the un says estimates for the taliban's annual income range from $300 million to $1.6 billion a year. understandably, it is a bit murky. the primary sources of their funds are criminal activities, including drug production and trafficking. let's speak now to retired brigadier—general mark kimmitt. he was also former assistant secretary of state for political—military affairs under president george w bush. thank you very much forjoining us. we are hearing so much change so fast, can i get your reaction to the news that taliban fighters are in kabul and the former president, ashraf ghani is not. from a military perspective everybody was shocked by the collapse of the afghan army. this will clearly go down as one of the great routs in military history, starting with rome, going all the

way to france in 1940, to iraq in 2013, 2014. it was not only shocking, but enormously dismaying for all those coalition forces, including british and american, that worked so hard to train this army. we have heard quite a lot about the army looking very different on paper to the reality on the ground. shadow soldiers, and about the conditions for many of the soldiers, going without food sometimes, obviously scared, and elements of corruption. it is also shocking that this wasn't realised, wasn't really taken on board, for example, in washington. i think that there are a lot of reasons that they have collapsed, but let's put it in a simple phrase.

you can't buy courage. the fact is, we made them capable, gave them the equipment, gave them the training, but if you take a look at the leadership, in many ways the leadership, in many ways the leadership of the military recently had been awarded to political hacks. you take a look at the corruption inside the government, that is certainly nothing that inspires the soldiers on the ground. what really differentiated them from the taliban is the lack of a cause. so we can give you the military, all of the training they need, we can fight with them side by side, we can provision them in general with as much ammunition and food as is needed, but when they saw the hasty withdrawal almost, needed, but when they saw the hasty withdrawalalmost, i needed, but when they saw the hasty withdrawal almost, i can't even have a word for it for what the american diplomats are doing right now, i think that the forces just said,

they don't want to fight alongside of us, we have got a corrupt government, if we have leaders that are running off the battlefield, why should we fight? find are running off the battlefield, why should we fight?— should we fight? and what do you think when you _ should we fight? and what do you think when you see _ should we fight? and what do you think when you see the _ should we fight? and what do you | think when you see the helicopters taking embassy staff out of the city? taking embassy staff out of the ci ? ~ ., ., ., ., city? well, i am old enough to remember _ city? well, i am old enough to remember when _ city? well, i am old enough to remember when that - city? well, i am old enough to| remember when that happened city? well, i am old enough to . remember when that happened in city? well, i am old enough to - remember when that happened in 1975 in vietnam and the major reason that the army of the republic of vietnam fell was not because they were not capable, it was because the americans abandon them and wouldn't provide the air support they needed and when 19 north vietnamese army divisions attack. it is a little bit different in this case, but the fact remains that for some period of time after president biden was elected, the afghan forces expected us to stand by them and when we chose not to do that, and when they see these helicopters in the air, it is a bad

day for america.— helicopters in the air, it is a bad day for america. what do you think it does to the _ day for america. what do you think it does to the credibility _ day for america. what do you think it does to the credibility of - day for america. what do you think it does to the credibility of the - day for america. what do you think it does to the credibility of the us i it does to the credibility of the us and the us military beyond afghanistan?— and the us military beyond afghanistan? and the us military beyond afu hanistan? ~ ., and the us military beyond afuhanistan? ~ ., ., afghanistan? well, we said that from 1975 to about — afghanistan? well, we said that from 1975 to about 1990 _ afghanistan? well, we said that from 1975 to about 1990 inside _ afghanistan? well, we said that from 1975 to about 1990 inside the - afghanistan? well, we said that from 1975 to about 1990 inside the us - 1975 to about 1990 inside the us military, inside the us foreign policy community. it is going to take time for the americans to win back the reputation that they had as a solid partner. but it will come, itjust a solid partner. but it will come, it just won't a solid partner. but it will come, itjust won't come as soon as we would like. if we had done this withdrawal in a more intelligent manner. if withdrawal in a more intelligent manner. ., ., , ,, manner. if it damages the us, does it potentially _ manner. if it damages the us, does it potentially strengthen _ manner. if it damages the us, does it potentially strengthen others? i l it potentially strengthen others? i am thinking for example of the fact that the russian embassy has said we are staying in kabul. the fact that china might choose to deal with the taliban before washington does perhaps. taliban before washington does

