Afghanistan. As the Pentagon Chief and other top leaders head to Capitol Hill to brief House Members. Good morning. Im Garrett Haake in for hallie jackson. Lots to get to this hour. We start with courtney kube, Kelly Odonnell and john hudson, national Security Reporter for the washington post. Courtney, walk us through what were hearing from your sources about that decision expected from the President Today and why he has to make it now with the deadline not actually until next week . Remember, even if the deadline is August 31st, its still going to take several days, somewhere potentially in three to four days to get the nearly 6,000 u. S. Troops out Of Kabul international airport. And then theres also the equipment thats there. The u. S. Has artillery, mraps, aircraft, helicopters. If they were to get all those people and Equipment Out it will take several days. You have to back time from the deadline of August 31st until, you know, three or four days back. That puts you at The End of this week. So the question is if they maintain that deadline, if the this is a Policy Decision that President Biden has to make and instruct the military to carry it out, then you could potentially see some of the u. S. Troops on the ground leaving at The End of this week. The reality is, if the decision were made to and they said, look, stay as long as you possibly can, the u. S. Can get those people out faster than three to four days. But the equipment would potentially have to if they wanted to try to get all this Equipment Out, they may not be able to do that. Then were looking at potentially blowing up that equipment in place, destroying it in place rather than taking it out. So then the question becomes, what about the potentially potentially thousands of americans, third country nationals and afghans who are still there who want to get out . How long would it take to get them out . The u. S. Had a really good day yesterday. They got thousands of people out. More so than any other day than weve seen since this evacuation started august 14th. If they can maintain that pace, then they can still get many of those people out before The End of this week. The question is, and one of the many questions weve been asking here is, how many americans are actually left . And we dont know. And how many americans have gotten out . The numbers have become fuzzy on both accounts. Yesterday, john kirby, the Pentagon Press Secretary would only say several thousand americans had gotten out and No One will acknowledge on the record how many americans are still there. And thats due in large part to the fact that they just dont really know. They dont know how many people may still be there that need to get out. We do know, though, that even beyond the americans there are still thousands of afghans, people who have supported the u. S. Military and the u. S. State department there for two decades. These people and their families who are still trying to get out on those evacuation flights. It seems like depending on how you define that people were trying to get out, the number could keep growing potentially. John, you broke the news this morning about this meeting between the talibans De Facto leader and the Cia Director. Do we know what they talked about . Is it a safe assumption this was a discussion about potentially extending that deadline . It is a safe assumption. This meeting, this very unusual flight to kabul that the Cia Director took under a shroud of secrecy is happening when the biden administration is under this incredible amount of pressure to extend this deadline. Figuring that out is clear. The cia declined to comment about the substance of the discussions as it does whenever the Cia Director travels outside the country. But it is clear that they are this is weighing on them, trying to find a way that gets all of these u. S. Citizens, all of these western partners, all of these afghan partners out is critical. Theres so much pressure because they know theyre not going to be able to get everybody out by the 31st. And so this was really quite the teteatete between two titans in their own worlds, Bill Burns, decorated diplomat and abdul Ghani Baradar who has climbed to the top ranks of the taliban. You write this meeting with baradar comes with a tinge of irony. Can you explain that . Its an incredible situation to imagine those two men across the table from each other. 11 years ago, before this meeting with the Cia Director, baradar was actually captured in an arrest by the Cia And Pakistan in pakistan. That wound him up being a Pakistani Pao for years. They are sitting across the table as counterparts after, you know, after the taliban was ousted in 2001 and now hes in a position to dictate the future of afghanistan in a way that even the taliban could not have imagined just weeks ago. Incredible. Kelly, i want to play what the chair of the House Intel Committee Adam Schiff said as he was coming out of a Briefing Yesterday on the likelihood the u. S. Would finish these evacuations by the original deadline. Listen to Adam Schiff here. I think its possible, but i think its very unlikely given the number of americans who still need to be evacuated, the number of sivs, the number of others who are members of the afghan press, Civil Society leaders, women leaders. Its hard for me to imagine all of that can be accomplished between now and The End of the month. So hes presumably looking at basically the same intelligence that the White House is. I wonder how you view the disparity in the way theyre talking about this publicly. The White House has obviously been much more bullish about the likelihood they could get everyone out by the deadline. And what kind of pressure is the president getting from