this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. this picture is believed to be of the taliban inside the presidential palace in kabul. the rush to leave kabul as taliban fighters enter the city. nato says commercial flights are suspended. meanwhile, 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. the policy is women can have access to education and to work and of

course they 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 it is up to the afghans themselves, it is up to the afghan government, the taliban, to decide the way forward for the country, including kabul. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. taliban forces have entered the afghan capital, making their takeover of the country 20 years after being ousted from power all but complete. president ashraf ghani has fled reportedly to tajikistan. in a statement on facebook ashraf ghani has said he left

the country in order to avoid bloodshed. it's his first comments since leaving. meanwhile this picture has emerged and it's believed to be of the taliban inside the presidential palace in kabul. the remaining staff of the us embassy have been operating from kabul airport but even there the security situation is said to have been deteriorating. it's being reported that the american flag has been taken down at the us embassy and nato says all commercial flights at kabul airport have been suspended as evacuations take place. the latest developments come after the taliban's rapid advance in recent days through provinces across afghanistan. here's our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. as the taliban moves in, the west moves out. american helicopters busy over kabul all day today, ferrying diplomats from the us embassy to the airport. this disorderly end was not the plan. and nor was this, a city in panic,

people desperate to leave, taking what they can, fearing a bloody assault. but so far it's happening without a fight. in a conference call with security officials, the president, ashraf ghani, says rioters and looters would be dealt with. but this is a man whose grip on power has vanished. his face may still gaze down on the city centre but this afternoon it emerged he had left the country. the government's senior negotiator pointedly suggesting he was no longer in charge. translation: the former president has left afghanistan, leaving - the people to this situation. god will hold him accountable and the people will have their judgment about him. i wish you patience and strength. may god help you. more signs of panic at the banks. people lining up to take out their savings. with thousands of police officers and security officials abandoning their positions, the taliban seemingly reversed an earlier pledge not to enter the city.

"the islamic emirate," they said, "has ordered its forces to enter the areas of kabul left by the enemy and where there is a risk of theft and robbery. the citizens of kabul should not feel any fear." we wanted to avoid bloodshed and destruction to the properties of the people and not to give a chance to plunderers, looters, who are waiting for such moments to loot or plunder the properties of the people. but the streets are full of dread. tens of thousands of civilians displaced by fighting elsewhere living out in the open, telling stories of abuses at the hands of the taliban. translation: the taliban came into our village in the night. - after a few days we managed to escape as they were murdering the men and boys. they accused them of being in the army or the police.

they were taken out of their homes and murdered because they worked for the government. away from the capital, more success for the taliban, taking over the eastern city ofjalalabad, giving them control of the vital road connecting afghanistan with pakistan. the saddest part is that i didn't expect this. but now i might face consequences that i never even dreamed of and i guess that's the price that we pay for trying to make this world a little better. tonight, the ministry of defence has released these pictures. hundreds of british troops arriving in kabul. with the evacuation of british nationals and eligible afghans under way, they will not be on the ground for long. at the border with pakistan, afghans are leaving. with or without fighting the taliban's takeover looks set to trigger yet another wave of refugees. paul adams, bbc news.

our north america editor jon sopel is in washington. i think he was trying to put a brave face on a situation that has turned chaotic. you can debate the policy about the wisdom or otherwise of pulling american forces out of afghanistan, and there are many people, republican and democrat, who think you can'tjust sign a blank check for ever that american forces will prop up a government in afghanistan that does not command the support of the people and if the taliban come knocking, maybe that is the result. but the way it has unfolded, joe biden seems to have ignored all the warnings he was given by allies, by military top brass. they have drastically overestimated the fighting power of the afghan armed forces, they have underestimated the speed with which the taliban would advance. that leaves you with a situation today of helicopters ferrying diplomats to the airport, the ambassador going to

the airport, the ambassador going to the airport, the flag being lowered over the kabul embassy, diplomats been told to shred documents. not quite the fall of saigon, but not far short. ion quite the fall of saigon, but not far short. , ., , ., ~ ., far short. jon sopel talking about the us secretary _ far short. jon sopel talking about the us secretary of _ far short. jon sopel talking about the us secretary of state, - far short. jon sopel talking about i the us secretary of state, anthony blinken�*s assertion that the mission in afghanistan had been a success. let's just show you more of that statement from the afghan president, his first statement since he left the country today. posting on facebook, mr ghani said... he said he left the country in order to avoid bloodshed, as the taliban entered the presidential palace. mr ghani also added the taliban are now responsible for protecting the country's honour, wealth and self—esteem. he did not disclose details on his new, current location. so who are taliban, or the islamic emirate of

