre gathering additional fighters, and the Afghan Military simply cannot stop them. We are seeing cases of the Ark Ndsf the afghan Military And Police just folding away as the taliban roll through. This is 3,000 additional mainly Infantry Troops who will roll into the airport in the coming days but there will alSo be an additional 3,500 to had thousand troops teenaged in ready to move in if the taliban moves closer. Thats a as John Kirby said, the military wants to make clear is defined as bringing u. S. Civilians, particularly the people out. Thats about 1,400 americans and theyre not apparently all leaving. That is a huge number of u. S. Military who will be pozed for this mission there. Courtney lets stay on that nor a moment. In the language of The Pentagon, and you know this better than i do. He was asked repeatedly, is this going to be a Combat Mission. Are these Soldiers going to the Ground Part of a Combat Mission . He refused to use that terminology, despite the fact they are in harms way. He was alSo clear on saying this is not an n. E. O. , which is as i understand it. A noncombatant Evacuation Operation, which means they are not there to evacuate other american who is may be working for other private contractors or agencies. Theyre there to focus on the airport, the american perSonnel, and the special immigrant visa applications. Exactly. As you know, today the embassy In Kabul told americans that they need to get out. They recommended that americans leave. So despite the fact that the u. S. Military presence thats going in there is not an n. E. O. Because theyre not going to be there facilitating the movement of americans in the country to get out, it is still a civilian evacuation mission. And this is one of those times where the whole role of, is it a Combat Mission or is it senate the reality is theyre going into a place where theyll be in harms way, potentially in harms way. It is for the most part a nonpermissive environment Some despite the fact that their job there is not going to be on a Daytoday Basis kicking down doors and going on raids, it is a Dangerous Nonpermissive environment theyre going to. These troops are going into a place where there is a real concern that the taliban will be threatening if not moving into kabul in a matter of days or weeks and thats why its being, this decision to pull most of the Embassy Staff out is being made right now. Courtney, stay with me for a moment. I want to switch over the afghanistan. Kelly, as we mentioned through the hour and as the situation deteriorates, twothirds of the country in taliban control. The most recent, ganzi, just 80 miles South of the capital of kabul. Youre there on the ground. Describe for us just what is happening. Because it is changing almost hour to hour, certainly daytoday. Yeah, and that was really significant today when the taliban claimed that they had taken control of gazni. The reaSon this city is So important is because it is as you mentioned relatively close to kabul, and it is alSo on the main highway from kabul to kandahar. And the concern, obviously, is that the taliban, if they do confirm that they capture kandahar tonight, they have a clear shot to bring their fighters up to kabul and challenge the capital city. Now, there have been reports throughout the Day Today that the taliban fighters were making inroads In Kabul, that they were close to taking control of the city. They have claimed to take control of kandahar. But we have not circumstantial Evidence Confirmation from the government and there has been pushback from Security Forces in afghanistan as to whether or not kandahar had completely fallen. The same holds true for herat. Again, another huge city in afghanistan. Think back one week ago. The taliban, yes, they were in control of a lot of rural areas and smaller villages. They were making inroads there, but they did not control a single Provincial Capital a week ago today. They took the first from Vince Shl Capital on friday, a week ago tomorrow, and last friday, and then swiftly moved across the north taking kunduz and expanding to the South. In cases forces have melted away. We heard stories of at hand hard airporter one man who was in kandahar and fled the city, made it here on monday. Told me the reaSons the forces werent fighting there is because they were under siege at the airport and they had no supplies. They had no food and water, and it was only a matter of time before they had the Give Up Weapon Saw that happen just a day after i spoke to him. In other cases forces have fought enter simply become overwhelmed. There are a lot of issues, we understand, with Supply Lines and with these afghan forces being able to take on the taliban. So the situation is developing So, So quickly, and its changing So fast. But really, the key here today, i think, is ghazni. The fact that it fell to the taliban, has a clear route up to kabul, has a lot of people concerned the capital is next. Are we hearing from afghan official there is . Are they responding to this situation . Are they addressing their country to assure them they have a plan to hold on to the capital and they intend to perhaps regroup . Because the american official as we just saw from that briefing say, and theyre remaining optimistic, that the government could mount Some kind of Recovery Effort to retake certain parts of the country, but are we hearing from afghan officials on a regular basis . And are the people In Kabul, the afghans you speak to, what is their Sense Of anxiety about what theyre seeing happen to their country . Do you get a sense theyre trying to leave kabul and go to neighboring countries as well . Well, ill take on that first point before i get to the information about the government. People here dont have a lot of options. Even the people who have worked the u. S. Aid funded ngos have to apply for a certain visa. Its a p2 visa. In order to apply you have to first get to a