World Leaders about this issue . Well, we know the president has been engaged with g7 leaders in a virtual meeting thats been going on this morning. And there has been pressure, we know, from the uk prime minister boris johnson, urging the president to put aside the August 31st deadline. Weve heard that from other prominent voices on Capitol Hill to not be bound by what is an arbitrary deadline with respect to getting the mission accomplished of getting americans and afghan sivs, this special Immigrant Visa Holders and those who are vulnerable out of the country. The pressure for the president to say that publicly is really at a very different level. There is, at this point, an agreement with the taliban for the president to announce or comment on that publicly without the work done behind the scenes. Could be potentially very dangerous. So for the president , dont expect any kind of a decision until all groundwork is resolved, whether thats keeping to the deadline or changing it. One of the dynamics here is how many americans. We have been asking that question for days of all of the departments involved here. State and pentagon and the White House trying to get an answer. Im told that there is some information they expect to be able to share soon. At least about the number of americans already removed from the country, presumably they have passports and documentation and its a matter of counting them. The definition on how many americans remain in afghanistan certainly would define and shape the Breadth And Depth of the mission still ahead. And so keeping that information out of the Public Domain may also be part of the strategy to not tip their hand about which way theyre going. Stick with August 31st or try to go beyond it. There is a political optics involved as well. If you go into september, were getting closer and closer to the 9 11 20th anniversary. Thats not say the president would make a decision based on optics but thats one of the things were looking at as a part of the larger calculus here. So the number of americans is key. The number of afghans who are vulnerable is key in how you measure how much work is left to do. Picked up the pace considerably, but will it be enough by the 31st . Garrett . Big decision for the president. I know all three of you will be reporting it out all day. Courtney, kelly, john, thank you. Were also keeping a close eye on Capitol Hill where at this hour the house is still at something of a standstill. Ultimately scrapping plans to move forward on the 3. 5 trillion Budget Plan last night. This as Speaker Pelosi faces defections from a group now up to ten moderate democrats who want an Infrastructure Vote first. Nbcs sahil is on Capitol Hill. Nancy pelosi thinks they are close to landing the plane on this. What do we know about breakthroughs or the possibility we may see a deal. Thats right, garrett. No white smoke to report just yet. The democrats have been meeting over the last hour. I believe they are still in that meeting trying to hash out a solution. Speaker pelosi, according to a democratic aide telling colleagues shes sorry they couldnt land the plane last night. She believes they are close and here is the situation just to catch our viewers up to speed if they are only tuning in now. Shes been locked in a standoff with the centrist democrats for days because theyre demanding an immediate vote on that senatepassed Infrastructure Bill. They want to wrap it up in the house of representatives, send it to President Bidens desk and get it done. Speaker pelosi has had a plan for months to bring that up in tandem with the separate multitrilliondollar Budget Bill that includes the rest of President Bidens agenda. The negotiations now appear to be revolving around the idea of a date certain. The speaker Making A commitment to these moderate democrats that that Infrastructure Bill will come to a vote on the floor of the house some time between now and october 1st. It has to be before then because thats the soft commitment she made that was not good enough for the moderates. They demanded more. At The End of the day, theres a lot of Back Fighting going on between these two wings of the party according to lawmakers and aides im talking to. Moderates accuse the progressives of not understanding what it takes to win in swing districts. The progressives say the moderates are throwing a bomb in the middle of the president s agenda. This is not just a leftwing thing. These investments are at the core of President Bidens agenda. Well see in the next few hours if Speaker Pelosi is right and they are in fact, close to landing this plane. Sahil, thank you. Were used to seeing senate democratic moderates throw their weight around. Weve not seen the house democrats do it until perhaps this moment. Well see whats in this deal. Sahil kapur, thank you. Weve got so much more on the Spending Showdown and more fallout on Capitol Hill over afghanistan. Democratic congressman Jim Himes of connecticut joins me on all of that next. And an update from the pentagon on the latest in afghanistan expected in the next 30 minutes. Also marking a dark milestone in this pandemic. It took our country just six days six days to notch A Million new covid cases. Things are getting so bad in Mississippi And Louisiana that military medical support personnel have been deployed there. Thats next. Was another around . Or could i have a different Game Plan . I wanted to protect mys. My doctor recommended eliquis. Eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another Dvt Or Pe blood clot. Almost 98 percent of patients on eliquis didnt experience another. And eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. 