Afghans tried to make it on u. S. Aircraft. Flying personnel out of the country some hanging on to the plane and at least seven people dying according to the associated press. U. S. Officials yet to give data on how many americans are left in country and we know les about the status of the afghans who helped the united states. Thats not to leave out the every day afghans, especially women and children who now fear for their freedom under taliban rule. Joining me to break down the current State Of Affairs in afghanistan Richard Engel is live on the ground in kabul. Courtney kube is there for us and white House Reporter Jonathan La Mire in washington. Richard, another night now under taliban control. What is the sense that you are getting from afghans on the ground in kabul right now . Reporter well, there is a i dont want to call it an acceptance of the new reality because people here do not accept the new reality but theyre trying to adjust it. Adjust to it. I saw Afghans Today were going out, changing how they dress. Before Western Clothing was very popular here. Now more afghans put on the traditional clothing. Venturing out into the streets. Talking to the taliban members, so far in kabul trying to be friendly and show that theyre going to be good gomp nors, not 0 presencive and afghans have no choice so they try to accommodate their new rulers, the new overlords. Theres quite a bit of looting in kabul over the last few days because the taliban moved in quickly but did take about 24 hours before the taliban really was able to put its roots down and set up checkpoints and secure the city if you will. Thats what they were doing today. Moving around the city and afghans were coming out. Perhaps speaking differently seeing what the reality is. At the airport you have afghans that cant adjust to the new reality. People that grew up over the last 20 years, made careers, had different kinds of aspirations, maybe put money in the pockets, enough to buy an Airplane Ticket to start a new life in a foreign country or they had a foreign visa or a scholarship program, journalists. People who see no future under the taliban. No way to accommodate them. Theyre stuck and heartbroken. Worried about the future epa then of course so women who are absolutely terrified. We talk about it is lot but it is important to stress time and time again that the afghan the taliban moves a little bit like an ancient army. It sweeps through. And if you resist it they will kill you and drag your body through the streets and some fighters will go into houses and we have heard accounts of this and pick up brides for the soldiers. These are unmarried women who the taliban decide are available to be gifted to taliban fighters. So there is a the afghan women here are not only worried about their long term prospects, go to work and be educated but also a knock on the door. Courtney, do we have any sense of how the american operation to Vut American Peril and those that worked with The Americans perhaps even those worked alongside international ngos is going in the country . Reporter not going as smoothly or as quickly as the Defense Officials had hoped so the goal is to work up to a place where they get up about 5,000 people out every day on military aircraft. I literally tried to get the up dated numbers and we have a hard time getting numbers but all we can confirm is somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 to 1,000 have gotten out. There are many thousands of people that this Evacuation Mission is supposed to be getting out of that country and the real reason that everything is stalled at the airport is the civilian side is nothing taking off or landing. Military side while Air Operations are continuing theyre not landing or taking off. No planes. So the military brings an aircraft in. Generally soldiers and marines coming in as part of the plusup of troops to kabul and the idea is to there on the ground they fill that plane up with people that need to get out of the country but thats not happening the way its supposed to so theres a bottleneck on both sides why the planes are not coming in with the troops and the citizens are not getting out including americans who have been working at the embassy there in kabul and the afghan special immigration visa candidates. A big part of the reason is exactly what we have been watching here. Civilians have been storming the aircraft. The runways just are not safe and the u. S. Military several hours ago started to move the civilians off the runways into a safer area and they have not been able to land any planes since they started that effort. Stay with me. Lets go to jonathan. As of Friday President biden was standing by his decision to brau. It was reinforced over the weekend. Should we be expecting any kind of different tone this afternoon or more of the same . White house aides havent oftened an official preview of the remarks. But the sense that i have the aides i have been talking to suggest no. No Course Correction from strategy but a different Approach And Tone from this president. They are stunned over the weekend by the swift collapse of the afghan forces. Saying if after 20 years of American Traning and billions of dollars of american money this is how quickly the afghan forces would fall in the face of the taliban what good would another year or two bring . Certainly though though they stand by the