President Ashraf Ghani who posted a statement in exile now in the United Arab Emirates saying that he had to flee to avoid more bloodshed in his homeland. Were alSo watching the White House where President Biden is scheduled to speak about the Pandemic Response in about 90 minutes from now, and just hours after his administration unveiled a plan to offer a Vaccine Booster Shot starting the third week of september. This has hospitals in hardhit areas continue to struggle with the rising number of cases, particularly those among people who remain unvaccinated, but as you can imagine we begin this hour in afghanistan, and here to start things off for us peter baker, New York times white House Correspondent and an msnbc political analyst. We should note that peter was alSo first american Newspaper Journalist to report from afghanistan after 9 11. Kevin barren is with us, the Executive Editor of defense. Great to have you both with us. Peter, lets start with you about what we know in terms of this briefing were about to get. What should we expect to hear from lloyd Austin And Mark milley . Well, i think youre going to hear them tell us that the situation is more under control than it has been 40 hours ago, that they have backed, you know, a relatively clear, crisp operation going in terms of evacuating more americans and afghans, burks of course, they will have to answer a lot of questions, questions about what they told the White House and when. What advice they gave. Reports have come out, of course, that general Milley And Secretary austin warned President Biden even before he made his decision to withdraw in april that there could be, you know, consequences to it, that there would be unpleasant consequences along the lines of what weve been seeing we they will be asked why the execution of it, even if the policy was the right choice, why the execution of it seems to have been So flawed. Why if the Contingency Planning that was done in advance of these final days of the afghan government didnt prepare the forces on the ground to be ready to get out the people who needed to get out in a timely basis. Kevin, to peters point about the messaging coming out of the White House. The White House has said that they did not want to evacuate americans and other allies before the military Drawdown Pause they did not want to signal to the afghan government a lack of confidence in them or that they had this assessment that the taliban would take over. Should we be anticipating any change here in the Strategy Or Withdrawal deadline thats supposed to be August 31st or is the administration expected to stick to its original operation . I dont think we know yes. I think it all depends on how the next few days go and just how many people are able to get to the airport and get on planes to get out of there. If its a steady Flow I Cant imagine any american administration stopping that and, you know, not trying to hold taliban to their very thin word that they would let folks get into the airport. The problem is were seeing and hearing report after report of americans inside of afghanistan trying to get to the gate, trying to find Follow Embassy instructions and still having difficulty getting through the marines or even gentlemen, ill have to cut you guys off. Lets cross over to the pentagon. That briefing is under way. I will be moderating. Please limit followups if you can. Mr. Secretary. Thanks, john. Im going to speak briefly and then turn over to the chairman for an operational update. Let me start by saying that we remain laser focused right now on Hamid Karzai International Airport In Kabul and doing everything that we can to continue evacuating americans, allies, afghans who have worked alongside us and alSo other courageous afghans at special risk. And to that end im prioritizing three key concerns. First, the Safety And Security of our people and the people that were trying to evacuate. As the chairman will brief you, the final elements of additional military forces continue to flow into kabul with about 4,500 in place as we speak. They are trained and equipped to defend themselves and their operations. There have been no hostile interactions with the taliban and our lines of communication with taliban commanders remain open as they should be. My second focus is maintaining security at the airport itself. In concert with forces from our allies, our troops have set up defensive positions around the airport, and the airport is able to function safely. Now we dont take this for granted, and i continue to be in daily contact with began mckenzie and commanders on the ground to make sure that they have what they need to keep it safe. My third area of focus, of course, is the pace. Increasing the flow of aircraft and people out of kabul. Weve flown out several thousand since the 15th Of August and our goal is to be able to increase our capacity every day going forward. And as we build out this capacity, were working hand in glove with the State Department which is leading the whole of Government Effort to notify and Process American Citizens who are leaving and to urgently identify and process afghan applicants as well. Weve dispatched Small Military Teams to two of the airports gates to assist the State Departments consular efforts as they