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With me is Jim Himes of connecticut, a member of the intel committee. They received their own classified briefing on afghanistan last night. Congressman, before i get to afghanistan, i want to ask you about what seems to be quickly developing news here about a possible agreement to move forward on the Infrastructure And Budget resolution here. Whats your understanding of what may be agreed to, to land the plane, as Speaker Pelosi put it . I think she uttered those words about seven minutes ago. You guys are good. I think look, the tone in Todays Meeting was quite a bit different from the tone in yesterdays meeting. I think theres a lot of confidence that this deal will get done that will ultimately allow for a vote on the Infrastructure Bill out of the senate and the much larger package, the reconciliation package. I dont think theres an agreement just yet. I think its going to focus on a commitment to get a vote on that infrastructure package. This feels like one of those washington tempest in a tea cup. Just because we were up late last night without a deal doesnt mean there will be one struck today. The stakes are obviously very, very high and every democrat is looking for a way to get there. Well, speaking of high stakes, lets talk about whats going on in afghanistan. Obviously, you are now aware of this meeting between Director Burns and the De Facto taliban leader. Is that the kind of Thing Intel gets a headsup on, on the front end, and what do you make of that Highlevel Outreach between the u. S. Government and taliban leadership . Yeah, so for security reasons, needless to say, not many people know when the director of the cia is that very close to the sharp end of the spear. So, no, i did not know about it until this morning. Look, i think its a really good thing. Right now theres a long conversation to be had about how we got to this place. But this place is a place where thousands of people are moving out Of Kabul every single day, and that is happening because the united states is cooperating with the taliban. If that cooperation were to crumble, we would really truly be in a bad way. I Cant Stress enough how as awful as some of these scenes are that were seeing today look, how much worse it could be. If the taliban decided to start attacking the airport if they put a couple of Mortar Shells under the runway wed be in a different and very much worse world. The fact the director of the cia who is one of the most preeminent and experienced diplomats is making sure that that Arrangement Attains is really important. Theres also a Dawning Realization its going to be really hard for us to do what we need to do before the August 31st deadline that the president has set. So those conversations are critical. How do you square that . Several of your other colleagues and im curious your take, got that Briefing Yesterday and got the intelligence and felt August 31st wasnt realistic to finish the job. Do you think the u. S. Military needs more time and what happens if the taliban is not willing to agree to grant it . Well, as a purely logistical matter, i dont think its a debate. There is just no way August 31st is literally around the corner. There is just no way we can accomplish our mission of making sure we leave nobody behind. Theres just no way we can do that by August 31st, right . And i do think that Bill Burns and the united states has cards to play with the taliban. As i pointed out yesterday, theyve had a good four weeks and i think what they dont want is to sully that pretty good four weeks with a full brunt of the United States Military attacking them around the country which we could do at a moments notice. I think its very much in their interest to make sure, again, this agreement that has allowed for a tough but generally speaking positive couple of days of extractions, its very much in Everybodys Interest that continue. So i do think that the united states has cards to play with the taliban here. Cards to play, but every indication has been that the u. S. Government doesnt want to expand what were doing in afghanistan. The pentagon has talked about not expanding the footprint around the airport. And obviously the whole point of this Air Lift is were trying to get out. Whats the appetite to engage militarily with the taliban if they are not going to play ball on this evacuation . Theres no appetite to engage militarily with the taliban but that remains very much an option. Thats not an option thats a good one for the taliban. And its a mistake to conflate the fact that we probably should have been long gone years, maybe decades ago with the notion that we may need another week to remove to do something which is almost sacred in its importance which is that we dont leave people behind. Garrett, thats a moral issue. Thats a moral issue. Its also a tactical issue. This is not the last time the united states is going to need the assistance of locals on the ground. And if the story two months from now is that we left a whole bunch of people behind, not only is that a moral indictment. That would really compromise our ability to do what we need to do internationally going forward. This is a matter of days and weeks. The taliban will hopefully see it that way because thats the military reality. Doesnt seem like they are. Im looking at a translation provided to us by the bbc that apparently a taliban spokesman has said theyll not accept an extension of the deadline. So i guess August 31st becomes a hard out, do we have additional capability to get more people out of that airport . Already yesterday the pentagon said they got more than 10,000 people out. Thats more than their estimate for a top end had been when they started this operation. Well, garrett, this would