afghanistan as they call themselves? formed around a core of afghan mujahideen veterans from the soviet invasion, they were joined by young men from pakistani madrassas or religious schools. while primarily recruited from the pashtun ethnic group, the taliban was made up of volunteers of numerous afghan ethnicities. after the us—led coalition�*s offensive resulted in the regime's collapse in 2001, many taliban leaders took refuge in pakistan and continued to direct attacks from there. the un says there are an estimated 58,000 to 100,000 taliban fighters led by hebah toollah akhundzada, the ultimate authority on religious and military affairs. one of his deputies, now head of the group's military commission, is mullah mohammad yaqoob, son of the taliban founder, the late mullah omar. the un says estimates for the taliban's annual income range from $300 million

to $1.6 billion a year. the primary sources of their funds are criminal activities, including drug production and trafficking. bbcjournalist zarghuna kargar is from afghanistan, and has been speaking to residents in both kabul and jalalabad. she described the situation there as �*total chaos'. people are worried, people are scared. i have been speaking mostly with women, they are terrified about what is coming next for them. i was just speaking to one of my friends who lives in kabul. this morning she went to the bank to get some money. she has been trying to leave the city for a while and unfortunately she wasn't able to leave today. she went to the bank and the bank said, "you can go home, there is no money in the bank." she said, when i came out of the bank the streets were empty and people were getting out of the cars and running back home.

she said she went home and she feels so hopeless. it is heartbreaking to speak to my friends, my friends who have worked so hard in the last 20 years to progress, to get education, to learn, to help the society, to help the community. the morale is so low and it is just so sad. i have also been speaking to mothers of army families and one mother told me that her son, who was guarding the jalalabad airport, she can't make contact with him. she hasn't been able to phone him, he is not answering. they are telling her he might be safe, but it is heartbreaking to not know where your child is and how your child is doing. and she said that since this morning she is hearing planes going over kabul, they live very close to the airport, and she felt

that everyone is leaving and they are left behind, abandoned. terrible scenes and terrible stories. do you think that this fear in this time of tremendous uncertainty, is this fear strongest among women? very much. women were the main victims of the taliban regime. of the mujahideen regime. they lost so much, there are so many widows in kabul, there are so many women who worked hard to build a community of educated women. there were so many girls going to school. they don't know what the next minute holds for them. are they able to go to school tomorrow? they don't know. are they able to be allowed to go to university? they don't know. as we hear from some provinces some women were told to go back from the universities by the taliban

when they have taken over. so there is a sense of fear and when you see everyone leaving it is just heartbreaking and it is like really scary. i have been there myself in the �*90s, i was a kid and my father held onto our home and to what we had and he said it was going to be fine, the mujahideen are coming and it will be fine, there will be jobs and there will be a life for us. some went to india, and we were left behind. sometimes my mother still blames my father for all the suffering we went through. we became displaced two times in afghanistan and we went to pakistan and became refugees and finally we made it to england, we are very lucky. but we were a bit late and when you hold onto things, and i am speaking to so many of my friends and they are in exactly

the same position that i was in the �*90s as a child, and it isjust so heartbreaking not to be able to go back to your home, not to be able to sleep in your own bed as a child. i have been there and it is so hard to keep hopes high or to keep the momentum of feeling that it is going to be fine. the events of today and this past week are clearly stirring up a lot of memories and emotions for you. among the people that you have been talking to, is there any sense, any realistic sense, that the taliban might perhaps have changed from the regime in the �*90s, or are people highly sceptical? highly sceptical, it's just like seeing the realities and hearing from people and hearing from the women in the provinces.

just a few weeks ago i spoke to a woman artist in kabul and she was telling me that in her province when the taliban had entered, midwives who are essentially an essential workforce to look after the mothers and babies, they were not allowed to go to work. so how can they trust a force like this, that we see examples and hear women being forcefully married and sold and stopped from education? how can they trust? it will be very hard to see the reality and see what is coming next is going to change. how have they changed? in the last few weeks i have heard from the people i have been speaking to and they said the taliban haven't changed, they are more savvy, they are more scary and we feel like they are coming with the same force that they came in the �*90s. so you feel a very long way from afghanistan. i should say that you are speaking

to us from the uk at the moment, but you are in touch with people there. what are you going to do? are you going to keep in touch with people to try and reassure them? as an afghan and an afghan woman who has dedicated her life for work of education of girls and women, i will try to help them get out because i don't know. they feel scared, they feel terrified, they feel, "i will not be able to do what i did." today in one family i see five young men are losing jobs. they were all working for the kabul police, the military, so you can imagine how the cycle of poverty is coming. they don't know if they will be able to work in the police force again or will they be able to move freely in kabul? it is very hard to keep

feelings apart from what is going on in my country. kabul university lecturer obaidullah baheer gave his reaction to us secretary of state anthony blinken�*s comment that the international presence in afghanistan is a success. you stare at that statement and smile. it is quite ironic. a lot of what happened in afghanistan appeared to be as part of a deal struck between the taliban and the united states, and the idea here is that they gave up on the afghans. they left them stranded, everything that we saw, we could have negotiated

a transitional government, we could've done a transfer of power, but none of that happened because they did not allow us time, they did not let us plan for it in advance. so it was just done too hastily? yes, it was. you are kindly speaking to us for a second time here on bbc news. we spoke to you a little bit earlier, when you talked about your fears of what was going on, yourfear — you didn't want to leave the house. that was a few hours ago. tell us how the last few hours have been. have things changed ? actually, things have been changing quite rapidly. what happened in the morning was that panic struck. you could see cars stranded on the roads, people stuck in traffic for hours and hours, because, again, it was the beginning of the end. the police, the armed forces, they all gave up.