evaluate and process individuals seeking entry, and we expect to be able to augment that capability in the coming day. This is truly a Team Effort across the inner agency and throughout all of this, our u. S. Service members are making exceptional efforts until challenging circumstances and throwing their humanity and their compassion So i wan to thing them for their skill and professionalism. Its not host on me that even as we conduct this very important mission we has continue to help our fellow merges deal with a new surge in the pandemic and the citizens of Haiti Deal with the aftermath of an ebt. Let me alSo thank General Mckenzie and rear Admiral Vasley and major donahue of the 82nd Airborne Division. It is making an enormous difference. They know as i do that theres a lot of work to be done yet. Now, all of this is very perSonal for me. This is a war that i fought in and led. I know the country, i know the people who fought ahoppingside me. As i said, we have a moral obligation to help those who helped us, and i feel the urgency deeply So i want to end with a word for the force and our military. I know that these the are difficult disthat lost Loved Ups and those who carry the wounds of war. Especially now we mourn those who made the ultimate sacrifice in afghanistan, and let me say to their families and Loved Ones our hands are with you. And the u. S. Military stands as one to honor those weve lost. Now, afghan War Veterans arent Some monolith. Im hearing strong views from all sides on this issue and thats probably the way that it should be. Whats whats important is rrng we need to work our way through this in our open way and we need to give each other their time and space to do it . Our greatest asset as a nation are the extraordinary men and women who volunteer to keep our men and women safe and their family. We honor your service and will never fourgame your sacrifice and had never forgot that. With that ill turn it over to began milley who will talk operationally. What i would like to do is give you an Over Awl assess president. Currently the united States Military is focused on specific issue many conducting a command operation. This is in likely to be the second largest neo conducted by the United States. Our key tasks are to establish and maintain security at the kabul international airport, defend the airport attack. Evacuate all american citizens from afghanistan who desire to leave this kun there. I evacuate any third country national or alice and partners as designated by the secretary of state. Evacuate Son-el-with-special-immigrant-visas'>PerSon El With Special Immigrant Visas and evacuate any other evacuees that the president indicates. The president. United states made had a decision to withdraw u. S. Forces from afghanistan on april 14th. Since that date we conducted a deliberate and responsible drawdown of u. S. Forces to less than 1,000 with the specific task of securing the u. S. Embassy in our diplomatic presence in afghanistan. Since the Security Situation Loppedry degraded. Said the situation is very dynamic, very fluid and all of us can be proud of the poem who are executing this issue. There will be plenty of times to aars but right now our mission is to ski that Air Field an evacuate all thoelt are faith follow to us. There. For Port Moram on that tap many. Right now we have scraps at well. If. All american citizens who want to get out of afghanistan, they are our Priority Number one, and in addition we intend to evacuate those who have been supporting us for years, and were not going to leave them behind and well get out as many as possible. Our troops in kabul are taking high risk to accomplish that mission. Every minute these troops are on the ground making difficult decisions with incredible skill, incredible bravery and incredible valor. Currently the Security Situation at the airport is stable. However, there are threats, and were closely monitoring those. At any moment they can happen. We can identify them. If we identify them well take immediate Military Action without hesitance in accordance with our Rules Of Engagement and the taliban and every other organization in that country knows it. The taliban are in and around kabul right now, but they are not interfering with our operations. Through the State Department the taliban are facilitating the Safe Passage to the airport for american systems. U. S. Passport holder. You alSo see unarmed. Innocent civil yaps hey massing on the airport where they about ima Safety Hazard to themselves. Theres many risks out there and the troops are dealing with them in this volatile chirnt which can and likely will change rapidly. Let me make one comment on the intelligence because im seeing all over the news there were warnings of a rapid collapse. I have previously said from this podium and in sworn testimony before congress that the intelligence clearly indicated multiple scenarios were possible. One of those was an Uth Right Takeover Many Following takeover. Another was a Civil War and the third was a negotiated set president. However, the time frame of, that was estimated following our fat youre. There was nothing that i or any else saw that indicated a collapse of this army in 11 says. Central condition sent a Variety Of these perhaps are