not be the first time a negotiation in afghanistan started with people taking fairly firm positions. But again if you think about this, the last thing that either side wants, the united states or the taliban, is open warfare in an urban environment if the united states decided, and i hope it doesnt come to this. But if the united states decided to inflict a lot of pain on the taliban around the country, after they have accomplished what they regard as a historic set of wins, we can do that. We can do that militarily. Thats not what we want. We want, obviously, the time to do what we need to do which is to extract the people helpful to us. I have to believe its not the first time a negotiation in a place like afghanistan started with firmly drawn positions but at The End of the day, i think rationalism and a sense of transactionalism will prevail. Last question and then ive got to let you go. Do you know, based on the briefings that youve had, what the actual number is of americans were still trying to get out of the country . That seems to be the elusive piece to this puzzle. Weve gotten thousands out but nobody has said exactly how many people americans were still trying to move through the country. Look, i think we have a reasonable range, and its impossible to know for sure because if somebody has travelled to afghanistan and not registered with the embassy and not raised their hands and said, hey, im here, theres no way for us to know that. Do we know the range . Yes. I think were talking about what is that range . I dont want to start putting out numbers but there obviously is a range. Its more than 100. It is less than 10,000. But in some ways, garrett, the key here, weve got to get those americans out. But what is logistically much more challenging, of course, is sorting through those people that are the afghans that have helped us out. Theres more Security Risk there. Thats more challenging. Thats where the logistical hurdles exist and we are not leaving those people behind. Congressman Jim Himes of connecticut, thank you for your time. Youve got a busy day ahead. Thank you. Right now were also keeping our eyes on the pentagon where officials will brief on the latest in afghanistan any second now. Well take you there when it starts. Plus, that dark pandemic milestone. Our country just passed 38 Million covid cases. And now the military is getting involved in helping some states grappling with surging cases. Plus, cities are taking matters into their own hands to protect kids who are returning to school. 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Both states seeing shocking numbers of new covid cases and hospitalizations. The u. S. Is now surpassing 38 Million total covid cases adding about A Million new cases in just six days. This as the nation sees 180,000 new pediatric cases in the last week alone. Meanwhile, a new Vaccine Mandate is in effect for the largest public School System in the nation. New York City Mayor Bill de blasio announcing all Nyc Department of Education Staff must have at least one Vaccine Dose by september 27th. No exceptions. Lets bring in nbcs Morgan Chesky from hardhit houston. Stephanie gosk is in New York City. And dr. Mario ramirez is an Emergency Physician and former pandemic and emerging Threats Coordinator at the hhs office of global affairs. So morgan, where you are in texas, the icus are almost full. Whats the prospect of Vaccine Mandates in the lone Star State . Garrett, thats a great question. You mentioned that new York State was going to have that rule for all School Staff going forward. I asked that specific question to the superintendent of houston isd, which has more than 200,000 students who all went back to school for their first day yesterday. And i said are you going to follow suit and have some sort of similar mandate for staff in your schools here . He said while hes certainly aware of the step New York City has taken that that is not an active topic of discussion at this time. And that says thats because he points to the science here. They reissued that Mask Mandate in defiance of greg abbotts ban on those rules. All of the students and staff have their masks on. He says that the science points to the fact that that should keep them safe and allow them to keep inperson learning ongoing this year. They are also doing temperature checks when they walked in the door. As far as any Vaccine Mandates we see here in texas, really do expect it to be on either the potential School District front or on, more likely, it will be the corporations. We know United Airlines has said they have to have all of their employees vaccinated within the next five weeks. We, of course, know the Governors Stance on this. The Texas Supreme Court last week issuing a stay against his Executive Order which in turn allowed the School Districts to issue their own mask rules. Very interesting going forward to see what action, if any, he would take against a business here in texas that decided to issue a Vaccine Mandate. But standing in front of the Texas Medical Center here, they have seen active covid cases nearly double in the last week here in the houston area. They are really hoping that they can see these numbers start to drop off. And this full approval by pfizer is certainly encouraging, but its still too early to tell how big an impact it will have on this current delta variant surge. Garrett . Doctor, is that School Official Who Morgan spoke to correct about the idea that masks are enough there when Vaccine Mandates are available, or is New York City maybe onto something here . So i would respectfully disagree with that School Official. We need to be honest. Masks are a temporary Bridging Measure to vaccination. You know, if we take