Kabul that is how fast the taliban is tearing across the country like a Buzz Saw Retaking control 20 years after u. S. Forces first invaded and weeks since all american troops left. This was President Biden on that day a month ago. Is the taliban takeover in afghanistan now inevitable . No, it is not, because you have afghan troops at 300,000 well equipped and as well equipped as any army and the Air Force and something like 75,000 taliban. It is not inevitable. As we await the briefing with the possibility that i may interrupt any of the guests to jump to it, joining me is New York Times Chief Correspondent Peter baker, msnbc military analyst, and medal of Honor Winner jacobs and Jeff Baker a columnist. Now, i will begin with you, jeff, the article in the Washington Post writes about vietnam, and for President Biden, who had hoped for an orderly u. S. Withdrawal from afghanistan, the chaos In Kabul carries echos of The Fall Of Saigon in 1975. So do we have images of that same images of saigon . Yes, it is fair. I thought this it would look the taliban overtaking in 1984 and 1985, and nothing like that at all. It is much, much faster than that, and it is like vietnam in 1975, and what the adminvation is really hoping to avoid a reprise of 1979 when in iran, the people in the embassy were captured an incarcerated for 440 days and the administration is trying desperately to avoid that, garrett. And the pentagon says that 2,448 u. S. Troops have died since the start of the war, and the lives seem to be the cost of to keeping the taliban at bay. And today, thousands of american families who are watching this unfold and they have lost a son or daughter, husband or wife, and so did the mission in afghanistan rooting out the afghanistan, and that is the point of President Biden, we have accomplished the mission, and time to come home, and what do you say . I have heard this put to fourstar generals saying, tell me it was woth it . Tell me it was not all in vein, but frequently the answer from senior commanders is that the job was to be done, and it was done. It is not all disaster, and progress made for afghan women and girls, and progress made domestically for democracy and always the specter of the rising Elementsf Extremism in that country that we are seeing now, and the difference is that the lot of the commanders said that there is so much ta the military can do, and the troops in the country will keep the shooting down, and what other countries around the world have done so, and not tiking it away, and without seeing the hysteria that we are seeing now. Some are seeing that the mission they were asked to do because of the political leaders asked them to do, and regardless of the outcome of the war or the generational divide or what we are seeing of the taliban but as military members, they did what they were asked to do. And peter, they could have stayed in afghanistan 5 years, 10 years, or 50 years. So at some point the Afghan Army had to stand on their own two feet. With that said, we are leaving behind people who could be potentially slaughtered now. I want to play some of Andrea Mitchell pressing ned price of the State Department a moment ago. They are targeted for what we asked them to do and encouraged them to do for 20 years to join the civil society, to get educated to leave their villages and defy their fathers, and i have seen it myself, and i have been there, and i know that this is not your sole job, but you are the person speaking for the u. S. Government right now, and dont we have a moral responsibility to do something for these people . Just today, the White House repeated that the president is not going to change his position. He has been consistent on thatted when he was Vice President that was his position and disagreed with the surge, and we all know that, but we are seeing it on the Ground Realtime and people being beheaded coming from nbc kabul. Andrea, we have a solemn responsibility to the people of afghanistan and including the people who have worked closely with us very close, and in fact, the united States Government is in part responsible for the tremendous gains that the afghan people have been able to achieve over the past 20 year, and no country has done more for the people of afghanistan than we v. So if the war is going to end, and if we are going to come home in days or weeks, and we see how it all plays out, how critical for the biden White House the stick the landing, and protect the people who worked with us and for us and make sure that part of the war is buttoned up appropriately. Yeah, it is obviously vital. I signed a Letter Today on behalf of the translator who worked for me in 2001 and 2002 and making sure that he gets out of kabul before the taliban gets there if they do, because if they do, they will target people like him, an known to work for the americans and whether it is the newspapers and it is a huge concern, and moral obligation on the part of many americans to help these people that are left behind. The thing that is striking is to hear the Bidens Administration take on this. You understand their point of view, and this is bidens point of view, and we gave everything that we could, and it is time for them to now take over, and unbli that is what most americans think, but there is a consequence, and we are seeing it on the ground, and the country