coordinated, synchronized and rehearsed to deal with these areas. Up of those Cop Tingries is what were doing now. There eplenty of time to get into arr and now is now the time. We have to focus this which is because will have romania afghans who supported us for to divorce into as which go. We have a deep commit nth to this issue. The Security Situation, as i said, is currently security at this time ant since 12 August Weve delivered it United States marine ballot crop, one battalion from the minneSota national guard. All three of those are prepositioned in Theater Centcom as part of the cop tingsy planning. We mashaled and deployed 82nd airborne Division Headquarters and the brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division consisting of three airborne battalions and asSociated enablers and finally there was Aninfantry Battalion from the tenth mountain securing the capitol in kabul and were operating on the ground with a Variety Weve got Some of the best Soldiers and machine than the world has seep. In total theres 26 u. S. Maneuver companies on the ground with about 4,500 troops, and the flow continues. The president has authorized, as you all know, up to 6,000. On top of them is the United States Navy And Air force. We have multiple squadrons of f18s, 88s, f16s, ac130s, b52s and mg9s. We have a significant number of rotary Wick Aviation on the ground including Attack And Lift helicopters. In addition, were working with our allies and partners, with the british Rivalry Company along with british Special Forces on the ground working with us. Theres alSo a turkish Security Force and other international special operations forces. This force is capable of extracting a significant amount of people on u. S. Air force aircraft. Right now were averaging about 20 Sortis of c17s every 24 yourself hospital we have the capability to increase that through put as the department of state are make klebold. Nrtd inner to the Military Area there Oats Charter plights tankering this on the Avilan Sign is both open. One caveat on the air frames have to come in which notes only. The State Department is Work Fog rapidly increase the flow of passenger able to get ow on the aircraft and were supporting them at the gate. Theres a highly dynamic will continue to occur and weve got great people across the all the action and vers right now on this issue. Ners to thought happen, were alSo cop dodging are with a significant loss of as we we reflect every Soldier, marine, coast guard, almost 800,000, should hold their head high. For more than 20 Years Weve prevented an attack on the u. S. Homestand. 2,448 lost their Lives. 20,722 were wounded in action and many others suffered the unseen wounds of war. Too each of them i want you to know perSonally that your service mattered. As secretary said, for both he and i this is perSonal, and i know its perSonal for each and every one of you. Thank you. Okay. Well go to questions. Bob. Thank you, john. I have a question for each of you gentlemen if i may. Mr. Secretary, you mentioned the urgency of wrapping up the phase of the evacuations, So you have a safe Passage Agreement with the taliban but in fact in Some cases, of a gaps who is being advised to go to the Airport Bay not be able to get there bought of California Chonts . Reconsidering other ways to get around the to that Accepteding Poem and bring them into the airport. With the theres alarming amount of weaponry surrendered or abandoned by the Afghan Forces or otherwise captured by the taliban. Are there ways that you can are you considering ways that you might destroy as many of equipment to avoid it falling in the tanls hands. Thames, bob. In terms of whether we end intend to intoned to collect americans or afghan special immigrant applicants, the security we have is dependant at the airfield and you know how important that is and what happens if we lose the ability to provide that security, and So i dont want to detract from that, and we have to make sure that we cannot only secure the airfield, but as chairman said defend it as well because there are a number of threats still in the environment. I certainly dont want to do anything to make the airfield less safe, and we wont do that, but we will continue to coordinate and deconflict with the taliban and make sure that those those people that need to get to the airfield have the right to credentials to ensure passage, and and the taliban has opinion checking those credentials, and if they have them they have allowed them to pass. And on the equipment, bob, we obviously have capability, but i would prefer not to discuss any operations other than what were doing right now in order to get our evacuations out and get that complete and then there will be another time to discuss future operations. I would like to press boast of you on the same points. General mill year, you say one of your tasks is to evacuate all american citizens from afghanistan who desire to leave. There are mother all Over Kabul and in other part if of the country. How can the u. S. , the pentagon, lively up to that task of evacuating all americans because we continue to Seat Violence outside the airport and how would you get them around the country unless you go get them . Two things, barbara. One is State Department, as you know, as