a look at where we are in the pandemic, we have about 90 Million americans who are, you know, unvaccinated but eligible. And only vaccinating about A Million people a day. We really want to get out of this thing and prevent either this surge from continuing or future surges. We need to step those numbers up and really start to vaccinate many, many more people per day. And if we continue to rely on masks alone, this is likely to continue much, much longer. Stephanie, in new york, this no Option Vaccination Requirement for pretty sizable group of New York City municipal employees here, theres i guess different political issues everywhere you go. In new york i have to wonder what the reaction is like from the unions who represent these employees getting this mandate now that they must get this vaccine. Yeah, its a big question, but the Union Head of uft, the largest teachers union, the united federation of teachers, says they are largely, mostly on board with this. There are some details still that need to be ironed out with this mandate. That includes medical exceptions. Theyve said they are going to discuss that but mayar Di Blassio is taking a hard line. Hes not going to back down from the September Date for at least one vaccine and this affects nearly 150,000 workers. Its interesting because all municipal workers in this city are dealing with a Vaccine Mandate. The difference is that outside of the department of education, they are allowed to opt to test and mask in City Offices and workplaces. This is different. This is tougher. This is part of one of the mayors real objectives here to continue to get these vaccines moving along at a really good clip. He says hes tough hes tired of being nice and now its time to be tough and thats this is a good example of that. You see a lot of parents and teachers, the vast majority saying they approve of this stephanie the best way to protect kids from this virus stephanie, i have to cut you off. Were going to this briefing beginning at the pentagon as we speak. And end with a snapshot of Relief Operations in haiti. First, afghanistan specifically kabul. Im pleased to report our best Departure Results since the Evacuation Operations began have happened in the last 24 hours. Were 37 u. S. Military aircraft, 32 c17s. Five c130s departed with it approximately 12,700 personnel. On top of that, 57 Coalition And Partner aircraft left kabul with 8,900 personnel. This tremendous display of a Teamwork And Focus resulted in a Passenger Count of 21,600 individuals leaving afghanistan in just 24 hours. To date, 63,900 american citizens, nato and other partners, personnel, afghan, Siv Applicants and vulnerable afghans are out of harms way. Now safer and on their journey to a better life. And the majority of these people, approximately 5 or 58,700 of them have left just since august 14th. I want to reiterate that were able to achieve this level of increased departures because of u. S. Military personnel and our partners work around the clock conducting this highly important mission, including Airport Security and flight operation. To that end were seeing increased pace and increased pace in the Flight Schedule at kabul. As of yesterday in the last 24hour period, one aircraft left on or about every 45 minutes. As we look beyond kabul and in order to maintain the steady flow out of afghanistan, we rely on the intermediate staging bases and Safe Havens in both centcom and the ucom aors. Weve been focused on Building Capacity while also rapidly processing and facilitating onward movement. It has been challenging to keep up with the flow, but we have made progress in caring for and safeguarding these vulnerable individuals and getting them moving onward. We are commitmented to doing more and to continue to expand and improve our facilities from adding shelter to additional sanitation, Hand Washing stations, Refrigerator Trucks providing Cold Water and the appropriate food and were working with our partners to increase this capacity as soon as possible. In the ucom aor, afghans transitioning through Ramstein Air Base germany have started to departing to onward destinations. Five aircraft and more than 800 travelers who have been screened and cleared for entry departed for the united states. Ucom received nearly 8,000 evacuees since August 20th and is considering other installations in germany, Italy And Spain in preparation to receive more flights to allow greater throughput to the united states. As i mentioned yesterday, the number of temporary Safe Haven locations across europe and The Middle East now stands at 14. This allows us to expedite Movement Out Of Kabul and gives us flexibility from these intermediate staging bases. We are appreciative of the support in this global effort from our allies and partners. We remain focused on the mission of bringing as many people home as we can and as quickly as we can. An update on northcom operations. In the past 24 hours, four flights landed at Dulles International Airport with more than A Thousand passengers. Again, these passengers and their families will go to one of the four Military Installations designated as processing locations. All of this progress stems from the Teamwork And Professionalism especially of our interagency partners here in the states. We know more hard work remains that our personnel in afghanistan remain vigilant and we share the sense of urgency in this effort. Well continue to keep you updated on afghanistan through the week. Lastly, as we look at haiti, the Department Of Defense continues support of usaid Relief Efforts in haiti. Over the last 24 hours, joint Task Force Haiti conducted 56 missions, assisted in the saving of 40 lives and delivered more than 35,000 pounds of goods, supplies and medical supplies to the people affected by the 7. 