swept up by the team people 20 years ago almost to the day in 9 11 who had been repressing them, and making sure that women and girls could not come out of their home, and if they did, they had to be covered and they could not study in schools and have the free the doms that we tried to give them, and so there is a consequence now, and we are seeing it Play Out in front our eyes. Of course, that is going to be disturbing to many people not in afghanistan, but here in america that had a lot of, you know, warm feelings for people they met like they were over there. Right. At some point we were going to be Coming Home from afghanistan and at some point the u. S. Would pull out, and it was a matter of when and which president would make that choice. President biden made that choice, and the american people did ultimately want to see the americans come home. And colonel, if the worst case militarily here is the fall of kabul, and the collapse of the government could happen in the days or weeks potentially, what is best Case Scenario here with the taliban controlling so much of the rest of the country . Well, some sort of agreement with the taliban to carry on what we started to do with them and the afghan government some months ago. The mistake was not including the afghan government with the discussions with the taliban, but that could be righted and maybe a way out of going to the 8th century to preserve the fwans that we have helped the afghan people make. The best Case Scenario is a dialogue with taliban and once they take over and inevitable that they will, and matter of time that they will, and our influence may assist in that becoming less of a catastrophe than it ould ther wise would be, but dialogue is extremely important, and we cant rely more on the instrument of war but the diplomatic instrument now. And lets listen in, because the Pentagon Briefing is beginning with John Kirby. Lets listen in. And to rekt as quickly as we have within the day or so, because we had plenty of Contingency Planning in the works, and in fact, a lot of it complete. Because we were and as i have said many times from the podium watching consistently the Security Situation on the ground. So, i can give you a few brief updated details from yesterday. Now, as i do this, i think that you can understand that i am not going to have every detail that you might want. There is operational security that is still a concern, and we will observe that here just like we have in the entire drawdown process, but i can tell you a couple of things. The first u. S. Forces will provide security at the kabul airport, and these are the existing Security Forces already In Kabul, and that is the infantry, and Security Personnel and some Intelligence Surveillance and reconnaissance at the airport. They will stay there, and do their jobs in terms of the internal security there at hamid Karzai Airport. The Troop Movements that i mentioned yesterday are happening as we speak. Three battalions are planning to move from the central Command Area Responsibility to kabul, and they consisted of a marine battalion and another marine Infantry Battalion from an Expetition Battalion and army Infantry Battalion, and one of the Infantry Battalions are already there. The leading element is already there, and the rest of their forces will continue to flow over the next couple of days, and i expect by The End of the weekend, the bulk of the 3,000 that we talked about yesterday will be in place, and probably not all, but the blk. From the united states the brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division that is ready to go to kuwait are preparing to deploy. I do not have information that they are on the way right now, but in short order, they will start to deploy and to arrive. Movement of the enablers that we talk about yesterday designated to support the immigrant processing in the region has also begun. These are primarily medical personnel, and e told you yesterday it is a mixed medical personnel, and police and electrical engineers and that type of thing, they are preparing to go, and i dont have information that they have left. They have not arrived in afghanistan, but they will provide information for the svi process. Now for the aircraft to support the civilian personnel, transcom is going to be working the solutions with the Air Command and Central Command as well to support this mission. Forces and support requirements will be rapidly supported by the planner, and while we wont be able to give out a lot of detail today, and again, the plans an sourcing for Air Support will be lifted. And we will have more to say about that when it is approach. And i wanted to say that we will not have airlift will not be a limiting factor. As i said yesterday, it is not all going to be Military Aircraft that are used. There are hamid Karzai Airport is open, and commercial flights are going in and out, and it does not, and i dont want to convey the sense that every lift of every individual is going to be done on the Military Aircraft though they will be made available to support and it is not a limiting factor. And finally, i want to foot stomp on something that i said yesterday, it is a specifically tailored mission to help with the safe removal of personnel in, civilian personnel In Kabul as well to help with the special Immigration Process by