police precincts were left empty and it was complete lawlessness, so people took the law in their own hands. they went and started looting under the name of the taliban. there were people that looked like the taliban within the city, but officially as a policy from the taliban, they were not allowed to enter the city, and then by the end of the day, we saw the taliban announcing that the vacuum of power, the vacuum of security created a necessity for them to actually move into the city. they announced a curfew starting at 9pm. i was trying to get out a few hours ago, to grab a few things, and i saw four or five armoured vehicles, one of them that actually tried to ram into my car, and they did not look like they were government, they did not look like they were taliban, theyjust looked like people who had grabbed and looted such equipment, so it is quite shocking.

one does not understand what we could or could not do, so it is a lot of unknowns, and we will wait for tomorrow morning to find out what happens politically. the president left afghanistan in the worst possible scenario. he didn't even allow time for the afghan elite to travel to doha and discuss the transition of power. so it is just like the rug was swept from under the feet of the afghan democratic transfer of power, something that president ashraf ghani kept talking about. he abandoned the nation, he ran away. what is the best that you can hope for out of this situation? previously we hoped that a transition of power could be something that the west could incentivise the taliban into. now

with the abrupt exit of president ashraf ghani, there is no reason for the taliban to negotiate much, or form a transitional government. there have been conflicting statements. when i was with you in the morning they said that they would create an inclusive government and something that was later cleared on reuters, i think that two taliban spokespeople said they did not believe in a transition of power or a transitional government. so we will have to see. there is a committee formed within afghanistan, including hamilcarzai, committee formed within afghanistan, including hamilcar zai, abdullah abdullah, and another person, and three of them are called the coordination committee who are supposed to coordinate with the taliban and discuss what the future government would look like, but we have not heard from the taliban and

we don't know what their next move is. the rumour is that the leader has landed in taliban, but he has not. we will have to see what happens tomorrow when the taliban take over the whole of kabul what the next step will be. fix, take over the whole of kabul what the next step will be.— take over the whole of kabul what the next step will be. a huge amount of uncertainty — the next step will be. a huge amount of uncertainty and _ the next step will be. a huge amount of uncertainty and anxiety _ the next step will be. a huge amount of uncertainty and anxiety at - the next step will be. a huge amount of uncertainty and anxiety at the - of uncertainty and anxiety at the moment. what about your own personal situation? what are you going to do? what can you do?— what can you do? again, as i said earlier, what can you do? again, as i said earlier. as — what can you do? again, as i said earlier, as unsettling _ what can you do? again, as i said earlier, as unsettling as _ what can you do? again, as i said earlier, as unsettling as all - what can you do? again, as i said earlier, as unsettling as all of - earlier, as unsettling as all of this is, i do not want to abandon my country, i want to be here, i want to be able to have this discussion and here is to hoping that the taliban have it within them to have that discussion with academics, with people who represent the public. my friends have been stranded. some of them are trying to rush to the

airport only to realise later that the path to the airport was closed, the path to the airport was closed, the flights were cancelled. others managed to get out. some tried to help me get out as well, but i thought others deserved it more and i thought that i didn't want to leave, not now, and hopefully not ever. i think this will be a very long night for kabul, but we will have to see what tomorrow brings. but you had to take the decision to leave or stay?— but you had to take the decision to leave or stay? yes. and i am hoping that the taliban _ leave or stay? yes. and i am hoping that the taliban stay _ leave or stay? yes. and i am hoping that the taliban stay true _ leave or stay? yes. and i am hoping that the taliban stay true to - leave or stay? yes. and i am hoping that the taliban stay true to their i that the taliban stay true to their statement of tolerating different views, of having the capacity to discuss and to change to evolve, to modernise. i think there will be a need for technocrats, even if the

taliban don't see it. my students need lecturers like me stop other afghans need people with talent, with experience, that can help not only run the state, but can help society function. that would mean some people like me sacrificing and staying behind. i hope that they see that and let us do our work and let us work for our nation. here, as we heard, the prime minister borisjohnson has said that it's now clear there will be a new government in kabul and that every effort is being made to evacuate british citizens from afghanistan as soon as possible. johnson chaired an emergency meeting this afternoon with ministers and parliament is being recalled. here's our political correspondent ben wright. for 20 years, the uk has committed its military,