decision theyre aghast by the scenes in kabul the last few days and across the country and in particular those terrible images from the airport we have seen this morning. They didnt expect it to go this quickly. And i think there will be an acknowledgement that it should have gone better but also to get American Personnel out. To then get citizens as well but takes days and time is running out as has been detailed about the threat that the taliban poses to the afghan citizens and this is what President Biden long said he would do. He campaigned on a promise to bring troops home. Had that position as vice president. Certainly he has not wavered from that belief while tacking office but this is now without question the greatest foreign Policy Crisis of his young presidency. Richard, you were talking about the observations of changes on the ground already in the first hours and certainly what youre hearing. But talk to us of official statements from the taliban how they are now governing that country. What do they plan to do with some of those that worked alongside The Americans and representatives . Have they give an indication on an official level . Reporter officially they say sunshine and love. They say afghans have nothing to worry about. They shouldnt leave the country. They have no jihad against the afghan people and only against the occupiers and those that enabled them. They have been trying to go out on the streets and smile and tell people that things will be all right. Thats the official line. Will it last . Can they be believed . There have been indications that the taliban tried this approach in Northern Afghanistan and kabul just fell but in the north areas fell a week, two weeks ago. Some longer. Initially the taliban tried the same approach there. Said everything is fine. The civil servants should come back to work and when they didnt come back to work because they were too afraid, the taliban said youd better come back to work or you will face taliban justice. When they got crossed and didnt get what they wanted they got very angry and very strict so right now theyre going through a bit of a honeymoon period. They feel good. The americans are leaving here. The withdrawal is going badly. That helps the taliban, the narrative. But lets see what happens in a week or two if things arent going as well and things start to turn against them. Will they have the same smiling Approach And Everything will be fine or will they go back to the taliban that people fear and the reason that people were on the Planes Today . Trying to get on the Planes Today. Thank you for that. Lets talk about the die name you can of the u. S. Military and the taliban on the ground. Its been communicated not to interfere in this evacuation. We saw and as you reported the u. S. Military confirmed they killed two armed Individuals Today why what point does the Mission Cross over to a more combat one as opposed to how it was described last week from the pentagon as a draw down, a narrowly defined draw down . This is a source of tension between the reporters and military is what is a Combat Mission and what is not . The mission may not be combat that you think of in a classic sense of troops going and kicking in doors and patrolling through streets but it is still a dangerous mission in that it is a nonpermissive environment in kabul. Theres the potential for danger, to confront an enemy here in this case it would be the taliban so we know that the military who are flowing in or staying at kabul airport. Theyre on the Military Side of that airport and the role right now now that all The Americans and staff from the embassy are there at the airport, the goal is keep it safe enough to get the people out and to get any of the afghans out under the special immigrant program. That being said, what we have seen in the last 24 hours is people, afghan civilians storming the civilian side of the anticipate and some spilled over towards the Military Side. Two Security Incidents that candidly we know very little about still but armed individuals, there was a confrontation and some members of the u. S. Military fired on and killed two armed individuals. Thats all we know. We dont know if they were taliban or the circumstances here but this giving you a sense of tenuous and potentially explosive the situation can be despite the fact again may not be considered a classic Combat Mission, these men and women have the potential to be in danger. There at the airport and with so tensions running so high and so many people in a frantic state at the airport there is the potential for these kinds of Security Incidents and worse for a larger miscalculation. All right. Thanks to all of you. I greatly appreciate it. Joining me on the phone is fawzi koofi. Minister koofi, thank you for joining us. I want your status update. You are at risk as a former woman in power. I understand you survived multiple Assassination Attempts and in hiding with your three daughters. How are you doing . As you said, rightly, i am in afghanistan. Yes. And constantly changing my location because its chaotic situation. Lawlessness. Vacuum of power. Its not only the taliban but with them theres a lot of criminals. People who can disturb, especially people who have been afraid of Women Power in the country need to be afraid of Women Power try to create troubles using this the chaotic situation. Are you yourself