the State Department that is what we are focused on. As i am able to get more information, and i will provide it to you with the understand that there are operational security concerns, and i wont be able to provide every level of detail as you want, but we will be as transparent as we can. Bob . You are mentioning the bulk of thettalions will be there by The End of the weekend and is that when the Operation Will , bob, it has begun. I Cant Speak to the timing of the State Department with respect to their reduction. We wanted to make sure that we were in full support of them, and that we were getting on station as quickly as possible, and that is what we are focused on. As for when the departures will occur and how many on a daily basis, that is my colleagues at the State Department for them to speak to. Can i ask a follow up . Sure. Given the events of the last 24 hours with three or four additional cities falling to the taliban, and the taliban moving closer to kabul, i am wondering if you are, and how likely it is that you are going to be able to complete the Draw Dahn of the the drawdown of the forces of the embassy afterwards. We will be watching it Day By day, bob. I Cant Speak to what that is going to be looking like and i can only tell you what that is going to look like today, and the State Departments reduction of personnel, and this is Time Line that we are focused on. If we need to adjust left or right, we will do that, but we are always going to be looking at the security conditions. Thanks, john. With the Airplane Lifting that is going on, are you planning to get, make the airlift available for the hundreds or thousands of people at the u. S. Embassy In Kabul, and as many as 18,000 interpreters and can you give us an order of magnitude of the Airlift Mission . I cant tell you how many a day, but capacity is not a problem. We are be able to move thousands per day, but that is the Airlift Capacity and it is not necessarily going to mean that you will end up with that everyday, but it is going to depend upon the processing and how that goes. So, what we want to do is to get there fast, and get there capable and to be able to provide as much capacity to the State Department as we can, and our intention is to be able to move thousands per day. Okay. Separately, as we have seen the provincial capitals fall, is the theed a is the administration concerned by the speed with which the capitals have been falling . We are concerned with the speed at which the taliban have been moving. We have been saying from the beginning, and it still is a moment for the afghan national Defense Forces and the political leadership, and no outcome has to be inevitable here. And so i am watching this as you are in realtime, and it is deeply concerning, and in fact, the deteriorating conditions are a factor of, and big factor in why the president has approved this mission to help support our reduction of personnel there In Kabul. So i mean, we are adjusting as best we can given those conditions, and again, this is a moment for the afghans to unite, the leadership and the military, and no outcome has to be inevitable here. And if the taliban continue across the take kabul, what happens to the continued support that the dod had planned for contracted support or the dod had planned to decent, and at what point does the Conversation Need to be cutoff to go to taliban . We are still supporting the elected government In Kabul, and that what we are focused on doing. It would be easy to speculate on the future of afghanistan looks like right now, but we want the focus on what we are doing, and we are focusing on The Field when we can, and working in The Field, and have robust capabilities in the region so we cant suffer a threat from afghanistan again, and so, we are focused on the mission now, and the mission signed by the commander in chief, and let the political situation Play Out, and that is not something that we are overly focused on right now. Yeah, so. You are speaking about the overall horizon, and obviously, the u. S. Has been conducting Air Strikes regularly everyday for the last few days, and you didnt stopped it a vances of the taliban, and so if you cannot stop the taliban from the horizon of what you are trying to do right now, how are you going to stop Al Qaeda from the horizon . And so the over the horizon strikes and capabilities still exist and will exist going forward, and we have never said that Air Strikes are a panacea. You said that we were not able to stop the taliban. We have said from the moment that we started drawing down that we are going to continue to support them where and when feasible with the understanding that it is not feasible, and we have never argued that our Air Strikes from the air would turn the tide on the ground, but what we have said that the afghans have the capability to do that. And we still believe they could make difference on the ground. We can do from air, but they have a greater number, they have an Air Force and modern weaponry, and so it is indigenous forces on the ground, and so the support was done in that vein. Again, as for counter terrorism, and the secretary said to himself, that there is not a scrap of Military Equipment that it cannot hit, and when it comes to the Military Threat that is emanating and Air Strikes can be effective in that regard. Are the