money and lives to afghanistan. some of the fiercest fighting was here in helmand. the effort ends with a frantic scramble to get out. the situation in afghanistan continues to be extremely difficult, getting more difficult, i would say. and our priority is to make sure that we deliver on our obligations to uk nationals in afghanistan, to all those who have helped the british effort in afghanistan over 20 years, and to get them out as fast as we can. uk troops first went to afghanistan in october 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, joining us—led action against al-qaeda and the taliban. by the time combat operations ended in 2014, a54 uk soldiers and military personnel had died. successive prime ministers stressed their commitment to the country and protecting the progress made. today, cross party fear that progress could vanish. the real danger is we're going

to see every female mp murdered. we are going to see ministers strung up on street lamps, and this is the decision that i'm afraid has been taken. we haven't heard from the foreign secretary in about a week, despite this being the biggest single foreign policy department disaster since suez. it has been a catastrophic miscalculation, that is absolutely clear. the uk and the united states both overestimated the capacity of the afghan government to hold off the taliban and underestimated the capacity of the taliban to advance throughout the country, and that has been clear, actually, for days. the uk says its mission in afghanistan had to end once the us announced its decision to leave, despite the consequences. it's a mark of the crisis that mps and peers will be brought back from their summer break on wednesday for a day's debate. many are livid about the way afghanistan is being left.

but talking here won't stop the taliban and all mps can do is ask ministers how a humanitarian and security disaster might be avoided. the situation in afghanistan will be deeply felt by many families closer to home, reflecting on a mission that wasn't meant to end like this. ben wright, bbc news. johnny mercer is a conservative mp and former veterans minister for the uk government who served in afghanistan. he called the withdrawal "a disgrace". yes, i mean, ithinka lot of yes, i mean, i think a lot of people have been taken by surprise by the speed of the taliban advance. i think what has happened is appalling, it is a tragedy. this idea of a peaceful transition with the taliban, people are pretty naive when it comes to the taliban. we are going to witness a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. that we

choseit crisis of epic proportions. that we chose it i think is extraordinary. the taliban have overrun the country, we essentially surrendered to them, they have been successful and now the people that we promise to fight for and protect with the work over the last 20 years has gone down the drain. it is an extraordinary day. my thoughts are very much with the people of afghanistan, the children and the women at the who we promised a better future too. also to veterans in the service community in this country who have invested an awful lot, invested so much into afghanistan. we always knew we would leave and to see the manner of this collapse is very hard to take. we need to be very, very careful around thanking the taliban are after anything like a peaceful transition. i have been speaking to people in

afghanistan this morning and it is certainly not the case on the ground. i will never regret serving. i am terribly proud of the people i serve it with. for a period they demonstrated two young afghans what trip should be like. i am incredibly proud of the values and the ethos they demonstrated every day, the best values displayed amongst those in combat in afghanistan. i am incredibly proud of them and always will be and i make no apology for that as well. the will be and i make no apology for that as well-— will be and i make no apology for that as well. the conservative mp johnny mercer- — britain is among a number of countries who've called a meeting of the un security council to discuss afghanistan. lewis vaughanjones has more on the international reaction. the prime minister speaking afterwards, giving an admission, saying that shortly there is going to be a new government in kabul. if you just take a moment

to think about that, imagine a british prime minister saying that a couple of weeks ago, a couple of days ago, even perhaps this morning, talking about now the priority being to stop the country becoming once again a breeding ground for terror. let's take a quick listen. it is clear that there is going to be, or there is going to be very shortly, a new government in kabul or a new political dispensation, however you want to put it. and i think it is very important that the west collectively should work together, to get over to that new government, be it the taliban or anybody else, that nobody wants afghanistan once again to be a breeding ground for terror. and the prime minister also giving an update on the situation on the ground there, and actually it is best to illustrate it, if we take a look at some pictures. this is british troops arriving in kabul.

this is i think the 16th assault brigade, and the prime minister talking about two priorities in a very difficult situation, a duty to fulfil obligations to uk nationals there, firstly, and secondly to fulfil obligations to those who helped the british effort, so fulfiling obligations to those who helped the british effort there in afghanistan. the prime minister cannot have been expecting the speed of developing. let's take a look at the rest of the world, then. actually, the increasing focus of the world's attention is kabul airport itself. and nato is there. fears for security around the airport, for obvious reasons. and actually in the last hour or so, hearing from reuters that all commercial flights have been suspended now. that's to allow the priority for, clearly, the military operations,

the military evacuations going on. you may have seen earlier on in the day commercial flights trying to land and turnaround, but they have now been suspended. and let's take a look at what the nato secretary—general tweeted earlier on, saying that... and lots of countries not involved in doing just that. —— now involved. and we can look at france as an example. we've got a bit of footage. it's the french ambassador, and there are not any words here, but it is worth pausing for a beat to take in what is happening. this is from inside the helicopter, being taken out of the green zone, from the embassy to the airport. france said it is moving its afghan embassy close to the airport and it will keep operational there, to help the evacuation of all french citizens there, and actually they're going to do that via the uae,

