committee on a spectacuimilar p. then the minutes came out from the prior meeting. we'll see if powell wants to push back on that, saying things were hastened. i think that's the fulcrum on what we're going to be watching. >> thank you president biden expected to speak on afghanistan any minute. shep >> thanks very much. it is 5:00 on the east coast 2:00 p.m. on the west coast. in afghanistan, they're eight and a half hours ahead, so the middle of the night there and it is a tenuous situation even at this minute. the president scheduled to speak at this minute we're led to believe he'll be a few minutes out. isis k orhas claimed responsibility for what happened at the kabul airport two attacks. the first we're told from the

pentagon briefing, from the central command chief, during that first one, 11 u.s. marines and a navy medic were killed here's how that happened according to what we've learned from the pentagon. a suicide bomber made it past the first check point on the road that leads toward the airport in kabul here's a map that suicide bomber, either the taliban let him through or somehow evaded the taliban security, which then leads along a roadway with blast walls on either side. so this gate of the airport. one of three main gates the americans have been using. when that bomber got to the gate, the bomber detonated the explosive and it was that explosive that killed the 12 u.s. personnel in addition to that, 15 american service personnel were injured and we're told those 15 were in hospitals. we've been able to get no

updates on their condition at the same time, there was a second bombing may have been a suicide bombing. the pentagon has not been clear on that. but there was a second bombing very near a hotel, about 1,000 meters away. but instead of directly at the hotel, which houses british soldiers, it happened in a canal. it's a sewage and drainage canal. one we've been showing repeatedly just south of that main gate there. and it's the spot where afghans have been gathering to show their paperwork to try to get over the gate. these pictures are of the aftermath of the attack there in that canal we're not showing the most graphic of them because frankly, it's just, it's too gruesome to look at. i would describe it to you, but you can imagine a bomb going off and little children and adults literally just blown to bits it was in that canal that this second bomb went off whether attached to someone or

not, we don't know while all of this is happening, following the explosions, gunmen, isis aggunmen begin shooting into the crowd. pentagon telling they were blown up so what happens now is the main question for now, according to the military, the flight operations are continuing the evacuation prosecess is ongoing. they're using different methods to get people into the airport to be evacuated. we're being told they're using buses. people are prescreened at a different location presumably a secret location screened for weapons and bombs taken on buses into the airport on the military side and then evacuated by c-130 transport planes and others. the pentagon tells us that isis has been, or someone, could be the aliban, who knows, has bee

taking shots at their aircraft the military planes have defensive mechanisms but the civilian planes that are largely contract planes that are, you know, rent a jets, if you will, they're taking people out, they don't have those so far, they've had no problems with those they haven't made contact with those planes united states has no forward presence there job of the military personnel on scene are to facilitate the evacuation of the afghans who were in country. they don't have forward operating capabilities, the chief said they're going to hunt down those who carried out those attacks. frank mckenzie, the general, said we're working very hard right now to determine attribution, in other words, to determine who did this to determine who was associate with this cowardly attack and we're prepared to take action against them again, that was general mckenzie he said we're working 24/7,

we're looking for them how they would carry out such a retaliatory measure is really unclear. exactly how they'll continue the evacuation of thousands of thousands, tens of thousands of afghans who want to leave and have the visas to do so, how they'll continue that under this deteriorating security situation is really beyond our understanding at this moment but they say that they will. further, they tell us that all of their preparationsleading u toward august the 31st will continue the deadline, the president's deadline is tuesday of next week but here's how the agreement worked with the taliban. the u.s. representatives met with the taliban representatives and said, like, here's the deal. you will provide safety and security, easy access to the airport for those who need to be evacuated and you will guarantee the security of our personnel and in change, we'll be off your airport and you can have it come august 31st.

tuesday of next week that agreement is already broken the afghans were to provide security they did not provide security. 12 united states service members are dead 15 are wounded the latest count from hospitals in kabul is that at least 60 afghan civilians are dead. hundreds injured and taken to hospital the defense secretary released a statement saying on today's attack saying essentially, our mission continues, we will not be deterred, we are moving forward. how exactly will the united states respond united states military personnel killed the first u.s. soldiers and service members killed in afghanistan since february of last year and the deadliest day for the united states military in the last decade michael is with us, senior fellow at the brookings institution, author of the art of war in the age of paeeace at this moment, that title might