erha s. ., taliban before washington does --erhas. ., ~ ., ., ., , , perhaps. you know, again it seems like this is another— perhaps. you know, again it seems like this is another chapter - perhaps. you know, again it seems like this is another chapter in - perhaps. you know, again it seems like this is another chapter in the i like this is another chapter in the great game in that region that has been going on for centuries. but i think the one organisation that will probably suffer the most is the united nations. when the un yesterday said, we call on the taliban to seize their fighting and lay down their arms, and the un security council was basically mocked by the taliban, and they were a small insurgency that stood up to the united nations and ignored their pleas. the united nations and ignored their leas. ~ ., ., ,, the united nations and ignored their leas. ~ ., ., .,~ ., pleas. what do you make of the strate: pleas. what do you make of the strategy of _ pleas. what do you make of the strategy of donald _ pleas. what do you make of the strategy of donald trump - pleas. what do you make of the strategy of donald trump first l pleas. what do you make of the i strategy of donald trump first and then joe strategy of donald trump first and thenjoe biden in saying we have to withdraw, there is no point in staying? if we are taking away the tactical question of the haste of withdrawal and the way in which it has been done, do you think that was a sound argument for american foreign policy?— a sound argument for american foreign policy? well, i would also sa that foreign policy? well, i would also say that was _

foreign policy? well, i would also say that was the _ foreign policy? well, i would also say that was the policy _ foreign policy? well, i would also say that was the policy of - foreign policy? well, i would also say that was the policy of the - say that was the policy of the british government as well. everyone has wanted to get out of afghanistan since the day we went in. nobody goes into a war without thinking about how to get out. i can't play this on trump or biden. we have worked 20 years, not only to make the afghans self—sufficient, but also with an eye towards an exit. so this is not germany, japan or western europe, it is of strategic importance to the united states, which is why we decided to stay in japan and south korea and europe for years and years, but this is not only a strategic issue for the americans, it is not in the strategic interest of her majesty's government either. i strategic interest of her ma'esty's government either.* strategic interest of her ma'esty's government either. i would like to come back — government either. i would like to come back on _ government either. i would like to come back on that. _ government either. i would like to come back on that. couldn't - government either. i would like to come back on that. couldn't it - government either. i would like to come back on that. couldn't it be. come back on that. couldn't it be said to be in their strategic interest in terms of decades, lifetime perhaps, if you are looking

at a place that has harboured international terrorism and could do so again? if afghanistan once again tragically becomes a place where jihadist asthma can regroup and retrain, can plot and can become immensely relevant to the rest of the world? ~ ., , immensely relevant to the rest of the world?— the world? well, that is exactly ri . ht, the world? well, that is exactly right. which _ the world? well, that is exactly right. which is— the world? well, that is exactly right, which is why _ the world? well, that is exactly right, which is why we - the world? well, that is exactly right, which is why we hope - the world? well, that is exactly right, which is why we hope the the world? well, that is exactly - right, which is why we hope the rest of the world, to include the great british military, will stand with the united states. we will not allow that great coalescing of terrorist training camps inside of afghanistan, as we saw through 9/11. but we have got to accept the fact that al-qaeda and its affiliates are in about 40 countries now and the most important thing we can do is keep them to a minimal size in order that they don't have the size, the capability, to strike our country is in the future. i have no doubt that the united states, and probably alongside the british military, will look very carefully inside

afghanistan so it does not become a safe haven and sanctuary for terrorism and will conduct counterterrorist operations as and when needed to prevent that. thank ou for when needed to prevent that. thank you for being _ when needed to prevent that. thank you for being with _ when needed to prevent that. thank you for being with us _ when needed to prevent that. thank you for being with us here _ when needed to prevent that. thank you for being with us here on - when needed to prevent that. thank you for being with us here on bbc news. . ~ you for being with us here on bbc news. ., ,, , ., a reminder of the major developments in afghanistan. taliban militants say they are now entering the capital kabul after a lightning advance across the country. the president ashraf ghani has left afghanistan and the taliban look set to take some form of control within days. it's being reported that two taliban officials say there will be no transitional government in afghanistan and that the group expects a complete handover of power. the top afghan police official abdullah abdullah has described ashraf ghani as the former president and blamed him for the apparent situation in afghanistan. roads out of kabul have been packed with people fleeing the taliban.