and actually that's going to help quite a few countries with this evacuations we are going to see now in the coming hours. the situation with germany very similar, saying they are doing everything they can to enable germans and local afghan support staff to leave, just a core embassy staff remaining there. couple of quick comments from other countries. qatar calling for a peaceful transition of power. turkey saying there embassy will continue its operation. that's a kind of brief overview of the international reaction. i want to focus on the people of afghanistan, a tweet from malala yousafzai. she was shot by gunmen in pakistan. her words were quite powerful... a big job for the international community. and to that end, the un

security council are due to meet on monday morning. lewis vaughan jones there. lewis vaughanjones there. for more analysis, i spoke to laurel miller. she is director of international crisis group's asia program. formerly, she was the deputy and then acting special representative for afghanistan and pakistan at the us department of state. she said the speed at which afghanistan has fallen to the taliban will surprise everyone, including in washington. it is obviously an extremely fluid situation, as your reporting has shown. there are the immediate questions of, what is the, i don't even think we can say tradition to power to the taliban, because there is not an transition happening, the taking of power, what is that going to look like, what is the situation going to be just hours and days ahead? as someone, and in this case

it can only be the taliban, attempts to ensure some kind of law and order in kabul and to ensure some kind of law and order in kabuland takes to ensure some kind of law and order in kabul and takes up the seat of government. we are then entering a very uncertain phase and a whole new context in afghanistan of what is taliban rule in this new situation going to look like? are they... what is the political vision going to be? are they going to reestablish the emirate as it was before, in the 19905, emirate as it was before, in the 1990s, what is their political plan? they have not said yet. and more questions than answers on that front. ., ~ , questions than answers on that front. . ~ , ., ,, _ front. talk us through us policy in this regard. _ front. talk us through us policy in this regard, this _ front. talk us through us policy in this regard, this rapid _ front. talk us through us policy in this regard, this rapid withdrawal. president biden has come in for extensive international condemnation for having gone about it in this way. could he have foreseen this is

going to happen? i way. could he have foreseen this is going to happen?— going to happen? i think it was re going to happen? i think it was pretty clear — going to happen? i think it was pretty clear that _ going to happen? i think it was pretty clear that president - pretty clear that president biden, given his long—standing views on afghanistan, wanted to end the us military involvement there, and so the decision to withdraw is not a surprise. i do not think it really has a lot to do with the agreement that the united states under the trump administration signed with the taliban, that if anything was convenient for the biden administration, because it gave them administration, because it gave them a kind of coverfor withdrawal decision i think they wanted to make because of how... it does not rate afghanistan very high among us interests. once you were going to have that decision to withdraw, it was going to happen quickly, in any circumstances, and, really, what we are seeing happen right now is a crisis of confidence, a collapse of

confidence by afghans, the security forces, the political leaders and population, in their own government and their own system being able to endure in the absence of the american presence. you endure in the absence of the american presence.- endure in the absence of the american presence. endure in the absence of the american resence. ., , ., ., american presence. you will be aware that comparisons are _ american presence. you will be aware that comparisons are being _ american presence. you will be aware that comparisons are being made - american presence. you will be awarej that comparisons are being made with the us withdrawal from vietnam in the us withdrawal from vietnam in the mid—70s. do you think that that is an apt comparison? this situations _ is an apt comparison? this situations are _ is an apt comparison? this situations are very - is an apt comparison? ti 3 situations are very different, and a number of ways. one way in which i think you could say it is apt is that there were wrong analyses up into the last moment of how long the existing situation could hold and how much time there would be to execute an evacuation and withdrawal of the embassy. i think it was even more acute in the case of vietnam than what we have seen here, but nonetheless that misunderstanding of how rapidly the situation could

deteriorate, you can see some parallel there. at the one thing that we do see that has been a kind of false comparison that has been perpetuated and that infused american policy was the idea that after the soviets withdrew from afghanistan, the afghan government was able to hold on for three more years because the money from the soviet union, from the russians, kept going for three years, into the soviet union evaporated and the money was cut off, and that led some to believe that as long as the us and the west are giving money to the county government, it could hang on for a period of time, that proved to be a really false comparison —— ashraf ghani government. in be a really false comparison -- ashraf ghani government. in terms of the agreement _ ashraf ghani government. in terms of the agreement that _ ashraf ghani government. in terms of the agreement that was _ ashraf ghani government. in terms of the agreement that was signed - the agreement that was signed between president trump and the taliban, the afghan government was not part of that. was that a grave