trying to get out of the country right now . I have been in afghanistan all my life. Difficult times and good times. I have been with my people. I have had given whats happening i am a member of negotiation in doha with the political office, the taliban political office and my colleagues there been trying to join them there but its been extremely difficult to impossible partly because of my kind of profile. And secondly because of the fact that the Airport Situation is an indication of im sorry to say but the failure of the past 20 years of foreign poll it cans of policy of probably the u. S. Administration. Were you surprised at which the speed that this happened . We have been talking about whether or not people anticipated this. You were a woman in power in afghanistan. Did you expect this to happen to your country so quickly . No. Actually, im shocked to see the country that i have invested my blood in the past 20 years that we have all with the international partners, with our Strategy Partners like united states, have invested Blood And Treasure to see it shattered so quickly and collapse to nowhere is painful. In the morning when i woke up i could not even believe that i am 20 years ago after all the investment and everything. For whatever reason, which people of afghanistan dont understand it, the united states decided to withdraw. Yes, we do not want them to stay forever but we were in the midst of the Peace Negotiation which we could agree to a political settlement paving the way for a power agreement. But All Of A Sudden President Biden announced unconditional withdrawal and here we are. The Blood Loss of The Americans, thousands and millions of Blood Loss of afghans in war, All Of A Sudden everything back to scratch. It is painful. What is your reaction to how the afghan government, president and the Security Forces and the leadership handled this situation . Do you feel that they have let the afghan people down, that they were corrupt, part of the problem . They were, unfortunately, that president was also imposed by americans to us. He was never elected. Yes, there was election but he never won any election. Not only a power centric. He wanted to control everything by himself and key people and fleed the country without penal and a lot of money. People of afghanistan feel so betrayal. It is morally so inappropriate. We have never had in our history a president. Sitting president that could run like this from leaving the country in chaos. He lacked leadership skills. And as a result of that we could see institutions especially Security Institutions fall. When i came from doha from negotiation and i was in contact with a lot of people from my community to see why things are going so rapidly in the direction we didnt expect especially in terms of our security and the response is lack of communication, corruption. Soldiers not paid for monthings. They did not know what to do. There was a miscommunication. They did not have a strong leadership to hold them so all of this is because of the lack of leadership of this man that now flee the country, flee the country in vacuum of power. He could do that but in a proper way. People of afghanistan not happy with him in any case but remember that he was also somebody favored by some of the american leaders and politicians. As you probably are aware the president of the united states is about to address the nation. He may be watching this. Certainly the White House may be watching this. What message do you have to the american people and the administration about Americas Involvement and withdrawal from afghanistan and what that means for people like you and your daughters . My hope together with my american sisters and friends, we will be able to have a prosperous afghanistan where americans could come and europeans could come to kabul, during summer, go to jalalabad in winter. Enjoy the beauty of this country. We share the happiness. Unfortunately All Of A Sudden all my dreams for this country and the future i had shattered. So i think the many people in the united states probably for them this War In Afghanistan was not popular. I have been a Peace Advocate but the war and the presence for a different reason. The presence in the afghanistan, the Troop Presence in afghanistan kept a School Open for a girl so the fact that you think this was an afghan problem and let afghans solve it i think is a mistake, a mistake that we just saw the History Repeat itself. I think the war will not only be limited to the instability, to the borders of afghanistan. It can reach anywhere. We remember in 2001 when afghanistan was abandoned. Your own security was at risk. Im afraid that we have to face the fact that the same history will be repeated again. Minister, a final question. Do you feel that the taliban will be any different this time around than in 2001 . Do you have any reason it will be different for the women and children of afghanistan . The political office in qatar keep getting messages that they will be different but they put soldiers on the ground as the same as before. People are unfair, especially women. I have been in contact with some women who today yes everybody terrified. We want to see how the situation will unfold. Im hoping with international community close watching the Situation And Monitoring we will not have the same experience as we did 20 years back. We have decided