the militant group has told the bbc they will respect the rights of women and allow a free media. that is the line being taken on major tv interviews. as well as taking every major city, the taliban have captured more territory, including the former us airbase at bagram. the us has has begun evacuating staff from its embassy with chinook heliopters soon flying over the city. the bbc has been speaking to the taliban today. the bbc has been speaking to the taliban today. my colleague yalda hakim spoke earlier to taliban spokesman suhail shaheen who is in doha where peace negotiations have been taking place. he said there would be a peaceful transfer of power and that women would be respected. the city and the power should be handed over to the islamic emirate

of afghanistan and then in future we will have an afghan inclusive government in which all afghans will have participation. when you say participation, what do you mean? when you say participation, what do ou mean? ., . ., ., , you mean? participation means we will have them _ you mean? participation means we will have them all— you mean? participation means we will have them all in _ you mean? participation means we will have them all in the _ you mean? participation means we will have them all in the official - will have them all in the official government. but will have them all in the official government-— government. but it will all fall under the _ government. but it will all fall under the umbrella _ government. but it will all fall under the umbrella of - government. but it will all fall under the umbrella of the - government. but it will all fall - under the umbrella of the government of the taliban, the islamic emirate as you describe it?— as you describe it? yes, there will be, as i as you describe it? yes, there will be. as i said. _ as you describe it? yes, there will be, as i said, an— as you describe it? yes, there will be, as i said, an afghan, - as you describe it? yes, there will be, as i said, an afghan, inclusivej be, as i said, an afghan, inclusive government. idistill be, as i said, an afghan, inclusive government-— government. will there be a delegation _ government. will there be a delegation going _ government. will there be a delegation going to - government. will there be a delegation going to doha i

government. will there be a - delegation going to doha tomorrow? there are a lot of rumours he has arrived in kabul and the current president has handed power over. can you give our viewers some clarity on that, please? mullah baradar is here in doha, he has not gone to kabul, these are just rumours. there is also a lot of concern from women in afghanistan, in kabul, they have been writing to me, they have been texting me, they are concerned that you will reimpose the regime of the �*90s back in afghanistan, where women could not go to school, where the girls could not go to school, they could not work. can you give us some clarity on what your plans are for that? we have taken already many...of the country, and also, many provinces of the country. there are hundreds of schools for girls in the west.

there, the girl students are studying. they are there, there is no sanction on them, they are continuing their studies and they are going to schools, they were going in the past. in herat, for example, women are telling me that when they arrived at the gates of the university yesterday, taliban fighters told them to leave and that there would be instructions about whether they could attend university or not. that is what the fighters on the ground are telling the women of herat. what i'm telling is the policy, the policy is that women can have access to education and to work and of course, they will observe the hijab, that is it. when you say, the hijab, do you mean a headscarf on the head or a burqa covering theirface?

no, burqa is not the only hijab, there are many types. we are witnessing history in kabul and afghanistan today. earlier, i spoke to michael 0'hanlon, seniorfellow at the brookings institution in washington. he has written extensively on afghanistan. 0sama bin laden famously kept a book by michael on his book shelf. well, it's remarkable at one level. the whole thing is mind—numbing, even for those who have been following this and knew the possibilities and remember how fast the taliban fell 20 years ago. so we know afghans don't like to fight in a losing cause and therefore, its not entirely surprising that much of the government security forces would collapse like this. but given that they have, you wouldn't necessarily expect the taliban to negotiate over anything. i am still sceptical that they will,

but it's fascinating. we are processing information as fast as it comes in and, as you just reported, the developments are happening by the hour at a pace that even in the annals of rapid military conquests and war is quite something. so i obviously hope and pray that somehow there could be an agreement whereby the taliban decided to basically say, "we will at least make the effort to bring other voices into this government, to grant amnesties." it is more than i would have hoped for, frankly, and i'm still not quite sure that it is going to happen, but i guess that is where we have to go now with our aspirations. the role of washington here, the united states, there is a huge amount of condemnation of the speed of the withdrawal of us troops. president biden is being very firm, that he saw no other option. he said give it another year, another five years, what difference would it make?

how would you describe opinion in washington about that? well, i think first of all you are right to capture the debate in those terms. there is a lot of criticism of the biden decision. i think it was the wrong decision and also executed far too quickly. but also i think we are alljust processing what is happening. and some people who defend the president will say the fact that this whole house of cards has collapsed so fast has proved it really was a house of cards, which would seem to lend support to mr biden's view, that there was no point in keeping on with the mission that obviously was only building a shell of a government and of a security force. others of us would say afghans don't fight in a losing cause and if you pull the rug out so quickly and with so little warning and planning, which is what has happened in the last four months, then you increase dramatically the chances of this

sort of catastrophe. i really think that, president biden's response notwithstanding, this is obviously not going to be a feather in his cap. the only question now is going to be about damage limitation. how do we show the world that in fact this president can be resolute on other problems and be a good ally on other problems when he, in myjudgment, was not resolute and was not a good ally in regard to afghanistan? michael, our reporter from ground zero on 9/11 knows, as we all do, what this has meant to people in the united states, but what you seem to be saying is that to a large extent the us mission of the last 20 years is revealed as a mirage? well, i'm afraid that these are debates that have happened elsewhere around the world. you know very well in britain, britain worked, fought so hard and lost so many people in helmand province in afghanistan