mistake? ~ ~ ., ., mistake? well, the afghan government was not art mistake? well, the afghan government was not part of — mistake? well, the afghan government was not part of it _ mistake? well, the afghan government was not part of it because _ mistake? well, the afghan government was not part of it because the _ was not part of it because the taliban utterly rejected the idea of negotiating with the afghan government until after it had negotiated with the us and achieved its number one objective, which was an american commitment to a clear timeline for withdrawal. it was a calculated risk that the united states took that if it acceded to that taliban demand then —— that that concession could open up —— that that concession could open up a window of opportunity for an afghan peace process. it was a calculated risk, but the calculation turned out to be wrong. there was not enough of a window of opportunity, probably not enough intent on the taliban side, and perhaps not even enough interest on the afghan government side cub to confer that opportunity into a real peace process, and so in the end,

yes, it did bolster the taliban arousal, it accelerated their momentum, it enhanced their legitimacy on the international stage, and in that sense, the us taliban agreementjust stage, and in that sense, the us taliban agreement just accelerated the trajectory that was already in play of taliban ascendance in afghanistan. 50 play of taliban ascendance in afghanistan.— play of taliban ascendance in afghanistan. play of taliban ascendance in afu hanistan. . ,, afghanistan. so here we are, the us is scrambling — afghanistan. so here we are, the us is scrambling to evacuate _ afghanistan. so here we are, the us is scrambling to evacuate its - is scrambling to evacuate its citizens as the uk is its own. the us has put in billions of dollars in order to shore up afghanistan, in order to shore up afghanistan, in order to shore up afghanistan, in order to try and build its military, to build a civic society, and it has come to this. what do you then make of antony blinken, the secretary of state, saying that this mission has been successful? the state, saying that this mission has been successful?— been successful? the biden restriction _ been successful? the biden restriction is _ been successful? the biden restriction is laying - been successful? the biden restriction is laying all - been successful? the biden restriction is laying all its i restriction is laying all its emphasis on the successes that were achieved in terms of counterterrorism, in terms of going

after al-anda, decimating al-anda, it's not gone, but it is degraded, and pointing out that osama bin laden was killed ten years ago. of course it does bear mentioning he was killed in pakistan, not in afghanistan, but there was a second part of the american mission in afghanistan and the start, that was regime change. the bush ministration decided not only to go after al-qaeda and the terrorists but also to illuminate the taliban regime, and adjudged it essential that there not be taliban rule in afghanistan and 11 —— eliminate the taliban regime. from that flood or the revenue you referenced and what is properly called the nation—building mission, and that is clearly been a failure. there were gains that were made for afghan people over these years, in terms of education, health, women's right, how long those gains will endure is now very much in question. and so you have to

consider there was a two—part mission by the united states in afghanistan — counterterrorism and regime change. he first had some successes. the second distinct lean not, because we are back to where we started 20 years ago.— started 20 years ago. laurel miller there from the _ started 20 years ago. laurel miller there from the international... - colonel chris kolenda, author of zero—sum victory: what we're getting wrong about war, led the us troops as commander to fight against the taliban in 2007. i have got a personal reaction and a policy reaction. my personal reaction is it is very upsetting, it is very disappointing. i've got afghan friends who i am messaging back and forth who are very concerned about their safety, their personal safety. they tell me about the unfolding humanitarian crisis, the uncertainty about the future, and all of that is very upsetting. it is also very upsetting to see 20 years of work with the afghan government come crashing

down like this. from a policy standpoint, i think it is important right now to focus on cause and not blame, and i think there are three causes for what we're seeing right now. the first cause is that the afghan soldiers and people no longer believed, lost faith, in their leadership and voted with their feet to accept the taliban. second is the taliban used the last 18 months very wisely in negotiating all of these surrenders, whereas the afghan government squandered the past 17 to 18 months. and third, the united states created a built—in afghan security force that was way too dependent on america, and that is, quite frankly, strategic malpractice. how much of this should have played a part in the american decision to withdraw its troops?

how much of this is, with the benefit of hindsight, although all this has happened so quickly, but how much should this have been taken into account? i think what happened was the taliban were very savvy in using the last 17 months to negotiate the surrenders of these various commanders and district and provincial governors, and what we have seen with the last week or so them coming to collect the surrenders, and it was a very, very effective campaign. and it does not seem that the united states had any inkling of what was going on, and it did not seem like the afghan government had much inkling of what was going on either. it sort of buried its head in the sand. and instead of reinforcing and preparing its defences, itjust continued to hope the united states would keep

combat troops in country, and when president biden made it quite clear, and president trump before him, that that was not going to be the case. you have sat in on negotiations, negotiated with the taliban in the past. from their present public pronouncements, do you think they have changed? what i am hearing from them, and you just played the interview with their spokesman, is what they have been saying for several years. and so now the question is, or the taliban going to follow what they have said in terms of inspecting human rights, and other they've essentially taken over in afghanistan? they own the human its aryan crisis. and are they going to... —— the humanitarian crisis.