most of us to stay in afghanistan with the cost of our life continue to raise the voices but the international community need to listen to us because we deserve a life with the same standard that people in the united states or you deserve. It is not the people of afghanistan to be punished for the misdeeds of the politicians. We deserve all the Respect And Dignity that like people in your country. All right. Minister koofi, thank you. We hope that you continue to be safe with your family. Thank you. Thank you. Up next, were trying to connect with a taliban spokesperson to speak to them about the Groups Lightning fast takeover of afghanistan and the groups plan for how they plan to govern that country, including women. The White House is conducting Closed Door briefings on afghanistan with members of the house and the senate. What members of congress say about the situation. At usaa, weve been called too exclusive. Because we only serve those who honorably served. All ranks, all branches, and their families. Are we still exclusive . Absolutely. And thats exactly why you should join. Comcast nbcuniversal is investing are we still exclusive . Absolutely. In entrepreneurs to bring whats next for Sports Technology to athletes, teams, and fans. Thats why we created the sportstech accelerator, to invest in and develop the next generation of technology that will change the way we experience sports. Weve already invested in entrepreneurs like ane swim, who develops products that provide Hair Protection so that everyone can enjoy the freedom of swimming. Like the athletes competing in tokyo, these entrepreneurs have a fierce Work Ethic and drive to achieve to change the game and inspire the team of tomorrow. The u. N. Security council is calling for talks on forming a new government for afghanistan and an end to the fighting and Human Rights abuses there after the council held a meeting at which the Afghanistans Ambassador to the United Nations accused the taliban of not honoring the promises and commitments and talked about the dire situation in his homeland. Translator we have seen gruesome images of mass executions, Military Personnel and Target Killing of civilians in kandahar and other cities . Taliban members have started house to house searches in neighborhoods registering names and looking for people on the target list. There are already reports of Target Killings and looting in the city. Kabul residents are living in absolute fear right now. All right. Joining us now is Suhail Shaheen and was involved in negotiations with the united states. Sir, the afghan ambassador says the taliban is carrying out mass executions and targeted killings in Kandahar Annika Bull and the reporter in kabul said he is hearing the similar reports. What is your response that the forces are committing the atrocities . These allegations are totally baseless. Totally wrong. They are the Propaganda Spread to another mislead the opinion of the world against us. Of course there was when the forces and policemen created the outpost, the station and they fled. There was for a few hours and our forces were at that time the gate up in the kabul city. When we resealed the airport of damaging to from peoples public properties then we entered the cities. Now the security is maintained and our more forces from our side will enter in order to provide security to all parts of the city. You say your forces are providing security and we were getting calls and Hearing Messages from people who are saying that the taliban and their fighters have gone house to house looking for people who worked alongside The Americans, who worked as translators and in some cases taking young women and children as brides for their fighters. Are you denying those allegations . Yes, i totally deny. If someone goes go from Door To door and they are posing as taliban they are not taliban. They may be from the former and forces and in order to create a bad name for us but they are not taliban because we are a clear policy why the policies that no One Kepter anyones house, property, Honor And Life of the people are protected. That we have issued statement after statement. That is clear. But we know there are bringing a lot provide to provide unfortunately for others to spread to spread maligning us and also giving us a bad name. Okay. Accusing us. That is their game from the okay. From the last 20 years. If you are in doha negotiating about a peaceful resolution for afghanistan, why did the taliban sweep across afghanistan from City To city going from town to town and taking control while you are also engaged in negotiations with The Americans . Why would you do that . We were against negotiations here with other side team. But you participated in the negotiations. Yeah. Yes. We are in the negotiation. So were they not good faith negotiations . It was in good faith but it was their responsibility of the Security Forces that they were living their outpost coming to us and saying we do not have parts in this administration. And we do not want to stop this fighting. We were not anymore with this administration. They were handing our their weapons and they were joining our ranks. So it was their responsibility to have control over them. We long said this administration the people and their soldiers do not trust the current administration. So we had a negotiation here. But here they also said we have 20 years