2 Magnitude Earthquake in haiti. Four united states marine Corps Mv22 ospreys arrived to provide additional options for personnel and supply movement. These Air Assets are in addition to the 18 u. S. Military and Coast Guard Aircraft already supporting humanitarian Relief Operations. U. S. Maritime vessels continue support also. That concludes my update. Thank you. Okay. Before we get to questions, i just have a slight update on the Baby Count as The General let you know yesterday. Three babies total. Just to clarify. One was born on the c17. Thats the one i think you know about. The other two were born shortly after arrival at ramstein in the Landstuhl Hospital there on base. So two were born at the in the hospital shortly after arrival. I am told that moms and dads and babies are all fine and healthy, and all is looking good there. And if we can get more information on this, ill be able to provide it a little bit later. John, a couple of questions. I know youll not be able to answer whether or not the deadline is going to be extended beyond the 31st, but can you give us some perspective from the military. Can you get all americans out in the next several days by the 31st . Do you need more Military Bases in the united states to house them . Do you need more throughput in order to get that done . And do you need to increase the pace . And go ahead. No, go ahead. Keep going. And the other day The General told us there were about 2,500 americans they had gotten out. But that number has increased over the last several days. About how many have gotten out so far . About how many americans. Okay. So all the deadline. Im going to miss some of these so just walk me back. Youre right. Theres been no change to the timeline of the mission which is to have this completed by The End of the month. We continue to make progress every day in getting americans, as well as Siv Applicants and vulnerable afghans out. And you heard the numbers that The General briefed just a minute ago and the vast, vast majority of these individuals are afghans. So we are remain committed to getting any and all americans that want to leave to get them out. And we still believe certainly now that we have been able to increase the capacity and the flow, we believe that we have that that weve had the capability, the ability to get that done by The End of the month. You asked for, i think, bases here in the united states was another one of your questions. Do you believe you need to increase the number . That is possible that we might be looking at additional u. S. Military installations here in the united states. Right now, we are looking were working with four of them. Ft. Lee, ft. Mccoy, ft. Bliss and joint base maguire, lakes, dix in new jersey. Those are the four operating now and beginning to see a flow of Siv Applicants. It is very well possible that we could need to use additional u. S. Military installations here stateside and as we make those decisions, as were able to announce them we will but just like we wanted to make sure in kabul that airlift wasnt a limiting factor. We want to make sure when we get these individuals to the united states that temporary, safe, secure and accessible temporary lodging is not the limiting factor to their ability to get on with their new lives and to finish the process. Im sure you had like three other ones that i forgot. The americans The General told us that 2,500 had gotten out. What is your assessment now as to the number that have gotten out of afghanistan and do you think you can get all of them out . I think i answered the second part of that. I think for all americans who want to leave the State Department is working very hard to contact them and we are getting them out every day. And thats not going to change. And i understand the question about the specific detail. I would just tell you that several thousand. We know several thousand americans have been safely evacuated from afghanistan. I understand thats not the degree of specificity that you want, but that is as far as im going to be able to go today. Several thousand. And to include, i would several hundred just yesterday were able to get onto the airport for followon transportation. So its every day we are moving americans out of the country. Tara . Barring any factors besides weather, do you expect that theyll be able to keep this pace up another 20,000 in the next couple of days to maybe have 100,000 evacuated before The End of the week . Thats definitely the plan, but as you know, the throughput is a function of many different factors, including even weather. So our plan is to continue this pace as aggressively as we can. You heard general lyons speak to that very specifically yesterday. Thats the goal. Thats the intention. One final one. The babies born on the aircraft and on the u. S. Side of the military base. Are they considered american citizens . Weve gotten that question a lot. Thats a good question. I do not know the answer to that. Im probably going to have to punt to my colleagues at the State Department or immigration. I dont know the answer to that. And just to remind, one born on the aircraft in flight. Two born at landstuhl shortly after the flight arrived into ramstein. If i can get you any more details, i will. Theres an opportunity now for seek for Keesler Air Force base. Is that going to be one of the expansions . I dont have information on future possible installations that may be of this In A Rolli Fashion as if and when we decide we need additional installations, well let you guys know as soon as we possibly can. John, has the u. S. Started preparations to leave in order to leave by August 31st . When does the