and basically decided a few years ago, sort of like what president biden has decided this year, that the effort was really not worth sustaining at that same kind of level and intensity. so i'm afraid this is not a debate that is unique to the united states and, you know, the issues are palpable and they are clearly before us, but i also think that, you know, there was a good case to keep doing what we were doing as of a year or two ago. 12,000 total nato troops was down more than 90% from the peak. it was enough to give the afghan forces some backbone. it was enough to allow a peace process to begin and over time, i think, there was a chance that the peace process could have evolved in a more favourable direction. so i think this will go down as a very sad and tragic day and also a bad decision by nato writ large. the united states is taking the brunt of it now, as we should, but other nato countries have been wrestling with the same questions, made some of the same kind

of decisions, but on the whole an alliance that stuck for so long is coming out of this with a mission that may have kept terrorism at bay for 20 years, but obviously did not achieve its goals for afghanistan itself. let's look at that wider goal, to keep terror at bay. i was just talking to the former british defence secretary liam fox, and the first thing he had to say was remember the taliban harboured internationaljihadists, they could do so again. in terms of washington's interest right now where we have got to? will that be at the forefront of their minds in the white house and the pentagon? how many foreign fighters arejoining this cause and being harboured by them? yes, absolutely. and i think here we do have a number of tools that are different and much better from where we were 20 years ago. we have first of all showed the world we, nato, collectively, have showed the world that we are pretty good at responding even if the mission itself has not produced an afghanistan state that can hold together, we have shown 20 years of perseverance going after extremist threats.

we decimated al-qaeda in the tribal areas of pakistan and in the parts of afghanistan where they had previously holed up. we showed a willingness through thick and thin to keep at this even when the mission had been unpopular, meaning that if we are struck again from afghanistan, i have no doubt that the united states and many nato partners will go back to do what is necessary to target the source of that violence. it doesn't mean we can build a state that will make it permanently stable and safe in afghanistan, but if there is an extremist sanctuary that develops again, our intelligence assets have a good chance of finding it and certainly our strike power is up to the job of going after it. i am sure that message will be delivered and reiterated and i think it is correct. michael 0'hanlon in washington. some breaking newsjust michael 0'hanlon in washington. some breaking news just coming michael 0'hanlon in washington. some breaking newsjust coming in michael 0'hanlon in washington. some breaking news just coming in from the us embassy in afghanistan, saying there are reports of kabul airport taking fire. we have been telling you that us citizens have

been helicoptered out to the airport in order to be able to leave afghanistan. the instruction from the us embassy is now for citizens to shelter in place. we have been talking all day about how dramatically lives for civilians in afghanistan may change now, especially if you are a woman. mariam wardak, is a co—founder of the her afghanistan organisation which campaigns for gender inclusion in the country. i think that the public reacts, the negativity that is spreading across social media is causing more of a concern to others around the world, more so then how people are handling it on the ground. as you had previously, from your former speaker, as you heard previously, from your former speaker, she mentioned that they are asked to return to their shops, to stay and things will be back to normal. however, the fear, which is a normal

reaction to what's happening, is what is causing the stir, more so than anything else. could the taliban have moved so fast with such success if they weren't supported by large numbers of people? that is the main topic that i am so glad that you brought up. there is acceptance amongst the people for the taliban and more so in the rural areas because of the tribal way that they have approached the elders. afghanistan is a tribal society and the elders are the ones that make the decisions. they are pretty much the architects of the future. that is why when you hear in some provinces the taliban are allowing school committees because of the pressure that the village elders have placed on the local taliban commanders, that the girls must go to school.

so i think the influence of the elders is quite important on how it is going to structure the future. and we are hearing now that a delegation of afghan elders will be going to doha for these talks with the taliban about how afghanistan will be run, what power would look like. do you have concerns about a generational difference, a gender difference here, as afghanistan's fate is decided again? well, first, this delegation, it's who is part of the delegation, is it a political elder delegation? or is it elders that are from the provinces, those who made the decisions and those who have worked with the taliban? and who also have support of the government? now, when it comes to representation of women, it is obviously not there. the fact that the ghani administration did not send female islamic scholars, a battalion of them, to speak to the afghan taliban

is what the concern is, because the theological arguments are what has to take place to being a total freedom and progress for afghan women, because it is the religion narrative that the taliban have been taking forward, so one has to speak their language. as we continue to look at what is happening to people in kabul, we are also looking at people who fled from afghanistan. here's unicef�*s chief of field operations and emergencies in kabul, mustapha ben messaoud, talking a little earlier about his concerns for people. in afghanistan. i think we have been quite vocal about the humanitarian concern and needs affecting afghanistan right now. you have seen and heard about the 360,000 people that have been pushed on the move because of the conflict. we have also reported on the number of children killed since the beginning of the year and that number is unacceptable, standing at more than 500. but at the same time we have been having discussions and meetings with the taliban leadership in the various towns that are now under their control.