gains. It is a Red Line for us. They said the public is a Red Line for us why the constitution is a Red Line for us. Okay. While here in doha it was a consolation to put everything so on their side from their side on the table and negotiate and reach a solution and form a government acceptable to all. Ill get to how you govern in a moment but did the taliban make any assurances, did they give The Americans any guarantees they would be, that The Americans would be allowed to leave kabul without attacks or threats against the military or personnel they try to evacuate . Yes. You gave them that guarantee . Yeah. We have commitment. That there will be no attack on The Americans. Who have created afghanistan. Not only now. It was for the last 14 months which was mentioned in the agreement. We didnt attack them. No single american soldier was killed during that time. Before that, you know, there was a lot of casualties. Will you, will you go after and punish those that worked with The Americans while they were there if they dont leave the country . We want them not to leave the country. To live a normal life. Our country needs them. But will you punish those who worked with The Americans . We have commitment. Will you punish those that worked with The Americans . Punish them and we will not pose any risk to them, to their property and to their life. It is our policy. We have issued an official statement in this regard. So okay. You have probably seen you have probably seen the images of thousands of afghans who are trying to leave afghanistan. If they want to leave afghanistan under the Talibans Control will you keep the borders open and allow people in afghanistan to leave freely without any threats . We had let the people but it was the game of the kabul Administration Intelligence. Kabul Administration Intelligence because they spread the rumors that there are planes standing awaiting at the airport. Anyone who wants to go to the west, to the European Countries they are welcome. There is no need for any kind of government, any Visa Or Passport but they should reach the airport and embark the airplanes. Okay. I want to ask thats why thousands of thousands of people. Sorry. Let me ask you about how the taliban killed during launching and jostling. Let me ask you about how the taliban is going to govern. You control afghanistan. Is the taliban after hearing now the situation we may be having a technical delay. Now that the taliban is in control, will you control unilaterally without any elections . Will you allow elections to happen in afghanistan . Will you allow women to participate in politics . Okay. It seems that we may have lost the connection there with shaheen. We were going to ask him about the future of Women In Afghanistan Under Taliban control. Well see if we can at least get that connection. Unfortunately we lost it. The English Spokesperson for the taliban joining me is a journalist who lived in afghanistan for years covers both that country as well as the region. She is also now an author, an acclaimed author. Thank you so much for joining us. For journalists like yourself i want to get your initial reactions to everything you see. You watch the taliban Take Control in a span of two weeks. Heard from a former Afghan Minister of parliament afraid for her life and heard from a taliban spokesperson how they intend to govern. I want your initial reactions to it all. I will tell you that pretty much everyone ive spoken to who spent time in afghanistan, a journalist, diplomat, Ngo Worker or tried to find work, we are all devastated. I know there are people out there saying what were the 20 years for . These 20 years for those women we see in parliament, the Women Doctors we see. The women journalists. The women olympians. There was a female sprinter in the last two to three olympics. There was tons of progress and i have always said it was fragile progress and so fragile that to cut and run this quickly without any kind of vision and any kind of prospect of trying to help our allies, our friends, people that we have put their lives in danger now, that fragility it is just shattered everything. Shattered. Let me play for you earlier what the uks Defense Chief expressed, basically regret that not all allies will be evacuated from the country. Part of regret for me that some people wont get back. Some people wont get back. We will have to do our best in the country to process those people. It is sad and the west has done what its done. Based on your experience in the region how preevenible was this dire outcome for afghans . Are you surprised they did not try to secure their exodus before that of the military and American Personnel . Can i just start by saying that im glad to see im not the only one crying over this. Im in mourning. I havent cried so much since my father died. We are seeing our friends slowly die. Whether it be physically, we know even if they survive physically their hopes, their hopes are gone. We did not do this the right way. We do not do this the right way. President biden had a choice to do it a better way. He had many choices. There is plenty of choices between allout War And Tweet abandonment. And this was complete abandonment. The Afghan Army is getting the brunt. It is almost as its propaganda to put this on the Afghan Military. They had been doing a pretty decent job the last few years. Yes, there has been