need an adjustment michael, we're waiting for the president. i'll interrupt when he comes to the podium i don't have a two-minute warning. nightmare scenarios. they laid it out the nightmare is that there's a terrorist attack that kills u.s. personnel who were there now what do we do? >> thank you for your eloquent reporting. such a tragic moment i think, you know, the key question obviously for me and many others will be who carried out the attack and how well can we identify the perpetrator? my strong presumption is that this was isis or the variant of isis known as isis k so the same general movement in iraq and syria in 2014, terrorist inspired the attacks in europe and san bernardino and elsewhere in that time period. that has always just been in favor of reckless violence it doesn't have a big, complicated strategy it's even less cunning that al

qaeda. al qaeda spent, as you know, months preparing the 9/11 attacks and they had internal debates over whether to go for big, sensational strikes and where to carry those out isis is just about killing people it worked for them in a sense because in that period of 2014, '15, '14, they gathered a lot of support and recruits from all over the world they got money they got, again, you know, shadow followers all over the world who carried out these attacks motivated by isis and just carried them out by themselves without any great planning so isis just sort of turns people loose to create mayhem. now, having said that, there can be cells, greater levels of localized organization, but if isis wouldn't care about august 31st, they wouldn't care about a taliban promise to show restraint until that point in fact, isis and the taliban historically have been enemies within afghanistan

not because the taliban are somehow more pure or ethical necessarily, but because the taliban don't want the competition. more power and control so i could be wrong, but my strong presumption is this was not a taliban decision not trying to defend or admire the taliban in any way and i've never been a fan of the august 31st deadline and i think that president biden made a mistake by committing to it so publicly. my sense is that isis doesn't care and they'll carry out attacks before or after august 31st as they're able >> isis has been fighting with the taliban in the eastern part of afghanistan for the better part of the last three years when the taliban arrived to take over control of kabul and went to the prisons, they found isis k, islamic state in the khorasan leaders, and they shot and killed they will right away. those two are mortal enemies and there we are in the middle the taliban have been tasked and

promised to provide our security the very best thing that could happen for isis k would be to kill some americans with the taliban being the ones who were supposed to provide the security and that's where we are. so i don't know how the taliban reacts in country. i'd like your thoughts on that and how the united states now reacts in the wake of what's just taken place >> well, the taliban might decide to try harder to find these kinds of bombs and truck, you know, explosives before they are, before they are employed. as you know, it's very hard to stop a truck like this at the final point of approach. you know, for all the great technology we have, we don't have ways of sensing the presence of explosives from many miles away and so we can't use spy satellites to figure out where these trucks are and unless we happen to have watched the truck get loaded in a place where we know there are materials that sort of thing so the way you stop these is

through a complex, overlapping web of intelligence and check points we used to have that in afghanistan, working with the police again, i still strongly disagree with president biden's decision. but the taliban now are the only people on the ground that have the capacity to try to create that kind of a system of multiple check points. it's not foolproof and they might be trying their hardest to stop these kinds of attacks and missed one i think the question now becomes how do we give them incentives to help and it's a crazy, new world where we're having to use the taliban to help protect american troops. >> michael, there are millions and millions and millions of dollars that have been frozen. we've already offered the taliban a bribe. we've already said we'll give you this airport and we'll get out if you'll provide us security and of course, they didn't

maybe they tried maybe they didn't try. but it didn't work they're not a trustworthy entity but we have all of this money that's frozen that could be given over to them as another bribe. i don't know how you make that decision now, but it's certainly a possibility. >> you're right. and i think that is the main leverage we have their access to afghanistan's existing bank accounts, but also any future aid and diplomatic recognition we might give them as the united states government, as an international community. again, not having our diplomats, our intelligence personnel, our afghan partners on the ground any longer, we don't really have the kind of, you know, detailed, granular information that helps you deduce if the taliban is trying to help it's pretty hard to figure that out from a distance. so i'm with you. i think we have to consider that our main source of leverage, but it's going to be a blunt instrument because we're not going to have

great sintelligence on what the taliban is doing and we're only going to be able to turn the spigot left or right on so many issues at a time that's the main source of leverage we have i think we've got to try to use it and make it clear to the taliban that if we figure out they are not trying to help prevent these kinds of truck bomb attacks or that they're involved in them themselves, or the haqqani network is implicated, then we can refuse access to their money and even hit them back militarily not by a ground presence but by air strikes against government buildings, leadership, et cetera. that's got to be the mix i'm just speaking theoretically from the comfort of washington, d.c. and having the information that really allows you to apply that strategy, that's what requires the presence we've now abandoned. >> speaking to military friends today and sources as well,