u. S. Military have to begin making those preps . When does that decision have to be made . So im not going to get into a specific Tick Tock here. Just as when we were talking about the retrograde out of afghanistan writ large for the military, we were careful about the details we provided. The Threat Environment is very real around the airport so im going to be equally as judicious about the kind of information that we give out. But roughly speaking, you need at least several days to get the amount of forces and equipment that we have at the airport to get that safely and effectively retrograded. I wont get into a specific Tick Tock. This is going to be the pace and the whatever the daily extraction is going to be, thats going to be up to the commanders on the ground to determine what they are going to move and how and when theyre going to do it because we have a mission all the way through to continue these evacuations. So you have to be able to do both and its a balance. And the secretary is going to trust the judgment of our commanders on the ground to properly meet that balance. It sounds like youre still working on an August 31st deadline. We are absolutely still aiming towards The End of the month. And are the public statements by the taliban the same as the private statements being made to u. S. Officials about the deadline and when u. S. Should leave . What i can tell you is the taliban have have been very clear about what their expectations are as well. But the public and private statements are the same . Without getting into details, im not seeing much dissonance. Can you give any more details about the firefight that took place today, a second firefight outside the airport, and that there were some arrests by the by the taliban of some socalled isis people taking videos of the airport . I know i dont have those details. Were working with centcom right now. Currently ongoing. So i know that centcom has continued to do that and there is no security, if you would, breach or any problems there at security of the airfield. Is the u. S. Providing any intel to the taliban about an Isis Threat . I know commanders on the ground continue to communicate to ensure that the safety of not only around the gates but the other checkpoints so that we can continue to process vulnerable afghans, you know, other Coalition Folks and american citizens in. When this evacuation began, there were already close to A Thousand u. S. Troops at that airport. So just to be clear, when were talking about pulling u. S. Troops out, were talking about pulling all the troops. Where you go to zero at the embassy, is that correct . Thats correct. No, i followed the question. Thats correct. So you have to take out more than you put in. Yes. Yes, im how does that happen without the active cooperation of the taliban to keep the crowds away as u. S. Troops thin out their perimeter and then pull back. How does that ill let The General Take That in just a second. I think hes much more informed than i am, but i should make the larger issue that any retrograde out of or drawdown, if you will, out of an environment that you cant assume is always going to be permissive is one that has to be done very carefully. And it has to be sequenced in a very methodical way so that the Safety And Security of our people and the people were trying to protect is considered of paramount importance. And so we arent were not going to be able to tell you, you know, once we start to effect this withdrawal, and like i said, were still planning on The End of the month. Whenever we start it well not be able to provide a Tick Tock of what were moving out and at what pace so that we can limit vulnerabilities in the Information Space and in the actual physical space of the airport as we move out. But its the airport as we move out and its done in a careful and methodical way, and we can preserve security, not just security for our folks but the security for the people we are trying to safely evacuate. I will turn it over to The General in case he has more detail. I would add to that, security is paramount in any phase of an operation, and commanders will continue to communicate and coordinate to make sure that security is set to allow all the Flight Operations and all those things to continue to The End. Does the methodically ordinarily withdrawal that he just referred to, does that require the assistance of the taliban . It requires the coordination that i think we are doing right now to maintain that security. Theres no question that david, as we work through this, that the daily communication with the taliban commanders will have to continue. Thats just a hard fact. Does their promise of cooperation expire on August 31st . I will not speak for them or their intentions. We are again, the mission has been to end on the 31st and thats the assumption that we are working towards and well just have to keep moving forward. Thank you. Any additional Air Evacuations in the city Of Kabul, as the u. S. Military done any evacuations out side of the city Of Kabul because there are still lots of americans that are not even in kabul . Ill let The General Take That. When you talk about evacuations, are you talking about going out . We continue to closely coordinate to ensure the safe arrival of americans and others, so we have not gone further with any Air Operations at this time but i will say we continue to ensure the capabilities that we have and as required that we are able to do so. Is there a plan in place to help Extract Americans who are outside Of Kabul at this point . We are always planning and assessing what needs to be done to help americans get to kabul airport. I have not gone to the phones at all. Let me start doing that. I need my