the latest engagement that we had with them, this morning injalalabad, where we discussed how humanitarian, especially unicef in this case, will be able to resume their activity and those activities are really life—saving interventions at this. interventions at this stage. let's look at some of the day's other news: haiti's civil protection service has said that at least 724 died in saturday's massive earthquake. the powerful 7.2 magnitude quake flattened homes, churches and schools. hospitals have left overwhelmed and in need of supplies. the disaster compounds the problems facing haiti which is already dealing with a political crisis following the assassination of its president last month. anti—government demonstrators in thailand have staged a protest involving thousands of cars, to demand the resignation of the prime minister over

the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. the organisers said they used vehicles to help stop the spread of the virus. infection rates and deaths from covid—19 have soared to record levels in thailand. just time to remind you of some of the developments today in kabul in afghanistan. the taliban closed in on kabul this morning after seizing the eastern city of jalalabad. afghanistan's acting interior minister said they want a peaceful transfer of power to a transitional government. the taliban has told the bbc they want to take power in the next few days but will respect the rights of women. roads out of kabul have been packed with people fleeing the taliban. events a re events are moving very fast and what we have heard in the last few minutes is that the taliban has taken control of afghanistan's ta ken control of afg hanistan's presidential taken control of afghanistan's

presidential palace. this is after ashraf ghani, the president of afghanistan fled the country. it does appear as if the transfer of power has happened. stay with bbc news. let's get you an update on the weather now. hello, warmth and sunshine does not feature very much in the forecast for the week ahead, certainly a cool start to the new week as we pick up a north—westerly wind. for much of the week, it could be mainly dry, but often cloudy and that is certainly the situation today. we have these slow—moving frontal systems across the uk, bringing a lot of cloud and also further outbreaks of rain. heavy and frequent showers across the north of scotland. further south across scotland and northern england, we have this zone of patchy rain which will be sliding its way southwards, some sunshine there as well, and across wales and south—west england, we have clouds and showers and those are likely to stay this afternoon. further east, drier,

but we can't rule out some showers and the best of the sunshine is further east, and the highest temperatures too. this evening and overnight, much of the rain across england and wales will ease, we still see some showers pushing their way across scotland, perhaps into northern england, sometimes, but with a variable cloud elsewhere, the clearer skies across eastern scotland where we could see temperatures dipping down to around six degrees. further south in the uk, temperatures get to 12—14 celsius. the new week starts off like this, the area of low pressure pulls away into scandinavia, the area high tries to build across the atlantic, notice the wind direction, a north—westerly wind, a cool wind at any time of the year. it will feed in lots of cloud and some showers. most will be dry but after a cloudy start, some sunshine develops across eastern counties of scotland and england. in the sunshine, 19—21 degrees where we have the cloud, just 15—17. with a north—westerly wind, it will feel cool as well. through till tomorrow evening we'll see some more persistent rain pushing across parts of western scotland, northern ireland

and into the far north of england. tuesday, little change in the pressure pattern we still have this area of low pressure in scandinavia, the high across the atlantic and the cool north—westerly wind. spells of rain across east anglia and into the morning, those will clear away, lots of cloud again, maybe one or two showers, most will be dry, but i think sunshine in limited supply. temperatures typically in the range of 16—20. not much change in the week ahead, quite quiet, often cloudy, but may be some showers developing towards the end of the week.

this is bbc news — our top stories: the rush to leave kabul, as taliban fighters enter the capital of afghanistan. president ghani has fled the country. the taliban say they want to prevent looting in kabul. there are reports of shooting in several parts of the city. the militants have rolled through the entire country in a matter of weeks. in a bbc interview, a spokesman says women will be safe — if they wear the hijab. the policy is that women can have access to education and to work and of course they will observe the hijab, that is it. helicopters ferry us diplomats from their embassy, but the us secretary of state says the two decade long us military operation in afghanistan was a success. it's up to the afghans themselves,

it's up to the afghan government, it's up to the taliban, to decide the way forward for the country,