michael, the same narrative continues. the same questions keep coming and it's this. what the hell were we thinking to allow the taliban to be the security of the airport from which we're trying to evacuate you send the force protection away, then you have to bring them back to facilitate an evacuation during the evacuation, you farm out security for the united states military to a terrorist organization i'm not a monday morning quarterback guy and i don't get caught political in any way, but when you look in the rear-view mirror, it just happened we just turned over our security to a terrorist organization. you have to wonder what the hell did we think was going to happen >> yeah, you know, i think you're right, but i also think we had some americans trying to provide a layer of perimeter of defense. >> i didn't see them you know what i saw? i saw taliban and u.s. soldiers

standing in some cases within arms distance of each other outside that gate. the taliban providing security and the united states service personnel, you know, ushering people in and doing security standing next to terrorists. for those members of the military, it had to be an other worldly experience they were just trying to kill each other a short time ago. >> yeah. i'm not going to disagree with you. i will say that i expected august to be much worse and even in light of today's tragedy. the taliban have shown restraint. they have not necessarily shown cooperation and the restraint may be ending. and i share your concern we should never have put ourselves in this position to begin with i was a strong opponent of the decision to leave back in april because this kind of scenario was predictable. not this exact one with any clarity but, this was one of the kinds of scenarios none of them good. that followed from the fact we were going to lose control, lose intelligence assets, lose afghan

partners, lose diplomatic presence once you do that, you don't have many choices so we put ourselves into a very bad place. the only thing i will say, it's not really in defense of the bi biden administration's policy, that until today, it worked better than i thought. i expected more violence in afghanistan when the afghan government fell until august 26th unfortunately, this may be the beginning of a new chapter we have to do everything in our power to send a clear message to the taliban that we're going to expect much more help going forward and they may or may not choose to deliver it they may or may not succeed in finding the next truck bomb if it's out there we had to work very hard to find them when we were there and we didn't always succeed when we were there ourselves so again, you want the multiple layers of intelligence and security because no one is perfect and only by having a number of chances to intercept do you have the odds working in your favor

>> we're obviously discussing this because we're waiting for the president. he was to have begun speaking 16 minutes ago, but we're on biden time just as under president clinton, time meant nothing and that's how it appears in the first year of this administration time doesn't mean much so he'll speak when he speaks. he'll do what he's so great at and that is be the consoler in chief, but doesn't he have to project forward here today doesn't the united states military and don't the united states people deserve to hear something about what we're going to do about this attack that just happened and how we're going to change procedures or effect some sort of security that will allow us to get our people out of there? not to mention for the moment, the tens of thousands of afghans who we owe safe passage. it's not a gift. we owe them safe passage they fought beside our people, therefore they are with us and we have to take them off the

battlefield. it's a rule in america does he need to discuss all of this >> well, i take your point that he can't just be the consoler in chief today because this was not something completely beyond his control. it's a result of his policy and therefore, to me, it's more akin to, for example, the iran hostage rescue effort, which was within president carter's control and went badly or the bombing of the marine barricks in beirut, lebanon, in 1983 when president reagan was this power. none of these things were a result of the president who allowed a policy to develop then put us in a dangerous place, but at those moments, what the country wants to know is do we have a firm strategy do we have a leader capable of implementing that strategy another example would be the

black hawk down strategy in president clinton's first year that time period was not just to console. it was to show the country that he could figure out where to go next in a situation that he or someone working for him had not handled well and that's where we are today with president biden this is becoming even a much bigger crisis of his presidency than i expected two weeks ago. >> no question, this is the darkest day of this presidency there's no other way to evaluate it michael, stay with us if you can. i want to get to eamon javers who covers the white house in washington he was to have spoken 19 minutes ago. do we have any indication of what he may be waiting t impart >> we don't know, shep, at this hour what we know is that the white house press pool has been called and asked to stand by. we'll wait and see what that means in terms of the timing of the president's remarks. as you and michael were

discussing, it's clear what we're going to hear from president biden is going to be the most difficult and high stakes speech of his young administration this is a president that's going to have to explain to the american people what happened today, specifically. why it was necessary why this mission was necessary and frankly, whether or not this was his fault as a result of the strategy that he decided to deploy of pulling out of afghanistan all together and allowing afghan government to be in place that ultimately was not able to stand for more than a few hours in the face of this incredible taliban onslaught that we've seen over the past few weeks. then he's going to have to lay out his plan for where we go from here. how much longer are u.s. forces going to be in afghanistan what are they going to be tasked with and how quick can all of this be over it is a very ugly and difficult and painful nightmare for the american people. how quickly can we end this? so the first group, high stakes,