violence in afghanistan but they created stability. Theres a crisis of confidence with the Afghan Army for the past tenplus years and something we knew and in reports in 2009 from u. S. Generals. They had that confidence as long as they had us in bagram. Bagram. We were not in the battlefield. Americans werent on the battlefield for the last several years and ripping the soldiers out we stripped them of that confidence, ammunition getting to them and fuel. We stripped them of food getting to them. Imagine fighting for your country but starving. Would you not lay our weapon down and say i would rather go to the Family And Die of starvation than bloodshed . Thats what happened to them. Given time we could have helped them. We have forces in albania, in iraq. We could have had a noncombat role in afghanistan for a little while longer or we could have given them six months to help the friends that helped us as In America and the international community and one other point i want to make is not only do we let the afghans down terribly and the most we let the allies down. Who is going to trust us in the future . Another thing to mention, ayman, lets not be fooled by that white flag with black lettering. It is no different than the black Isis Flag with white writing. We handed that country for something else to form there and terrified that we will be back in the future and see the children going back in the future because of the decision made. Thank you so much for your insights. I appreciate it. We keep an eye on the White House. Any minute now we expect President Biden to make a first comments on camera as the taliban takes control of afghanistan. The president faces intense criticism on the decision to withdraw. Joining me is colonel chris kalinder. He negotiated with them in peace talks. Colonel, i want your reaction from the military and the way the execution of the evacuation is happening and then leaving and under the current circumstances. Ive got two reactions. One is perm emotions involved in this which is im very upset, concerned about the afghan friends that fear for their lives right now. I am very upset about the unforced errors and squandered opportunities over the past 20 years that have led us to this point. From a Policy Standpoint separating my personal emotion from where we go next i think its important to recognize why were here. Why were where we are today. Thats number one the afghan people voted with their feet. Away from their government and the commanders. And to the taliban. Part of that is just the deep corruption in the government where their commanders are selling food. Theyre selling weapons and ammunition on the black market. And the people just got fed up. Second is the taliban spent the last 17 months since the u. S. Doha agreement, u. S. Taliban agreement in doha negotiating the capitulations and the reason why you see the provincial capitals and then kabul fall in the last two weeks is theyre collecting on the capitulations. You havent seen big urban Street Fighting in afghanistan. Third is the united states created an Afghan Security Forces that were too highly dependent on the united states. Look. Im a professional consultant. My job when i work with clients is to help them be the best versions of themselves, make sure that theyre better off so if we part ways they soar and not crash and burn. By creating such dependency that the Partner Crashes and burns thats strategic Malpractice And Something to take a hard look at as we examine the outcomes of this war. We can get to that in a second but i want do go back to the exodus for a moment because and the evacuation. I have spoken to a few afghans on the ground who worked with the u. S. And what they are Sur Pridesed be we heard from the Deputy Speaker of the parliament. The way it is being done and why not secure the safe exit of all of those who worked with The Americans . Why not make sure that those that worked with us get out of the country safely and then remove americas Military Presence so we dont see the scenes that we see on the tarmacs of the airport . Do you think that was a mistake . Look. The afghan government squandered the last 18 months failing to prepare the defenses. The united states squandered the 18 months in having the process too bureaucratic. And right now i think its also important to hard to roll up the sleeves when you wring your hands. Theres a humanitarian crisis going on in afghanistan right now. Theres an opportunity to make a difference in that humanitarian crisis working with the authorities on the ground in afghanistan. To get the people who stood by us and want to leave afghanistan out and work with the authorities on the ground to address the crisis. This is the best way to prevent an international terrorist force from reestablishing itself in afghanistan. So speaking of the humanitarian situation on the ground, what would you advise the american military to do right now in terms of put on the Military Hat and say what is the best way in this Worstcase Scenario to get out of it and make sure that the loss of life is minimized . Weve got to secure the airport and create some order there and assurance that everybody there is going to be able to get out. Thats the first thing we need to do. Second thing to do diplomatically is reach out to the authorities within the taliban and others like president karzai and begin working