third country. Tough leave afghanistan. You have to get a visa either in turkey, pakistan, one of the neighboring countries. In and of itself that is incredibly difficult. If you want to and expensive. If you want to try to speak across the border. At least seven of the Border Control crossings are controlled by the taliban. The options for getting out are very, very slim. People are incredibly worried. Theyre terrified. Theyre thinking that this is its only a matter of time before kabul falls to the taliban and theyre once again setback 20 years. But again, the options for getting out are limbed. Unless you have reSources, and big reSources were talking Tens Of Thousands of dollars or you have Some link to another country youre really kind of stuck here. As to the point about the government, its very strange. Weve heard very little from the government. Weve heard nothing from the seven days or So that we have been here about any Sort of Grand Strategy or plan. Theres been very little of presence of ghzni on tv talking about what the military plan is. Again, theres no address to the nation. The president was in sharif a couple days ago, meeting with local Militia Leaders there. There was Some sense that maybe Some operation with the afghan government forces and militia men and leaders would happen in Mazari Sharif and the taliban would be pushed out of kunduz and other cities in the north. That hasnt materialized. So its been very, very strange to be here and see almost Radio Silence in terps of what the Governments Plan is, what the Militarys Plan is to get itself out of this position and actually mount an offensive and retake control of Some of these cities. And the country as a whole. Yeah, abSolutely stunning developments there. All right, kelly, stay with us from kabul. We return to washington. Lets talk about the White House in all of this and The Way forward. This is news that comes a little over a month since the president vehemently denied that we would see an evacuation like what we saw in vietnam. Not the same imagery. But a stunning turnaround for a president who throughout there was a chance for the afghan Government Wrestling Control back from the taliban. Let me play what he said back on July 8th. Theres going to see no circumstance where you see people lifted off the roof of the embassy in the United States from afghanistan. Again, thats not the image that were seeing today. The pentagon and the State Department very clear about the language theyre using. Theyre not even using the word evacuation. Theyre calling it a reduction in perSonnel. What is the white Houses Reaction to the stunning developments . Is the president Still Standing by his decision to withdraw all u. S. Troops by The End of august . As of now, the president is definitely standing by his decision to withdraw u. S. Troops from afghanistan by August 31st. Its interesting you bring up the moment on July 8th because i was the one posing that question to the president. I posed the question because there were Vietnam Vet raps looking at the withdrawal of afghanistan and say, i see echoes of my experience in afghanistan and the president vehemently pushed back against that. You see here the president having to do Something he did not want to do, and that is bring more troops into afghanistan. The president just yesterday said in response to a pretty pointed question about how swiftly the taliban government, the taliban fighters, rather, were taking over the afghan government and taking over parts of afghanistan, he said, they have to fighter this themselves, talking about afghan troops. And here of course, just 24 hours later, you see this reversal where were seeing u. S. Troop heading to afghanistan. I thought what was very interesting was John Kirby, the Son'>Pentagon SpokesperSon, said, those troops that initial withdrawal is still going to be ongoing, but wouldnt give a deadline for when the 3,000 troops for the narrowly focused civilian mission, whether or not theyll be gone by August 31st Some we could see this new round of troops in afghanistan longer than the original Withdrawal Date that. Provides a political problem for the president. There are a lot of republicans including lindsey graham, mitch mcconnell, who were pointedly critical of President Biden and by The Way, former president trump, when they laid out their plans for withdrawing from afghanistan, So this is not the news President Biden wanted to deliver to the american people with So many military families in particular, really praising his decision to pull out of afghanistan. It is a stunning juxtaposition when you think about what happened. Thanks to the three of you for breaking all of that down for us. I want to widen the conversation out right now and bring in the former ambassador of afghan to the United States and indonesia as well. Madam ambassador, i know now that youre no longer serving the afghan government, So perhaps you have more freedom to talk to us about what you are seeing on the ground today, and one of the points that my colleague was saying, the kind of Radio Silence from the afghan government about what is actually happening there on the ground and whether or not the afghan government is planning on trying to retake parts of the country. Give me your reaction to the news of today. Thank you. Good to be with you again. The news as we all here and see, it is devastating. It is a dire situation. All the afghans are going through today. It is very sad that its happening 20 years on, and it is different than all the various forms of changes and the shifts and change of regimes that i have witnessed in my own life, at least four of them. So, my reaction to what is happening today, it has a few here is a few points or thoughts that i could share. Number one, the very news that there would be a deployment of 3,000 people to ensure the safe return of americans civilians and ensure the safety of the ones