troops going to be getting Hazard Pay i dont know. And now with the focus on the battalions headed into kabul to secure the embassy and to facility the people out, and how is that is going to lessen the ability of the afghan security force, but given that Air Strikes did not seem to defer the taliban in other areas, how does that mean they wont be afraid of other Air Strikes In Kabul or other assets there . I will not talk about kabul, or future operation, and i will not start doing that today, jeff. But to the other question, the kinds of support that we are providing, and able to provide afghan national Security And Defense forces in The Field, the authorities still exist, and the capabilities still exist, and general mckenzie can use the capabilities to the degree that he sees most fit. That is the separate and distinct set of missions than what we have now been ordered to do in terms of helping with the State Department colleagues reducing the size of their footprint In Kabul, and so those are two separate sets is of authorities and capabilities, and i think that is about where ill leave it. Yes, court . You said a couple of times that you are concerned with the speed in which the taliban has moved, but The Big Question is not the concern about the speed, but surprise. So again, i have to ask is the military or the pentagon or the administration surprised with how fast the taliban has been able to move to different parts of the country . Courtney, we have seen the taliban Making Advances before the biden administration came into office, and we saw them Making Advances before we came in. This is a different Ball Game in the different week or so, and the specific cities of taking Kandahar And Lashkar gah, and this is a different Ball Game. Yes, we have been watching the taliban and noted, and noted with great concern the speed with which they have been moving and the lack of resistance they have been facing. And what about the lack of resistance In Kabul, and a fear that the military will not fight for kabul . That a question for afghan leadership to determine for themselves. As vi said from the beginning, we want to see the will and the political leadership, and the military leadership that is required in The Field. We want to see that, Ap Hope to see it. But whether it happens out pans out is really for the afghans. You have said here many times that afghanistan is not going to become a base to launch for the allies, and should it shake confidence from our allies . No. Steve from military. Com. Thank you for doing this, and are additional Squadrons Head Nod Middle East for this, and could you also speak to any of the Rules Of Engagement that the troops on the ground would have . I have nothing to announce or speak to in terms of additional assets. I have given you the laydown of what we are sending to support this movement. That said, and also in my opening statement, there is going to be air lifts provided and clearly a Air Force role in terms of air lift, but in terms of the combat, i have no movement, and i will not speak to Rules Of Engagement, and we never do that from the podium. David. And in respect to movement on kabul, but how would you describe the situation now . Is kabul under threat . Is kabul isolated . What is it . Right now without getting into a battlefield Assessment Everyday, and i dont want to do that. Kabul is not right now in imminent threat environment. But clearly, david, if you are looking at what the taliban has been doing, you can see that they are trying to isolate kabul. Now, what they want to do if they achieve that isolation, only they can speak to, but you can see a certain effort into isolate kabul. It is not unlike the way they have operated in other parts of the country, and operated in other capitoitals and to force without much bloodshed. I Cant Speak to what their intentions are, but i can tell you that what we are doing is to take the situation seriously, and that is one of the reasons that we are moving the forces into kabul with this particular mission, because we know that time is the precious commodity here. It is isolated now . I dont want to get into the specific assessment on the battlefield right now, but clearly from the actions, it appears as if they are trying to get kabul isolated, yes. Let me try it this way. The main arteries going into kabul . Again, i wont get into the conditions on the ground Assessment Everyday into the avenues and the lines of communication except to say that it certainly appears that the taliban is looking to isolate the city, and they have throughout this last few weeks, and you have seen it for yourself taken over the border crossings, and taken over highways and major intersections to control lines of what we say or what we call communication and lines of revenue and those kinds of things. I Cant Speak and i wont speak specifically to what the situation is In Kabul right now. John, many times this week, you have said that the afghan forces had the advantage, but what proof can you offer that the taliban have taken over now vast majorities of the country and surrounded kabul. The taliban have moved with the speed they v and the resistance they have faced has been insufficient to check the advances does not mean, lucas, that the advantages are not still there. You have to use it. But no offense, john, but they are