with them on alleviating the humanitarianaster. Theres a lot of capability in the international community to help alleviate the suffering of afghans right now and so nows the time to play the hand we are dealt, the hand thats in front of us. And work with afghans to protect afghan lives and at the same time set a foundation for afghanistan to be stable in the future and for us to work together to prevent a terrorist presence as well as assuring Human Rights. Colonel, thank you for your time. Thank you very much for having me. We continue to watch the White House waiting for President Biden to deliver remarks on afghanistan. Well take a quick break. Someone once told me, that i should get used to people staring. So i did. Its okay, you can stare. When youre a twotime gold medalist, it comes with the territory. Helen knew exercise could help her diabetes. But she didnt know what was right for her. No. Nope. No way. But then helen went from no to know with Freestyle Libre 14 day, now she knows what activity helps lower her glucose. And can see what works best for her. Take the mystery out of your glucose levels, and lower your a1c. Now you know. Freestyle libre 14 day. Now covered by medicare for those who qualify. Hi, im debra. Im from colorado. Ive been married to my high School Sweetheart for 35 years. Im a mother of four always busy. I was starting to feel a little foggy. Just didnt feel like things were as sharp as i knew they once were. I heard about prevagen and then i started taking it about two years now. Started noticing things a little sharper, a little clearer. I feel like its kept me on my game. Im able to remember things. Id say give it a try. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Welcome back, everyone. It is ten minutes to the top of the hour. We are awaiting President Biden to address the nation on the latest developments in afghanistan. He was at Camp David for a vacation, cut that short to return to the White House as the situation on the ground there continues to deteriorate with the ongoing Military Evacuation of American Personnel. I want to bring into the conversation right now shannon pettypiece, senior White House correspondent for Nbc News digital. Also with us in Iran Nbc News Tehran Bureau Chief ali arouzi. To both of you ill give you the caveat if we hear the president we will cross over to him, but shannon, lets start with you. Give us a quick overview of what we expect to hear from the president as he speaks any moment now. Well, this is clearly a president on the defense. We know that administration officials were discussing on sunday how and when the president should respond, acknowledging that there was a need for the president to make some sort of address to the nation, given the scenes that have unfolded over the past 72 hours. Now, what he will say in that defense well be watching closely for. Up until now this administration has largely been defending their overall strategy to pull troops out, saying they inherited a timeline from the trump administration, that one year or five years longer in afghanistan wasnt going to make i adifference if the Afghan Military wasnt able or willing to defend themselves. Thats the argument, the Talking Points we have been hearing. But a lot of the criticism the president has been getting in recent days including from his own party and from former Obama Administration officials, has been around the handling of this situation, has been around why Visa Applicants are still stuck there, why those werent process before u. S. Troops were pulled out, why american diplomats are still trapped at the embassy at the airport at this point. Why the Airport Wasnt secured. Why we are seeing images like people clinging to the wheels of an airplane. That is the criticism that we havent really seen the White House respond to that i think we should be listening for today. And one other thing i would note to listen for, we also havent really heard a strong message from this White House to the afghan people, to the women of afghanistan, to the people who will be left behind. What is the u. S. Message to them . That is something this president really hasnt gotten into because so much of the focus has been on America And Americas interests and getting our people out, not the afghan people. And i think that aspect has really come to life and hit home for the american public as we are seeing these images and the consequences of this troop withdrawal. Yeah. I was speaking to a member of the afghan parliament, the Deputy Speaker who told me she felt somewhat abandoned by what has transpired over the past couple of days. Ali, a short time ago i was speaking to a taliban spokesperson. He said that under taliban control all afghans will be allowed to leave if they want to leave, wherever they want to go. Are we beginning to see an exodus of people from afghanistan into neighbors countries including iran . Ry, ayman. Yes, we are indeed. Afghan refugees have been pouring into iran for decades. It shares a notoriously porous border with afghanistan. And right now theyre coming in in large numbers. The iranian authorities have set up three makeshift Refugee Camps along the border where theyre holding afghan refugees. Theyre also trying to get into tajikistan and uzbekistan. But the majority of them are coming here into iran as they have done in the past. And ive got to tell you, ayman, its