the u.s. military onsite and afghan allies trying to evacuate they're first and foremost in the minds of everybody watching this secondly, you look at the political stakes here for this president of the united states as you say, this could be a presidency defining moment for joe biden as he tries to pull off an evacuation in a crisis zone in unbelievably difficult and unlikely circumstances now as you're pointing out with the taliban actually providing security for u.s. military forces on the ground, they're describing a series of security check points at which the taliban are checking people that are coming in and then the u.s. military is coming in. so whatever happened here, whoever got through initially got through some taliban ch checkpoint on the way in to attack the u.s. military and afghans who were there was that a failure was that a deliberate attack by the taliban? the president's going to have to

explain that and stakes couldn't be higher. >> there's some indication that they're about to lower the control room ny 115. the stakeout camera. there we go. it's been directed, this is controlled by the white house pool it's been directed toward these flags and i would anticipate they would lower the flags to half-staff in anticipation of the president. you know, i can't, because of military friends and military sources and i know you have them, too, eamon, just this ought that after 20 years of war, that in the waning days of an evacuation, a terrorist bomber has killed 12 of our soldiers our 12 of our troops and left 15 of them in hospitals with surgeons over them here at, you know, past 2:00 in the morning. approaching 2:00 in the morning there. it's just beyond the word sad. it's just heart crushing

>> and this afghanistan episode in american history after 20 years, shep, ends the way it began. with a terrorist attack that kills americans. bookends to this entire project. beginning of september 11th and today, it's how we are ending our episode in afghanistan as you showed the flag on top of the white house there in that picture, that is the roof of the white house. the u.s. flag at the top, of course, where it belongs and just below that, traditionally, they have flown a p.o.w. flag. and that flag, and i believe that's what's flying there that flag, that stands for never leaving people behind. the u.s. military in particular, behind and it comes from our experience in vietnam and the people who were in fact left behind and the tragedy they experienced and the frustration their friends, family, and comrade in arms after they were left behind in a fruitless effort to find so many of them. and i reflect on that as i watch

this, shep you think about the concept of people being left behind we know there are americans now who are in afghanistan who are struggling to get out. we know there are afghan allies of the united states who are struggling to get out and we know that the u.s. military is struggling to hold on to that airport in kabul right now and this is a concept that's replying itself and echoing throughout history now of how do you end a war without leaving any of your people behind? this country has struggled with this before, shep, and we are struggling with it again today >> it can take one to start a war. it takes two to end a war. we have an agreement with a terrorist organization which has overrun the government of afghanistan. we have an agreement with a terrorist organization that they will provide safety as we exit the agreement has been broken. and in this case, there's a third party, another terrorist group that has been at war with the taliban for the past few years in the eastern part of afghanistan. if you believe the pentagon,

have come in and done this today and you wonder how there can be enough trust to even facilitate the rest of this evacuation. though the pentagon says they are force forward. the president is coming to tspea to us. >> tough day scene in kabul as you all know, terrorists attacked that we've been talking about worried about. the intelligence community has undertaken an attack by a group known as isis k. took the lives of american service members standing guard at the airport wounded seven others seriously also wounded a number of civilians and civilians were killed as well

i've engaged all day in constant contact with the military commanders here in washington, the pentagon as well as in afghanistan and doha and my commanders here in washington have been on this with great detail and you've had a chance to speak to some so far. the situation on the ground is still evolving and i'm constantly being updated these american service members who gave their lives -- but it's totally appropriate were heroes. heroes who have been engaged in a dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others

a part of an evacuation effort like any scene in history. with more than 100,000 american citizens american partners. afghans who helped us. and others taken to safety in the last 11 days just in the last 12 hours or so, another 7,000 have gotten out. they're part of the most selfless, capable military on the face of the earth and they're a part of simply what i call the backbone of america they are the spine of america. the best the country has to offer. jill and i, our hearts ache like i'm sure all of you do as well for all those afghan families who lost loved ones including small children or who have been wounded in this

vicious attack and we're outraged as well as heartbroken. being a father of a army major who served for a year in iraq and before that was in kosovo as a u.s. attorney for better part of six months in the middle of a war, when he came home after a year in iraq, was diagnosed like many, many coming home, with an aggressive and lethal cancer of the brain, we lost we have some sense like many of you do, what the families of these are feeling today. get this feeling like you're being sucked into a black hole in the middle of your chest. there's no way out my heart aches for you and i know this.