getting crushed on the battlefield and it make no sense to say they have advantages, because the taliban has all of the advantages there. Lucas, i appreciate the effort again, but they have the greater numbers and the capable Air Force and by the way is flying more Air Strikes than we are, and they have modern equipment, and they have organizational structure, and they have the benefit of the training that we have provided them over 20 year. They have the materiel and the advantages and it is time to use them. Is the u. S. Military prepared to evacuate all military from kabul if the State Department requires it . Our mission is to help reduce the civilian and Military Personnel from kabul, and to help with the immigrant process. That is what our focus is on right now. How close is the government to closing the embassy In Kabul . You would have to talk to my colleagues in State Department. They have made it clear as of today, Theyare Reducing but not eliminating the personnel there. After a night of sleeping on it, are the 3,000 troops going to kabul, is this a Combat Mission . I thought that i answered it pretty well. You did not, because these are solders and marines are putting on Night Vision goggles, and they are going into lucas, they are going to have the right of selfdefense and will be armed and as i said it yesterday, i could not have made it anymore clear, if there an attack upon our forces, the commanders have now, and always have had the right and responsibility to defend themselves in any attack on our forces in afghanistan will be met swiftly with a forceful and appropriate response. And i know, and listen, i know that you want to get into the Nomenclature And Nobody is walking away from the fact that this is potentially dangerous, and in fact, i said that i will not be proving a lot of the operational detail, because it is dangerous, and we are all mindful of the perilous situation in afghanistan, and the deteriorating situation, lucas. So i find it a little i find it frustrating that you are trying to pin me down on a nomenclature here like we are afraid to say the Word Combat after 20 year of being in afghanistan. We understand what we are facing here right now, and we are taking the risks very, very seriously, and the troops and the leards will have all of the rights and the responsibilities they need to protect themselves and their comrades. Did the secretary recommend this withdrawal of troops from kabul . Sorry. Did the secretary of defense recommend this withdrawal of kabul before this week i will not talk about this i think it is important for history and the transcript and the people of watching the briefing right now, did the Secretary Support the full Military Withdrawal from kabul . Lieuka, i am not now and i havent and i will never will talk about the Secretarys Advice and recommendations to the president. That is not appropriate. He has also made additional suggestions to reduce the personnel, and we will do that, too. And some think that we should pull everybody out of Kabul And Level the embassy, and what do you think of that . I think that one of the great things about this country is that people are free to express their opinions about anything they want. When im here to do, lucas, my job is to articulate the policies that we are exkiting and way in which i am executing them. So i amming the tell you what we have been ordered to do. It is timeton pull all of the americans out, and just pull we are focused on having americans reduce their footprint In Kabul, and that is what we are doing. I would like to follow up on lucass fourth question. As opposed to the 14th. You talked about how the troops there have the inherent right of selfdefense, and that is going to be i many question. There is a tactical purpose for sending the troops there which you have described in very general terms, and i know that you dont want to get into the secondary, a secondary effect that you are having by sending the troops there into kabul which is sending a message to the taliban. These troops are here, dont want to attack us, but we are here to carry out the mission, and at the same time saying that we are here to support the government of kabul, and dont attack kabul. Are you suggesting that there is a, that theres a contradiction there . No, i am trying to ask if there is a Messaing Intention as well of sending the troops there. I understand that the primary mission there so to do this to protect the american ps and afghan interpreters and the families as they leave, but at the same time, is there a secondary effect that you are gaining by sending the troops there which is to message the taliban, dont attack us while we are doing this. The main purpose of the troop s is to conduct this mission, and as i said, the main purpose is to be based on prudence to make sure that you have what you need, and that you have reserve. If you need reserves, because we dont know how the situation is going to unfold. And it is not, he didnt choose these units, or this approach to send a message. He chose these units and approach to accomplish a mission and to make sure that he had enough Capability And Capacity to do it safely and in an orderly fashion, but that said, and vi said it now three or four times. If these forces are attacked or threatened, we will respond in a appropriate and forceful way. One