i said, is working with the taliban to facilitate Safe Passage of american citizens, u. S. Passport holders to the airport, and thats the primary means and under the current conditions thats the effort. We have the capability to do other things if necessary. Well, can i ask you what that msnbc because you alSo said there were international Special Forces there that have the capability to extract and those words suggest very clearly in the Military Realm you would go people. Have to be a Policy Decision and we can direct and i would draw a distinction, barb, between extracting Someone in an extremist position rather than going up a collecting large numbers. Do you have the xaumt can to go out and collect large numbers of people. For both of you, if i could. I have 5,000 Sonnel'>Military PerSonnel on the ground surrounding the area and taliban fighters who are out there Agriculture Department Holdin on to the second largest neo. You have the ability to get there, but how do you get the people inside So that they can actually get on those planes . Both of you have served as major generals inside of afghanistan . Did you not see the possibility that the afghan Security Forces were not up to this fight . We continue to work with the state to secure the procedures at the Entry Point to make sure we spaetd up the process of getting them in So state is pulling more Consular Offices to be oobl to we that that. Weres going to push more interests down to the Safety Points to Facil Fate the net but were working pretty hard to get as many people through. Were obviously not close to where we want to be to got the mgs. Were going to get Everyone that we can possibly evac aed evacuated and ill do that as rpg the afghan Security Forces, did you feel that they were are up to thisfying or did you notice see this thing. Afghan Security Forces they are the trip toing the size and April Rablt to defend their country no. I did not nor did glib else see the collapse of an flynn in army at what point do this guireying a result secondly, do you regret not starting the evacuation even by a day or two to get ahead of the curve . Thats a great question. At what point do we start thinking about retrograying our own capabilities . Thats actually the point before we put them in there. We know we need to have the right mix of capabilities on the ground. We dont want to put excessive materiels on the ground that are not relevant to what were doing, and it and we have to develop a detailed plan to to retrograde our equipment and our people and synchronize that plan with efforts to get as many people out as fast as we can, you know, with the time that we have available, So that work is is Something that we started thinking about very early on, and Something'>Thats Something that well continue to continue to think about. And are you regretting not starting the evacuations a few days earlier. Who is that for . Either one. You know, we make plans for a number of things and clearly as the chairman pointed out we as we did detailed planning throughout. We recognize that there might be a point in time where we would have to conduct a knee out. We put forces on standby in the United States to support that and, of course, you know, we alSo did were in support of the of the stateled Siv Applicant Process throughout, So in terms of, you know, doing everything that we could at the right time i think i think we have been pretty prudent in thinking ahead and thinking about contingencies and we youre cuting one of those plans right now. This question is for both of you, and i would like for boast you to answer. It seems like dish know we keep harpring on the same thing but it seems like the video is not matching the audio right now. It seems to me barring a lobotomy of the taliban you have three pathways ahead of you. One, you can expand the perimeter and establish a corridor into kabul to get our afghan allies out. Two, you connection tend the August 31st deadline withdrawing, or, three, you can just leave the Tens Of Thousands of a gains who have helped us over the past 20 years behind. Which one is it going to be . First of all, as i said, were going to evacuate everybody that we can physically possibly evacuate and well conduct these this process for as long as we possibly can. We will continue to deconflict issues with the taliban and we will stay focused on securing the airfield. We can not afford to either not defend that airfield or not have an airfield thats secure where we have hundreds or thousands of civilians that can access the airfield at will and put our forces at risk. But that doesnt answer the question. Youre still focused on the airfield. These People Cant get into the airfield. Well, were going to do everything we can to continue to try to deconflict and and create passageways for them to get to the airfield. I dont have the capability to go out and and extend operations currently into kabul and where do you take that . I mean, how far can you extend into kabul, you know, and how long does it take to flow those forces in to be table do that . It Sounds like youre saying this depends on diplomacy with the taliban. Thats it. Thats the only option is getting them to agree to do this. Well, let me add Something here. Weve got a couple of Entry Control