glasses. Jack, from foreign policy. I am just wondering do you have a specific update on the through put, and you mentioned the 30 e17 flights, but what are your daily goals on the daily through put . I think as you go to back what general lyon said last night, right now the pace of the through put we are able to maintain, its about a plane every 45 minutes, and thats also driven upon the requirement of what needs to be taken out, so right now we assess that we have the required air flow, not only u. S. Military, but you saw the numbers of the coalition and other partners, we assess we will be able to maintain the through put that we have seen the last two days and then we will continue to assess what those requirements are from here forward of what we have to get that through put into kabul. So you are looking at about 20,000 per day . Actually, if you dont mind were trying to get as many out as we can. So if we can exceed what our previous expectations were and we have over the last couple of days, thats a good thing. Were going to continue to drive at that. Quick question. Is the intention to get every american out who wants to leave plus as many Siv Holders or as americans as many of our Siv Applicants who we can get to the airport and get them out as fast as possible, as many vulnerable afghans that we can also work towards getting. But its we understand the challenges of time and space here. Were mindful of that. Thats why we are trying to continue to keep up this capacity and even improve it if we can. Just a followup, you said you have the ability to get all americans out that want to leave and you said several thousands, and do you have a percentage of how many americans have been removed without giving me a number . I cant give you that because i dont think theres a perfect number that we know with certainly of all americans in afghanistan. Theres no requirement. You Cant Force an american when they go to a foreign country to tell you that they are there, and we encourage them to do that and the State Department has a robust set of vehicles especially like a country in afghanistan, we want to know when americans are there but they dont have to tell us. Thats why its difficult for us to give you, you know, the denominator here, how many are there and what i can tell you is, and this is out of my lane but i will do it anyway, and the State Department has been working very hard to reach out to those who they know are there or even who they hear are there, to communicate to them, and let them know what Evacuation Plans are possible, and achievable for them. They are working very hard at this. Our job at the Defense Department is to help facilitate their Safe Passage to the airport and then getting them manifested and getting them on a plane out. The ones who have registered, have more or less than half of the americans who have registered been evacuated . I dont know. You would have to go to the State Department for what they have on the industry, and thats an imperfect database, and its perfectly conceivable that we have an american that nobody knew was in afghanistan and still pipes up and says i want to get out, and we will help them get out to the best of our ability. This is the answer we have gotten for days and days from every podium in this town, and even if the administration doesnt have the denominator, thats not my question, and my question is can this administration tell us how many americans they have evacuated from afghanistan, why cant you just say the number and not the denominator . We will just leave it at several thousand right now. I understand thats not a satisfying answer to you. I can tell you that the number literally changes almost by the hour. So does everything else. I understand, barbara, but we will leave it there for now. Can i have a followup since everybody else has asked eight questions. Thank you. Just to clarify The Generals answer, can you tell us about missions that have taken place at least outside essentially the Fence Line of the airport . My other followup is, as you prepare to depart, whenever that happens, your previous retro grade, as you called it, included provisions for destruction of weapons in place. Can we assume that this part of the effort to leave afghanistan will also include that what you cannot put on an airplane, any weapons you cant put on an airplane or dangerous items you would destroy in place . I think The General answers your first question, theres no additional operations to speak to. We continue to facilitate Safe Passage that was outside kabul, i believe. There are no additional operations we can speak to, i believe, not outside the airport, but we continue to facilitate a Safe Passage for americans and sivs as they need to get to the airport. As i mentioned just in the last 24 hours, i can tell you that several hundred americans have made it safely to Airport Gates for further on transportation. With u. S. Government assistance . I will just leave it at that, barb. I know its a technical pentagon term, the drawdown of both people and the equipment will be done in the same manner that we would do it anywhere else. Obviously theres a strong bias to be able to get our material out with our people. If there needs to be destruction or other disposition of equipment there at the airport we will do that and we will do it appropriately. Karla, did i get you already . Well come back to you. My fault. My fault. Helene. Thank you. Can i ask you both about the bottle necks, you have 20,000 people out in the last 24 hours, which is a big number, the biggest you have had yet. Do you have 20,000 people now inside the airport to get out in the next 24 hours or are there bottlenecks preventing people from gettinging in