remaining there speaks to the fact that the u. S. Does not trust taliban. And they of course have not abided by the agreement they signed. And then imagine what the people over 5 Million people are feeling like. I mean, they are trapped. And nobody expected the governments silence, as was spoken about. My interpretation is they probably really dont know what to do next. And the options of how to address the situation have tremendously shrank. So we are in a situation that there is, like, literally two options. One, a perpetuation of a very bloody Civil War that i do not know how we could possibly get out of it. The second one is an immediate action by international community, a hands on action. It is time to do Something about this to prevent a Human Catastrophe from happening. And of course the conflict must have a Solution. But its alSo a reality that this war, for over past four years, has a lot of influences and much support from region and global actors. So they have to take a Handon Approach for not only to prevent the catastrophe in afghanistan, but for the longterm Safety And Prosperity of region and the rest of the international community. David, this is as much of an international story because of the decision to withdraw and what led to this moment. I want to read what Senator Tom Cotton tweeted out after a poorly plan withdrawal, Joe Biden is begging the taliban not to attack our embassy. Pathetic. You covered this extensively. Was this withdrawal chaotic . What should President Biden have done differently . The withdrawal certainly is chaotic. As the ambassador just said, the situation is dire. I can only assume were moving these forces in rapidly because of the fear that the Battle Of Kabul is next. The taliban have advanced to quickly in the last week, sweeping the north. Today capturing ghazni, the gateway to the South. Capturing herat, the gateway from the west of kabul, So next up is the Battle For Kabul itself. I think its difficult for republicans to fairly criticize President Biden for the fundamental decision he made to withdraw u. S. Troops. That was initiated by his predecesSor president trump. It is fair to question whether reaSonable planning was made when he made his announcement in april that he intended to withdraw troops by september. Whether the right set of plans was put in place to make for a secure and stable transition as possible. What were seeing is just an accelerating deterioration of a situation for afghan troops. I can only assume that Todays News will produce increasing fear, perhaps panic among afghan civilians who are desperate to get out, fear the future. I think republicans, democrats, everybodys going to be concerned about this very chaotic and i fear dangerous End Game in afghanistan. One final Thing Id say this imminent Battle For Kabul is not Something that any of the regional neighbors not pakistan, india, russia, china want to see. The Forcible Armed Takeover Of The Capital by taliban is Something that nobody has an interest in seeing. So its conceivable that there will be an 11th Hour Intervention to bring Some kind of ceasefire, stalemate, and then negotiate the final exit of the current government in Some fashion. But for the moment i think what were seeing is preparation by The Pentagon for what they fear might be the Battle For Kabul. Speaking of the Battle For Kabul, madam ambassador, i think an a lot of team in this country are watching this and say, why arent afghans who are rejecting and refusing the taliban rule their country not fighting more . Why is the military not fighting for . How would you explain that . You know the government well you know the afghan forces. In Some cases they are putting up a Fight Buck overwhelm in the others. Theyre simply melling away as one reporter described. Why is that happening, your understanding . Well, now most of my understanding comes from speaking to the local civilians as well as the people on the ground, and the explanation that i here is that number one, theyre not being supplied, not being equipped. When the troops are in need of support, it does not get to them in time. There is alSo the reality is that the afghan has been extremely divisive, and that Deep Rooted divisions have led to what youre seeing tonight. So i heard a while back from people that they dont have to trust that if they fight they will be backed for long enough. Number two, the number of troops, as it is reported, is not to that level anymore because of the casualies that we have incurred, and a huge number of them just leaving the battleground. Even Some of them a number of them surrendering, So all of this has contributed to how the taliban have managed to encircle kabul much faster than anybody would have possibly predict. So this is the assessment that i am getting from there. There is one thing for sure nobody in afghanistan for the majority of people, they do not want a taliban rule. They have lived it, and they know what it is like. But at the same time at this point its a question of survival. Its a huge Sense Of confusion among people, because if you look at the past 40 years, you had the Soviets for ten years. Then you had the civil Whatter And Taliban for another ten years. And now you have over like about 20 years of the u. S. Involvement, the majority of People Majority of population of afghanistan are those that have only known an afghanistan that was with the support of the u. S. Going forward. So there is alSo that Sense Of confusion of what is happening, and surprisingly im hearing that a lot of them are more concerned about their survival rather than the loss of all the gains that we have had in the past 20 years. AbSolutely incredible. Okay, stay with me for a moment. I want to bring into the conversation andrea mitchell. Andrea, again, a stunning day of developments, both in afghanistan, now with the announcement that the u. S. Is once again deploying troops there for