for question, we have talked about the troops of the 82nd airborne going into kuwait that could be on standby if needed. And if they are needed, is that like the ones of the 3,000 troops that are going to be arriving, is that something different. Sorry. Say it again. The brigade, and the bct get into kuwait, should they be called upon, are they going to be doing exactly what the 3,000, the three battalions arriving In Kabul by the weekend or some thinking that they might be doing Something Else . They are a ready force that would be available to us should they be needed for any number of Security Mission P and again, i could not begin to speculate what that mission would look like. So they could have capabilities commensurate with those going to hamid Karzai Airport in the coming days. Thank you. The pakistanis are blaming again, u. S. For the crisis in afghanistan, and also in pakistan, he endorsed the pakistan government In Kabul, and also, in any government ask the u. S. Help in evacuation . I dont know of any other nations involved in this. These are the sovereign decisions that each nation has to make. Should we be asked to support any movement by allies and partners, we can do that and we would do that, but i dont know of any such requests or requirements. Look, just broadly speaking, what we said before is any of afghanistans neighbors or in the international community believe they have or want to have a stake in the future of afghanistan we would simply urge them to act in ways that helps to lead to the better outcomes of the afghan people, and helps to pursue a better negotiated settlement. Dan. You said yesterday that you thought this is the right time for this mission. Lawmakers from both parties and lots of nonprofits and afghans would say that the right time for this mission for sivs is in may or june, and can you square those thing, and why did it take so long . Thank you. We said for quite some time that we know that we have a moral obligations to help those who help us. We were ready, willing and able to support efforts to move special immigrants, and people applying for special Immigrant Visas out of the country, and we have met that obligation. It is a process that, as you know, it does not reside here at the defense department. And a process that has requirements. So what i can tell you from the d. O. D. Perspective, it is not something that we ever lost sight of, and an obligation that we just came around to, and at the outset planned for a lot of contingencies, and this is certainly one of them. Tony capasio. John, i have a couple of questions. You said that dod as a Planning Organization, and have they sent any plans as what to what we did in 2014 to iraq, and has that plan been crafted . That Planning Organization is true, tony, and what is true is that we dont talk about every plan on the books. Our focus right now, tony, and the plans that we are executing are to meet the president s Drawdown Requirement and also assist in drawdown of personnel by The End of the month and i wont speculate going forward. Again, i remind tony that this mission is a narrowly focused and very specific tailored vision to support the State Department at this particular time. I have a question. Go ahead. Okay. Second question, you have heard the narrative and the questions from reporters and everybody else about is this the repeat of The Fall Of Saigon. You are not a historian, and i know that a secretary and a number of you guys are wondering how the answer that question, and can you tell us where it is a bogus and fallacious analogy of where this is to the potential fall of saigon. Tony, we are not focused on the history of the vietnam war. We are just not. We are focused on meeting the requirements that we have today. That is where the punditry is, and so that is where we will leave it. And we will meet the responsibilities to the partners on the ground. Mike, go ahead. What is that is going to say for the 20year War In Afghanistan if it ends in the taliban rolling into kabul, and u. S. Mraps and humvees that we turned over to them . Mike, i dont have a crystal ball, and i cant see the future. Our troops did what they were supposed to do which is to prevent a Safe Haven to create attacks against us. And a lot of progress was established there. It is a progress that we dont want to see at risk. Going forward, we want to make sure that Terrorist Threats cannot emanate from afghanistan, and we are going to continue to support the afghan partners bilaterally through a more stable afghanistan. And another thing that i would say is that we want to continue to see that there is a negotiated political settlement here for governance going forward and that is what the focus is going forward. Do you think that the taliban is interested in negotiating. They dont seem to be interested. Are they legitimately interested in negotiating . They have a team in doha, and they have participated in the past in negotiations, and whether they are still interested in that or not, it is for them to speak to, and we are still interested in that outcome, and so should the rest of the international outcome. Followup on Mikes Question on the weapons. Will the u. S. Allow if it is looking like the other advanced aircraft that it looks like we have provided the aircraft over the years, will the u. S. Allow the Aircraft