they have talked about not wanting a monopoly of power. are they going to follow through on that or are they going to overreach and invite resistance of the afghan population against them? i think time is going to tell. but you will be aware of the stories coming out of afghanistan of people being executed, of women being taken ljy being executed, of women being taken by taliban members, but taliban fighters, and there does seem to be a big disparity in areas between what is being said by the leadership in doha and what is happening on the ground to. in doha and what is happening on the round to. ., �* w , ., ground to. you're exactly right, and in discipline — ground to. you're exactly right, and in discipline is _ ground to. you're exactly right, and in discipline is one _ ground to. you're exactly right, and in discipline is one of the _ ground to. you're exactly right, and in discipline is one of the first - in discipline is one of the first signs of what i called a catastrophic growth, when you grow beyond your ability to manage. time will tell on the veracity of some of the reports on both sides. what i'm

here on the —— hearing on the ground is the taliban in many areas are letting girls go to school, in other areas, it's not the case, and so the taliban have a challenge on their hands,in taliban have a challenge on their hands, in terms of internal discipline, and whether they are successful in being able to consolidate or invite resistance against them is in many ways going to be determined by the level of discipline that they can maintain. so now that a taliban government seems practically inevitable, what can the international community do, what should its attitude be? i can the international community do, what should its attitude be?- what should its attitude be? i think the best case _ what should its attitude be? i think the best case scenario _ what should its attitude be? i think the best case scenario is _ what should its attitude be? i think the best case scenario is afghans l the best case scenario is afghans come together and negotiate, work through some sort of political arrangement, where everybody has got buy—in. and the united states, united kingdom, the international community should work with whatever

government that afghans agreed to, to alleviate the human its —— the humanitarian crisis and help afghanistan be successful. one of the things the taliban always said in their statements to us, and we are hearing it in their public statements, is they want afghanistan to be successful, they want afghanistan to have relations with the outside world, they recognise when they were cut off from the world in the 1990s, yeah, they were unsuccessful, and so they seem to be at least, in their policy statements, aware of... will they act on those lessons? and do what they are saying, which is taking care of the afghan people and helping afghanistan to be prosperous? again, ithink helping afghanistan to be prosperous? again, i think time will tell. the international community needs to be ready to lean in and really help afghanistan come out of

this crisis, and at the same time, work with the government to ensure that there is no terrorist sanction emerging, that afghanistan is at peace with itself and its neighbours, that human rights are respected. fight! neighbours, that human rights are resected. �* ., ., ., respected. and the international community _ respected. and the international community is — respected. and the international community is much _ respected. and the international community is much more - respected. and the international community is much more likelyl respected. and the international. community is much more likely do that, presumably, if... done without reprisals and without bloodshed? i think that's exactly right, and it is certainly going to strengthen the willingness of the international community to work with whatever government emerges in afghanistan if it is done without reprisals and along the lines that the spokesman discussed. if it is different story, if there are continued reprisals and gross violations of human rights, then the international community's

reaction of course is going to be much different. colonel chris kolenda there. let's hear from jim townsend. he was president obama's deputy assistant secretary of defence for europe and nato. now, he's now at the center for a new american security. we have to begin preparing ourselves for a humanitarian operation there of some type. we are looking at evacuations now. you've mentioned british troops going in, us troops are going in. we have aircraft beginning to ferry people out, but it can't stop there. we can't just walk away after we have taken care of our own people there, or taken care ofjust a narrow segment of the afghans who have helped us. there is a lot more we are going to have to do and we are going to pressure the taliban to stay away and let us do this. this is going to be very hard in the next few days and we can't just go in there and ask for permission for the taliban to leave us alone as we go

about this operation. it has got to be more thanjust the uk and the us. i think nato has got to be involved in this, other aspects of the international community, as well as the united nations. this can't be something that will last two days and we walk away. i felt that your interview just a few minutes ago of the afghan student, i agree with her. the abandonment cannot include us walking away after a few days, once we have taken care of the us embassy and translators. there has got to be more. and when you say, "we can't abandon them, we have got to help," what should be done? should people who want to leave be enabled to leave or should there be humanitarian assistance on the ground? what should it be? it has got to be a number of those things. there has got to be a land opening, a land corridor, to try

to allow refugees to go to neighbouring countries. if we can work that out. we can't obviously evacuate the entire country, but we have got to find a way to figure out, how do we take care of people on the ground who are living in the open? how do we somehow deal, in a broader way, with the evacuation? again, it is notjust the us. it will have to be the international community. the un is going to have to play a role in this. right now, you can imagine with the taliban, this was a surprise to them as well, in terms of how quickly they were able to move across a very large country. i am certain there is not enough taliban to go into kabul and handle the problems there, if they ever wanted to! it has got to be the international community going in there and holding them at bay while we try to take care of the kabul population and the refugees going in there