points set up, a north one, east one and a third one at abby gate. They are currently manned with officers, marines, all part of the perimeter. Messages have gone out by various means of communication to the State Department to american citizens and others and they are being told to go to those gates. Right now were processing at about i think the last report is about 120, 130 an hour at the north and about 340, 350 an hour at the South-gate'>South Gate So right now theres a steady flow of people. Now, as that is goes on i think those numbers will continue to grow and as those messages go out, and i would tell you that for the american citizens, Passport Holders the taliban and State Department they are working on a Facilitation Measure So those numbers are likely to grow. For others the State Department is working through exactly getting the procedures for the evacuees to get to the airfield. Defense Secretary Austin, how many u. S. Taxpayer funded Military Aircraft have been flown out of the country, and when are you doing to get those back . Weve heard of a gan pilots taking those planes to third countries, and General Mill year, you talk about the intelligence reports and you said there wasnt anything suggesting 11 days that kabul would fall but you do mention there were reports suggesting it could fall apart in weeks. If So, why did you abandon the Baghram Airfold . Why did u. S. Military pull out given the uncertainty . Yeah. Go ahead. Jen, in terms the aircraft that have been flown out that you mentioned earlier. I have received reports of a number of tharkt were frontal zone into that were flown into tajikistan and uzbekistan. Right now were focused on the airfield and getting people out safely and So were going to take that issue up at a later date and were going to get more on your issue. You know how Big Baghram there. Its a significant level of Military Effort and forces, and it would alSo require external support from the afghan Security Forces. Our task, given to us our task was to protect the embassy in order for the embassy perSonnel to continue to function with the consular service and if we keith both baghram and the embassy going that would be a significant number of military forces that would have exceeded what we had. So had to collapse one or the other and the decision was made, the proposal was made from centcom Command And Command on the ground to go ahead and collapse bag rarnlgs all briefed and approved and we estimated the risk going out of either field was about the same. Going out of kia was the better tactical position and in order to get the troops down to a 600, 100 number. Weve got time to two more and i havent gotten to the phones at all So lets go to Dan Lamoth with the washington post. Just in a followup to baghram versus hkia in question. Hkia has a single runway with a commercial airport making it difficult to defend that runway. Baghram has two runways. It would have been a lot easier to protect people once inside. Is there any thought of Retaking Baghram in order to expedite this evacuation, and if not why not . I wont great question, but im not going to Discussion Branches and sequels off of our current operation and ill just leave it at that. Okay. And i think the last one will to you, security. General mill year, you keep say no one expected a collapse of the afghan company in 11 days. They were threatening kandahar a month ago all right. The question is if you both thing you had such a moral obligation to the afghans who supported the military and State Department for 20 years, should you have pushed harder when the taliban offensive began to get these people out and they may not be in the situation that they are in right now and then alSo, if there is this u. S. Militarytaliban Deconfliction Process going on right now, have you been asking them to allow the afghans through and have have the taliban denied that, that request . Is that why theres not Some effort the State Department the embassy put out a Statement Today saying that there that the u. S. Couldnt provide any Safe Passage for these afghans, is that because the taliban wont allow that in the deconfliction . Its a very dynamic environment as you can imagine and, of course, there have been things that have occurred that that you know, we do hear reports of people getting turned away from by checkpoints. Weve gone back and tried to and reinforced to the taliban that if they have credentials they need to be allowed through, and So thats working better than it was, and quite frankly we have you know, the major issue right now is processing the people who are there as as fast as we possibly can. Its not a dearth of people, you know, getting there. Its just being able to move the folks that are there through So that that they So that they can get them on aircraft. There have been Some unfortunate incidents that ive learned about and we continue to work to try to deconflict and make sure that there is Safe Passage for the people trying to get to the airport. Have you asked the taliban . Has the military asked the to be allow the afghans through and they have declined . We continue to work that. Yes, we have. We have gone back and and emphasized that that people who are trying to get to the airport and have the the right credentials