a very difficult life for afghans here in iran. They have to do menial, dangerous jobs. They it dont get paid well. They dont get any sort of medical insurance. Their children are unable to go to schools and get educated properly. But its still a safer, better option for them than afghanistan. And a lot of them have come into iran because they dont feel particularly welcome here. They try to get over to irans western border with turkey to cross over into turkey and then try to get into europe for a chance of a better life. So yes, this exodus is unfolding, this Chaotic Exodus is unfolding before our eyes while many, many afghans are pouring into iran, leaving behind everything in afghanistan. I spoke to one afghan who had come here a few weeks ago because he had seen what was going to unfold in afghanistan. He left his home behind, his car behind, his whatever he could pack into his suitcase with his wife and kids and came over to iran because of whats unfolding there right now. One more reminder that what is happening in afghanistan has far reaching consequences all across the region and beyond. Ali arouzi live for us in tehran. Thank you. Shannon pettypiece at the White House. Shannon, thank you as well. That wraps up the very busy hour for me. Ill see you right back here tomorrow at 3 00 p. M. Eastern. Brian williams and Nicolle Wallace pick up our Special Coverage as we wait to hear from President Biden on the Unraveling Situation in afghanistan. Dont go anywhere. Anywhere. Indeed, good afternoon. 3 56 p. M. Here in the east. Brian williams here with you kicking off Special Coverage of afghanistans collapse. The president set to deliver remarks from the East Room of the White House in just a few moments following the scenes of chaos at the airport in kabul, afghanistan overnight. And this indelible image. Afghans clinging to a u. S. Air Force C17 Aircraft upon takeoff, desperate to escape their circumstances as Panic Courses through their nation. Now overtaken once again by Taliban Rule Two decades after being toppled by the united states, held at bay until u. S. Troop withdrawal picked up speed in recent weeks and months and days. Over the weekend the comparisons to the evacuation of saigon at The End of the Vietnam War were absolutely unavoidable. Indeed, the imagery coming out of afghanistan then confirmed the comparison as helicopters descended on the u. S. Embassy in kabul to speed up the evacuation of u. S. Personnel. Despite assurances from President Biden just last month that there is going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy of the united states from afghanistan. That is indeed what happened. President biden then six weeks ago firmly insisting that a Taliban Takeover The likes of which has unfolded before our very eyes this very weekend was anything but inevitable. The president over the weekend was photographed in conversations with senior officials and national security advisers on closed Circuit Television but by all other accounts hes been Out Of Sight at Camp David as far as the american people have been concerned, has not spoken on camera in nearly a week until now. This afternoon the president will indeed address the situation and just what it is the united states has to show for 20 years of war and 2 trillion. Nicolle wallace leads off the coverage as she does every afternoon at this hour, 4 00 p. M. Eastern time. Nicolle, bearing in Mind David Gergen on twitter in the last hour, he has served, what, four u. S. President s, is strongly recommending biden do what jfk did after bay of pigs, what Ronald Reagan did after iran contra, take full responsibility, say this is on me. According to your reporting, nicolle, what will the president say when we hear from him . And more fundamentally, what can he say . Well, to david gergens advice, this president is i would say most supremely confident of his experience in the area of foreign policy. And our friend mike memoli, who will be along, probably has more thoughts on that. But i know in navigating the crisis in the mideast earlier this summer he felt like he knew as much as Anyone Whod ever had this job. I think thats why the very, very vivid and very tragic scenes that youre describing are such a blow to one of the central strengths of his presidency. I have talked to senior White House officials all weekend, and they are so unapologetically committed to making this about the decision to leave afghanistan after 20 years. Theyre full of statistics and data about the sacrifice of the men and women of the military and the financial cost. But so far their messages havent spoken to the pictures most people have seen on their television sets. And i know all too well that when people are consuming tragedies and the President Isnt speaking to them its usually not good for the White House in the moment. We see an aide putting the president s remarks at the Lk Tern in the East Room. Nicolle, before i toss it back over to you and mike memoli, were just inside two minutes until we hear from the president. The only other thing i would say, brian, is that this country really hasnt had a debate about afghanistan because the two men running for president at the top of the democratic and Republican Party had the same position. This White House also constantly pointing back to the fact their hands were tied by a deal the Expresident Donald Trump made with the taliba