Fall into the talibans hands or is there a way for that to happen . I think that you can understand for me not to respect to that speculate on that, tara. There are flying missionings everyday and we have made commitments to help that, and refurbishing Black Hawk helicopters and financing some of the mi17s, in terms of the financial contractual support, and then the provision of the other property, and i will not talk about the Destructionf Property going forward. We are going to be focus on making sure they have the capabilities to operate in The Field. But will the u. S. Allow that Aircraft Fall into the talibans hands . We are always worried about equipment falling into an adversarys hands, and what action we would take to prevent that or forestall it, i wont speculate on it. Paul. Paul. Paul from politico . I guess he is not there. Okay. Joe. With the airlift, you said that the military will move thousands of people per day, and were you speaking specifically about afghans or should i say John Kirby said that the military will have the ability to move thousands of afghans and their families per day . Jeff, i think that you can surmise that when i say thousands of people would include, you know, a population of afghans, and of course, that are being processed through the special Immigrant Visa program, including the families. Okay. That is about it for today, thank you. Thank you very much, we are all set. We are all set. All right. That is pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby briefing on the unfolding situation in afghanistan, and a lot of information, there and we have the panel with us, and to recap for folks with us, and he said that we have three battalions deploying to afghanistan and perhaps some boots already on the ground, and talked about kabul not being under imminent threat, and he refused to answer questions from Courtney Cube that the pentagon was taken off guard by the speed of the taliban, and colonel jacobs, we will try to hit you quickly here, and for those who dont speak military math, talk to me about the three battalions of two marines and one army and what is a noncapacity of ability to airlift thousands of people out of the area, and what they will be doing and not doing. Three battalions is 2,000 to 2,100 soldiers and that going to leave 1,000 or so marines in the 3,000 that he is talking about, and those are support people. And so, the ones that he is deployed to the embassy and the route to the airport so they can evacuate properly, and the battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division is in reserve just in case they need to be deployed to ensure success. Colonel baron, you heard kirby talk about the action in the battlefield, and didnt want to get into specifics, but he said that the afghan Defense Force have more personnel and Air Force and trained by the united states for the last 20 years, but they are getting routed, and what do we know about why . What is happening on the battlefield that is leading an army in theory every advantage pushed back all across the country . This is with due respect to kirby, he and the administration are being incredibly disingenuous, and the reason that the afghans are melted away is eerily the same as when iraqis melted away from isis, because they have no faith in the government and no faith in the backing from the united states and the international community in the same way despite the promises of the administrations and the promises and the urging of President Biden, and secretary austin, and if these forces felt that, they would Hold Firm, but there is a big difference of the ground troops holding checkpoints and provinces than kabul. So a lot of the questions were what will the administration do about kabul. And today, john allen, the former former commander wrote an oped calling for the administration to declare a Red Line around kabul of some kind. Make something clear to the taliban that if you go this far there will be consequences. No more of this wishy Washy Talk about, you know, maybe and then international community and, you know, the afghans have the job to do if they want to do it for themselves. So its there say lot of formers out there who think, you know, calling on the ground forces in afghanistan should just, you know, Hold Firm is easier said than done. You heard in the briefing that kirby didnt dispute it, the idea that one of the other things these american personnel on the ground do is provide a Red Line of sorts, right . If you have 2,000 Armed Americans there, they send a message being on the ground. While the briefing is going on, we heard from the White House that President Biden got his own briefing earlier today on the status of whats going on in afghanistan. As you know, hes getting a ton of political pressure. Maunly from the right. But also from some democrats. To do more here. To somehow try to arrest the Talibans Progress or maybe even to outright reverse his decision to pull out of the country. What political options are still available to the president . And what do you know about the discussions that might be going on within the White House about how they should handle whats unfolding in front of All Of Us now . Well, i there may be options. President is not planning to take any of them. He made very clear in his decision is made. Hes not planning to