and we take care of them as best we can. the taliban willjust have to cooperate with this and we have to have forces in there to make sure they do. interesting you say the taliban will have to cooperate. that is not in the international community's hands, is it? it is, if you have got british troops in there, we are going to have thousands of us forces in there, and they have got a vote in this as well. and there is more where they came from. we have to toughen up our approach here and go to them and say, "listen, you are going to have to play ball here. "we have got enough forces in kabul right now to make sure that happens." sorry to cut in, mr townsend. you know perfectly well those troops are there in order to evacuate us citizens, british citizens. they are not there to do anything else. right now, they are not, but perhaps that is an option for us. what we can't see is chaos

breaking out in kabul, the likes of which we saw when saigon fell, people rushing to aeroplanes. horrible signs with the taliban, who seem to have been doing this in the smaller capitals that they have been taken, coming in there and having a massacre, having a humanitarian catastrophe there. we have got forces on the ground now to make sure that kind of thing does not happen as we sort out the stability of kabul and try to figure out how to handle the humanitarian needs. you are right about the forces going in there right now, their mission statement and the rules of engagement do not include combat with the taliban, but that could change. if we see the taliban coming in there and doing things against women and doing things against afghan government officials, and we see that, we can turn that around in terms of what those forces are there to do. we have also got combat aircraft, we have been using those

in the last few weeks, so we know we have that reach. so right now, yes, they are in there to just do the evacuation. but the taliban are beginning to penetrate into kabul, and if we start seeing catastrophic scenes on the streets, those forces are going to have to change their rules of engagement. we have to. we can't abandon the afghans. but the irony can't be lost on you that the situation has been created by the withdrawal of the us—led coalition presence. and you are saying, "if things get too bad, we have just got to return"? what i am saying is we have got to take responsibility for what has happened there. i am not saying that we return and go back to the way we were occupying the country and working with the afghans. what i am talking about is we have got to take responsibility for what has happened. and we have got forces

on the ground, a lot, and so do the brits and other allies as well, in some aspects. so we have to make sure that we take responsibility for this collapse that has happened and the ramifications of that collapse. we have to make sure that we do the right thing as best we can in this particular situation. we can pontificate and we can debate one another about what happened, and there are lots of fingers that can be pointed in a lot of different directions over the past 20 years, but today and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, we have got to make sure that we are doing the right thing as best we can in kabul to take care of the humanitarian situation there. we have got the forces on the ground to do it. we just cannot walk away and say, "over to you." we have got to deal with it. and it is going to be very hard. the logistics are going to be hard, dealing with the taliban is going to be hard, it will be hard dealing with people on the street who are panicked,

but we have to do that because it is the right thing to do. and that was jim townsend and that wasjim townsend speaking to me a little bit earlier. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. hello. warmth and sunshine is in fairly short supply in the week ahead, but whilst there was some rain in the forecast, most will be mainly dry, but with a north—westerly wind, it'll feed in cloud. and with the wind, it'll feel cooler, particularly for the first half of the week. this is the bigger picture at the moment. through sunday, slow moving fronts pushing across the uk, bringing cloud, outbreaks of rain into parts of northern england, wales, south—west england and very heavy showers for northern scotland and we keep those going through this evening. for others, a glorious sunday with blue skies and sunshine, so very much mixed fortunes. this evening, we see those showers continue to slide their way across scotland, but much of the rain across england

and wales tending to ease away, with some of those showers moving into north—east england through the early hours. some clearer skies across eastern sides of scotland with temperatures down to 6—7. elsewhere, with the cloud, more like 12—111. here is how we start the new week. our area of low pressure pushing across scandinavia, high—pressure building from the west, a squeeze in the isobars and a north—westerly wind, so feeling cooler for all of us through monday. quite a lot cloud as well with some showers, most will be dry. the best chance of sunshine will be across the eastern counties of scotland. the temperatures, we have seen 23—24 in places on sunday, more like 18—20 on monday, and some rain arriving into the west of scotland, and that will slowly slide across scotland, clipping northern ireland, into parts of england and down across the east coast as we head through the early hours of tuesday.

it is a similar pressure set—up on tuesday, this area of low pressure to the east of us, high pressure to the west maintaining that north—westerly air flow. fairly damp start to the day across parts of east anglia and south—east england with outbreaks of rain. that will pull away, but in the wake, we are left with cloud with one or two showers. once the morning rain has gone from the east and south—east, mainly dry if rather cloudy, with highs of 16—20. it is a cloudy picture in the week ahead, most will be dry, some small amounts of rain, fairly cool start to the week, turning warmer later but with a chance of showers at the weekend. goodbye.

taliban fighters enter the presidential palace in kabul, as they retake the afghan capital 20 years after being forced from power. their arrival sparks an exodus from the city, as afghans head towards the border and the president flees the country. embassies are closing, diplomats are flying out, leaving afghan civilians and former top officials fearing what lies ahead. i might face consequences that i never even dreamed of, and i guess that's the price that we pay for trying to make this world a little better. british troops are in kabul for the uk's evacuation effort, as the prime minister called for like—minded nations to work together on afghanistan. plainly, the situation remains very difficult, and it's clear

that there is going to be,