need to be allowed through. Right now the airport represents safety to a lot of these people. As taliban are in kabul they worry the longer they wait to get there, the secure airport, even if they wait several days to get there on a flight So thats why theres this frneticism to get this through. Should you have pushed harder when it was clear that the taliban was gaining momentum down towards kandahar and other places . Like i said up front Theres Plenty of time for that. Right now we need to focus on getting The Americans out and sivs and well have plenty of time to talk about that but that time is not right now. Appreciate your time. Thank you So much. T right now. Appreciate your time. Thank you So much. All right. You were just listening to Defense Secretary Lloyd austin and the Joint Chiefs Of Staff there Mark Milley, general Mark Milley talking about the ongoing operations. A lot of information coming out of that briefing, even talking about how we got to this point, whether the military was presumed. One of the more stunning moments there hearing from General Mill yeeg saying he had seen all the intelligence about the scenarios that could unfold in afghanistan. The one thing he did not see, an army of that Size Collapsing in 11 days. Weve got a lot to break down from that briefing. Joining us now retired fourstar u. S. Army general Barry Mccaffrey and Nbc News Pentagon correspondent is going to join us in that briefing and still with us Kevin Baron and peter baker. Kevin, let me start with you. A lot of important messagesing coming out of that briefing. Well start with what we know about intelligence and why thats So important, that admission, if you would like from General Milley saying that there were three scenarios that could have played out. The taliban taking control in a matter of weeks, months, years, a settlement negotiated between the taliban and the afghan government, and the afghan government pushing back and fighting against the taliban leading to Civil War. What he said, nothing that he saw suggested the collapse of the military within 11 days, and that raises the question that i think a lot of people have been asking is this at its core an Intelligence Failure . Ia. I think General Milley there was providing a very interesting answer because first of all he did say this a collapse of the government was envisioned, even a rapid collapse. He simply said it wasnt envisioned to be 11 days. He did say it could be weeks in their forecast, in their intelligence, but hes providing a little bit of cover for the White House but saying no, even we didnt think it would take place as quickly as it did. Whether it was it took operation as quickly as it did, what hes saying though is important which is to say that this was not an unforeseeable outcome. This was in fact anticipated. They collapsed the government in the face of a taliban surge and was almost certainly part of the planning for what what is going to happen. The only question is when it would happen and in the question of when it would happen it brings up the questions you heard reporters ask again and again. You knew this was going to happen whether it was 11 days or 14 days or 30 days, why is it that you didnt move faster to get people out, particularly these afghans who are now at risk because they helped american Soldiers, they helped americans throughout the last 20 years and there really wasnt a very compelling answer to that. Yeah. Were going to get to that in just a moment. Kevin, one more for you, again, Something that i felt an important moment there. General milley as well as Secretary Of Defense Lloyd Austin talking to the veterans who may right now be watching what is happening in afghanistan and having a very difficult time. I feel that moment of those comments was extremely important, talking about the sacrifice these Soldiers made and that Everyone would process what they are seeing right now at their own time and at their own pace because this is a conversation that i think people are having away from thehead lines. How doubt American Veteransing think about the sacrifices that they made seeing this play out . What do you make of him addressing those concerns and the grievances of those veteran . You always expect the leader in the uniform is going to make that kind of a comment. Theres a lot of divided and hurt feelings among Vet Advance from one end to the other of complete frustration and away Donement And Abandonment and politics is politics and policy is policy. Their job is to carry out the mission policymakers given to them. Thats where you see General Milley parse his words saying they are doing the best that they can with the tools that they have been given. Secretary austin who frankly i think still Sounds more like a general or a politician or a member of this administration or a cabinet member, you know, whereas the Policy Choices that have been made that a lot of reporters are asking him are questions that he should be answering more directly than than giving answers about tactical, you know, Operations Today and what choices they have available to him. Thats what you expect to hear from millee. I think right now they are trying to put a brave face on a bad situation and keep situation, keep the military force very focused on