reverse it. Hes not planning to amend it. This is not a surprise what is happening here. Perhaps some people were taken off guard by the speed with which this happened. Oenlt question is when this is going to happen. Thats what the Joint Chiefs Of Staff told the White House, told the president of the united states before he made his decision. There is no mystery about this. The president knew going in that the likely outcome of his decision might lead to something just like this. And he was prepared to live with that, what theyre telling people, you know, in private is that this is a tragedy. But its no the our tragedy. I mean thats the line that Ruch Ard Fontaine used just yesterday. I think that point is they recognize that this is going to be a short Term Disaster in afghanistan but that theres no appetite on the part of the americans to revisit the decision. Jack, i have 30 seconds left. Colonel jacobs, you get the last question. How much will come down to a decision by the afghan government and afghan military to choose to fight for kabul or not . One will expect they will fight for kabul. Its extremely difficult for any force including the taliban to fight in built up areas in the middle of cities, especially when there is a large concentration of troops against you. Having said all that, weve seen in the past but for afghanistan and elsewhere, that when there is a lot of momentum behind an Enemy Force like there with the taliban, the outcome is probably the no going to be very good. And one of the reasons that were in there in the first place is to evacuate our people before the taliban gets their hands on them. Well be watching that very closely. Thank you all for joining us for the entire hour. I want to get to Breaking News out of New York in this hour. The new York State assembly is now suspending its Impeachment Investigation of Governor Andrew Cuomo following his announcement of his resignation still to come. Carl hasting just released a statement that reads, let me be clear, the committees work over the last several months although not complete did uncover credible evidence in relation to allegations that have been made in reference to the governor. He referenced not only the sexual Harassment Investigation but covid19 deaths in new York Nursing homes and questions about the outgoing Governors Book and whether State Resources were used in the composition. The speaker later went on to say, this evidence we believe, could likely have resulted in articles of impeachment had the governor not resigned. Joining me now is our nbc News Correspondent ann thompson. What is the calculation here . Why suspend this process with credible evidence, particularly while Andrew Cuomo is still the governor of New York . Well, there are two reasons. First of all, there is nothing more once he resigns, the feeling is, look, that was the goal to get him out of office. And so theres no point to go forward. There is also a constitutional question of whether or not can you impeach someone who is no longer in office. And they dont think thats possible. This is a very controversial decision. There are already members of the Judiciary Committee which was supposed to meet money to take up this issue who are very disappointed in this decision saying they wanted the committee to produce report to present its evidence publicly. That apparently is not going to happen. What the speaker says is that all the evidence that the Judiciary Committee has gathered and that the Law Firm they hired is turned over to the various authorities who are investigating Andrew Cuomos actions. And those include five District Attorneys in the state of New York. The new York Attorney general which is looking it he whole issue of whether or not cuomo used State Workers to help write his memoir and, of course, federal investigators who are looking into how the Nursing Home deaths during covid19 were accounted for. So all that information will go to them. You can expect to also hear a lot of anguish from the families of people who died in those Nursing Homes. They want accountability. They want Impeachment Process to go forward. Some of the women that accused cuomo of sexual harassment, they also wanted the Impeachment Process to go forward. But for democrats, this is something they want Andrew Cuomo out and they want him gone. They dont want to be constantly rehashing this issue. Garret . All right. Ann thompson. Before we go, more Breaking News out of the cdc this afternoon. The cdc Advisory Panel just voted unanimously to approve a third Booster Shot of the Covid19 Vaccine for people with weakened immune systems. That happened hours after the fda gave its approval. This as covid19 cases continue to rise across the u. S. Driven by that highly contagious delta variant. More than 125,000 new cases are now being reported every day. Thats going to do it for me. Ayman mohyeldin picks up our coverage right after this. Up our coverage right after this. Or necessity. 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And coalition forces. Moments ago, pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby was asked if the deteriorating Security Situation could change the Time Line for the final u. S. Withdraw from afghanistan. Were going to be watching Security Situation Day By day. If we have to adjust, well do. That but were always going to be