ceecee ross lyles steven lamancia donald freeman. kevin w. yokeham. presidents past and present paying tribute today. we remember your loss we share your sorrow george bush s emotional call for a return to civility the new developments today in the war fought in 9/11 s wake, and the new divisions in the country as we face a new threat two decades after we all united in the face of another one, a nation forever changed by that day tonight the country fulfills its promise to never forget. this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. america remembers 20 years later. good evening, everyone the gleaming buildings that have risen here at the world trade center site have erased the physical scars of destruction from two decades ago, but today on this 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks we confronted the depths of the unhealed wounds to our hearts. unspeakable loss, moments that will never be, and wounds to our collective sense of safety and security today at
behind and what comes next? we ll be talking to one of the only lawmakers who actually witnessed the chaotic evacuation firsthand and that is where we start, with the fallout from the end of our nation s longest war. president biden defending the troop withdrawal in afghanistan, saying in a very fiery speech it was the right thing to do. that was the choice, the real choice, between leaving or escalating. i was not going to extend this forever war and i was not extending a forever exit. he also called the evacuation a major success, but it comes as he faces bipartisan criticism with up to 200 americans still stranded in afghanistan. in kabul, the taliban claimed victory, taking control of the airport and looking here at unusable military equipment that was left behind. this morning, we also have exclusive new details about how the taliban worked with the u.s. so we could get out. i want to go deeper and bring in peter alexander at the white house, courtney kube at the pen
in charge. so in 1839, the brits invaded afghanistan. they tried to install their own guy who they had hand-picked to run afghanistan which would make afghanistan closer aligned with them. the british stayed to fight that war, but ultimately it did not work out. the brits left in 1842. but then 35, 40 years later, the british army tried again. the brits were freaked out all over again that happen a place they thought ought to be allied with them was actually more inclined toward russia, the same thing that had driven them 35, 40 years before. so in 1848, the british invaded afghanistan again. and again they installed their own hand-picked guy, this time for a hot minute they actually thought they had won and that afghanistan would have a long-term alliance with britain, which is what they were seeking in that first and second war. but the guy they installed in the government, he abdicated, and afghanistan went their own way and british left again. it was 35 years between the
would make afghanistan closely aligned with them. the british stayed to fight that war, but ultimately it did not work out. the brits left in 1842. but then 35, 40 years later, the british army tried again. the brits were freaked out all over again that a place they thought ought to be aligned with them was actually more inclined with russia, the same thing that had driven them 35, 40 years before. so in 1848, the british invaded afghanistan again. and again they installed their own hand-picked guy, this time for a hot minute they actually thought they had won and that afghanistan would have a long-term alliance with britain, which is what they were seeking in that first and second war. but the guy they installed in the government, he abdicated, and afghanistan went back to its previous ways again and the british left again. how long does it take to forget? it was 35 years between the first war and the second one. it was another 35 or 40 years before they invaded a third time
speaker. we begin in what was an overall difficult weekend for the united states in the ongoing coronavirus, the new wave is taxing hospital emergency rooms again. with health officials warning things can get a lot worse. nbc political correspondent vaughn hillyard has more. reporter: the united states topping 100,000 new coronavirus cases just friday. a stunning fourth wave with the number of infections and seriousness of the moment rising each day. things are going to get worse. if you look at the acceleration of the number of cases, the seven day afternoon has gone up substantially. the virus surging in states from the west to the east. cases doubling in more than 40 of them over the last two weeks. this is a class five hurricane. reporter: more florida residents tested positive for covid over the weekend than any other point in the pandemic. hospitals in jacksonville and orlando are already breaking previous hospitalization records. in neighboring alabama more