the critical and highrisk job that they have on the ground there. AbSolutely, a stunning moment as well certainly what were dealing with operationally and thats what i want to talk to you about, general. Two points that i thought were very interesting and trying to make sense of it. Operationally, how did you make how the military described their capabilities is they want to secure the airfield and want to make sure they are protecting the airfields from the threat that could be posed by not just the taliban but perhaps other elements including Terrorist Elements that may want to seize on this Chaos And Attack americans troops. They dont have the operational capability as of right now, and it seemed that the general said that they havent been instructed to expand their operations beyond the airport to try and get americans that may be stranded elsewhere in the country, not just in kabul. Look, ive known both of these men for decades and i have the highest regard for them. They are both incredibly experienced and thoughtful and intelligent and are dealing with Some pretty bad cards that they are holding right now. Let me be blunt. Let me say theres zero possibility of us expanding the Foot Print we cut our theres 4. 5 million people in kabul. Theres zero possibility of us retaking other airfields unless it is a major massive escalation which is what would occur if the taliban attacked in force on kabul international airport. Though, looky we just sent in major donahue to be the negotiator with the taliban. This guy is flippant brilliant. The taliban would be unwise to attack seven Infantry Battalions on that airfield. They couldnt possibly overrun them. What they can do is stop the evacuation at any time by interdicting the airspace and they control the perimeter, and So the u. S. Armed forces arent going to change either one of those possibilities. Were going to extract with the Tolerance And Permission of the taliban. Thats whats coming up. That was that was as question that the courtney asked. Is the military engaging with the taliban to give them time to get The Americans and allies out. I believe what you were trying to get at and its two parts and Something that Helene Cooper alSo raised which is if youre going to need more time to get Everyone out why not say they will stay on the ground beyond August 31st. It seems thats probably a political destation would have to come from the White House but at the same time as you and others highlighted americans are not able to get not americans but americans and their allies are unable to get to the airfields in order for these operations to accelerate. The biden administration, if its going to be extended, its going to be a Policy Decision made by the biden administration and thats why here in the Pentagon Briefing Room they are certainly not going to give us an opinion over whether it need to be extended or not. Instead, they are just going to stick to the point that they will get out as many people as they possibly can by that August 31st deadline, but, you know, to the other point, there is still a very real problem for afghans to get through these taliban checkpoints and get to the airport, and and what i was trying to get at in my questioning is the airport and the airfield represents a safe space for these afghans. Many of whom fear for their Lives and the Lives of their families. If they have been supporting The Americans, whether the military, the State Department for decades, they worry that the taliban will target them and their families and they want to get out, but they are being held up at the checkpoints, and in Some cases they make their way all the way to the airport and they cannot get on the property, So thats thats why there have been So many questions here today about that exact what is the u. S. Military doing to ensure the Safe Passage for these people . We heard from both Secretary Austin and General Milley that they have had a moral obligation, that they take this as a perSonal issue to keep these people safe and to to show good faith with the people who have supported the u. S. For all these years, So the question is there a way to do that . One thing that ive been trying to find out as part of these deconfliction talks that the u. S. Military is having with the taliban there in kabul, are they asking them to allow Safe Passage for these afghans or not . Thats what i tried to get a answer to and i didnt get an answer to it frankly here today. It seems right now they are focusing on getting the american citizens through the checkpoints. Peter bake, you cover the White House, do you get a sense with anybody youre talking to that they will be prepared to extend the deadline from August 31st because General Milley said this several times, evacuate all americans, So he made clear the mission is not necessarily tied to a timeline given the fact that if its going to take longer than August 31st and hes committed to that. Is the White House making the same commitment in saying well stay on the ground as long as it takes to get Everyone that we want out . Yeah. The White House has not made that commitment. I think they are reluctant to. They dont have to. Obviously weve got nearly two weeks until then. They may wait to see how things shape up in the next couple