this, as they call it, a narrowly defined mission. Does this news of troops have a larger implication for the overall strategy by the biden administration to withdraw troops from afghanistan does it make it more dangerous on the ground . It is already more dangerous on the ground. The action enforcing this is the taliban is kabul. Time is running short. Its Sooner than anticipated, as kelly has been reporting from the ground. The State Department is responding to this and has ordered a much accelerated departure. It was an orderly departure starting in april, but now this is first with an order on saturday on the weekend, and now this urgency with a call between secretary blinken, president gani, and secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin today that they were going to deploy troops to move more of the civilian employees from Embassy Kabul out. As recently as yesterday, Ned Price the spokesman was saying we are remaining In Kabul. Our work is continuing. We are committed to the diplomatic work in doha that the ambassador is doing right now with the taliban. And today they are stilldohu, a just released there from the neighbors of afghanistan regional groups, as well as europeans, china, obviously pakistan in the immediate neighborhood, that they are committed to not recognizing the taliban, not recognizing any entity that takes over afghanistan by use of Military Force. Well, as you can imagine, yesterday, and certainly today, the questioning was very fierce on this, because not recognizing the taliban when they are, in effect, on the ground moving to the point where if kabul is threatened, they are taking over afghanistan. That is going to be the reality on the ground. AlSo, undercutting whatever diplomatic statements come out of Doha And Neighboring qatar is the fact that the the other countries, russia, beijing, the chinese in Beijing And Iran have all welcomed Socalled diplomats, representatives from the taliban in recent weeks and given them the welcome that you would afford, recognition to visiting dip manse. Saying in Doha No Recognition if thdo this by Military Force is meaningless because theyre already doing this and recognizing key players in the region. And talk about the diplomatic efforts andrea highlighted there. On the ground, we know the u. S. Negotiating directly or indirectly with qatar and other parties for the better part of, i would say, close to two years at least. These talks, perhaps longer, to try to come up with Some kind of Solutions how does the u. S. Reconcile on one hand it is engaged in diplomatic talks towards a peaceful outcome to whats happening there but the same time taliban sweeping through the country, completely disregarding previous agreements and completely disregarding what is happening in doha . I think Thats Part of the shocking aspect of whats happened in the last few months. President trumps negotiators signed an agreement with the taliban for what was hoped would be the orderly withdrawal of u. S. Forces. The u. S. Has kept to that agreement. President biden announced a specific deadline and met and the military withdrew u. S. Forces even more quickly than was expected. They closed the bases around the country. Taliban, rather than doing what the u. S. Had hoped which was negotiate with the kabul government, Some kind of stable transition, has, instead, sensed victory, and Sought to capitalize on the opportunity, has ignored the agreements made as we were just saying, swept the north. Swept up from the South. Sweeping in from the west. Trying to get maximum advantage and ignoring what the u. S. Thought were agreements that were made. Im sure deep disappointment with what the taliban has done. The question is whether all the people on the sidelines, russia, china, pakistan, who have been kind of holding Americas Coat and not doing much to help diplomatically, not really pressuring the taliban will step up because they think their efforts of threatened by the chaos there. To conclude, President Biden hoped for an orderly withdraw thought it popular with the american People Amp 20 years of this endless war, going to end it. Instead of that orderly withdrawal a very diSorderly catastrophic process. Just watch over the next week answer the american troops arrive, the situation at the airport, the palmal, effort and not what President Biden wanted people to see on their tv screens. Curious an your thoughts about the concern, growing concern about the taliban, we could see emergence of Al Qaeda perhaps more militant groups. Do you have any reaSon to believe that the taliban of 2020 is different than the taliban of 2001 . Are we going to see them allow, as we have in the past, the presence of international Terrorist Organizations that could potentially attack neighbors countries and the u. S. . Do we see any difference in them based on what they are doing when they are capturing the territory, the villages, the districts and provinces . No. So that based on the actions that they are demonstrating, forcing their way, the brutality and what they are conducting on the ground, i am afraid that there wont be much difference in terms of their acclimation. In fact, should there be Will Military Takeover which is unfortunately coming going in that direction, i would say. By the taliban in respect would be a statement of victory not only for them, but for all terrorist groups. That would be probably very encouraging, and The Way they, the continuation of violence is simply providing a Bedrock And Environment for extremism. So im afraid that that will continue. T. Is an abSolutely scary thought to think perhaps the taliban could take over kabul and with It Brick back Terrorist Organizations. Thank you all, for all of you and your insights. That wraps up the hour for me. A fastpaced hour. A lot of developments. See you right book here tomorrow at 3 00 p. M. Eastern. 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