of days before they feel the need to address that directly, but youre right. Its a big, you know, challenge for them because they have expressed commitment to helping americans, americans and afghan allies get up and to simply pick up and leave on August 31st if theres still thousands there would be untenable politically on top of everything thats already happened. Well see, but, you know, as courtney just said, you know, the bigger issue is not who is at the airport right now because physically you can imagine you could get them all out once they get all of this organized because the people not at the airport is the Big Question right now. Thanks to all of you for staying with us with all that breaking news. Were going to talk a lot more about afghanistan in just a movement coming up next, im going to talk with an american woman fighting to get her afghan husband to the United States. He is stranded there. She is here. Were going talk to her next. Youre watching Ayman Mohyeldin reports. Watching Ayman Mohyen reports. So you can focus on what matters most. 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Varilux lenses by essilor. Growing up in a little red house, on the edge of a forest in norway, there were three things my family encouraged kindness, honesty and hard work. Over time, ive come to add a fourth be curious. Be curious about the world around us, and then go. Go with an open heart and you will find inspiration anew. Viking. Exploring the world in comfort. So as you probably heard the pentagon says that,000 people including 325 americans were evacuated out of afghanistan on 18 flights over the past 24 hours with promising to ramp up the pace of evacuations. Though thousands remain in the country desperately hoping to get on a flight including the husband of this woman that joins me now. I understand that youre here in the United States. Your husband was approved for a visa to leave afghanistan back in 2019 but his departure delayed unfortunately due to the coronavirus pandemic. What can you tell us about the hopes to reach the airport . Is he able to get to the airport . Thank you So much for having me. He is going back and forth to the airport and barely goes home two, three hours and So hard to get home. And hes been just trying to push forward to get on a plane to come home. You know . Hes really going through it right now. I got off the phone with him half an hour ago and pushed through a little which is Some good news. Unfortunately hes petrified, devastated. Telling me theres bodies everywhere. Theres bodies everywhere. What do you mean by bodies everywhere . Dead bodies there on the ground. On The Streets Of Kabul where he is . No. At the airport. At the airport where he is pushing through to get to the plane. Theres bodies everywhere. Is he seeing taliban checkpoints at the airport . Is he turned back . If he gets to the airport why does he leave the airport and not just stay there until he can get a flight . We are talking about days at the airport. He needs to go home and charge his phone real fast and sleep and its hard going back and forth. Hes scared. He has gotten stopped at the checkpoints a few times. He keeps his mom in the car with him So they dont question much when theres a woman in the car. But yeah. He is getting to the airport. We got a they got an email last night timely with guidance and told us to get to the airport before 8 00 a. M. And should make it on the airplane but theres no guidance. He said he is hopping over cars trying to get to the plane. Trying to get to an american to help him. Is he in contact with any american perSonnel on the ground . Are they responsive to him . No. Theres no proper system in place. I have a friend who has Someone coming in to germany and they have such a great system in place. They have a Meeting Place and take them to a private location and how they gather the people to travel. Unfortunately for us he is literally just hopping over people trying to get to The Americans, trying to get Someone to help him. All right. We are very Sorry for the trying time you are going through and hope your husband makes it out safely and to the u. S. Thank you. Thank you. Ill see you back here tomorrow at 3 00 p. M. Deadline White House starts after this quick break. Lace. If youre 55 and up, tmobile has plans built just for you. Switch now and get 2 unlimited lines and 2 free smartphones. And now get netflix on us. Its all included with 2 lines for only 70 bucks only at tmobile. Subway®. Has So much new it didnt fit in our last ad. Like the new delistyle ovenroasted turkey. And new hickorysmoked bacon. Its the eat fresh refresh™ at subway®. Theres So much new we dont even have time for this guy but im Tom Brady oh, and theres smashed avocado too So. I know you and george were struggling with the possibility of having to move. But im Tom Brady hows that going . 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We are entering a perilous new stage in the Frantic Push by the United States to get all americans and all american allies out of afghanistan. According to an estimate by the biden administration up to 15,000 americans are currently stuck in the country. On top of that countless afghan allies of the u. S. Hoping to get out, fearing reprisal from the taliban