we have a continued obligation, most sacred obligation to all of you. families of those heroes that obligation is not temporary. it lasts forever the lives we lost there are lives given in service and liberty, the service and security, the service of others. and with service to america. like their fellow brothers and sisters in arms who died defending our vision and our values, against terrorism, on this day, they're part of a great, noble company of american heroes to those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes america harm, know this we will not forgive.

we will not forget we will hunt you down and make you pay. i will defend our country and our people with every measure in my command over the past few weeks, i know many of you are probably tired of hearing me say it we've been made aware by our intelligence community that the isis k, an arch enemy, the taliban, people who are freed from both those prisons were op opened and planning attacks on united states personnel and others this is why from the outset i repeatedly said this mission was extraordinarily dangerous and why i've been so determined to

limit the duration of this mission. as general mckenzie said, this is why it was designed to operate. operate under severe stress and attack we've known that from the beginning. as i've been in constant contact with our senior military leaders, i mean constant, around the clock, and our commanders on the ground throughout the day, they made it clear that we can and we must complete this mission and we will. and that's what i've ordered them to do we will not be deterred by terrorists i will not let them stop our mission. we will continue the evacuation. i've also ordered my commanders to strike isis k leadership and facilities we will respond with force and precision at our time, at the place we choose and moment of our choosing here's what you need to know

these isis terrorists will not win. we will rescue the americans who are there. we will get our afghan allies out. and our mission will go on m america will not be intimidated and i have the utmost confidence in our brave service members to save lives and get our americans, our afghan allies out of afghanistan every day when i talk to our commanders, i ask them what they need what more do they need to get the job done because they will tell you i granted every request. i reiterated them today on three occasions that they should take the maximum steps necessary to protect our forces on the ground in kabul i also want to thank the secretary of defense and the military leadership of the pentagon and all the commanders in the field

with complete anonymity of every commander on the objectives of this mission and the best way o achieve those objectives those who served through have drawn inspiration through the book of isiah. who shall we send? here i am lord, send me. here i am, send me each one of these women and men of our armed forces are the ear of that tradition of sacrifice, of volunteering to go in harm's way, to risk everything. not for glory, not for profit, but to defend the people we love and i ask that you join me now in a moment of silence for all those in uniform and out of uniform. military and civilian who have

given the last full measure of devotion thank you. may god bless you all and my god protect the troops and all those standing watch for america we have so much to do. it's within our capacity to do it we just have to remain steadfast. steadfast. we will complete our mission and we will continue after our troops are withdrawn to find means by which we defined any american who wishes to get out of afghanistan

we will find them and we will get them out ladies and gentlemen, they gave me a list here the first person i was instructed to call was kelly o'donnell of nbc >> mr. president, you have said leaving afghanistan is in the national interest of the united states after today's attack, do you believe you will authorize additional forces to respond to that attack inside afghanistan and are you, are you prepared to add additional forces to protect those americans who remain on the ground, carrying out the evacuation operation >> i've instructed the military, whatever they need, if they need additional force, i will grant it but the military from chairman joint chiefs, commanders in the

field, have all contacted me one way or another usually by letter. saying they subscribe to the mission is designed. to get as many people out as you can within the time frame that is allotted. that is the best way they believe to get as many americans out as possible and others and in regard to tracking down the isis leaders who ordered this, we have some reason to believe we know who they are not certain. and we will find ways of our choosing without large military operations to get them wherever they are. trevor reuters. >> thank you, mr. president. there's been some criticism even

from people in your party about the dependence on the taliban to secure the perimeter of the airport. do you feel like there was a mistake made in that regard? >> no. i don't. look, i think general mckenzie handled this question very well. the fact is that we're in a situation, inherited a situation, particularly since as we all know that the afghan military collapsed 11 days before, in 11 days, that it is in the interest of as mckenzie said, in the interest of the taliban that in fact isis k does

no not go beyond what it is number two, it's in the interest that we are able to leave on time, on target. as a consequence of that, the major things we've asked them, moving back the perimeter, giving more space between the wall, stopping vehicles from coming through, et cetera. searching people coming through. it is now what you would call a tightly commanded, regimented operation like the u.s.' military is, but they're acting in their interest. their interest and so by and large, and i've asked this same question to military on the ground whether or not it's a useful exercise. no one trusts them we're just counting on their

self-interest to continue to generate their activities. it's in their self-interest that we leave when we said and that we get as many people out as we can. like i said, even in the midst of everything happening today, over 7,000 people we've gotten out. 5,000 americans. so it's not a matter of trust. it's a matter of mutual self-interest. there's no evidence thus far that i've been given by any of our commanders in the field that there has been collusion between the taliban and isis in carrying out what happened today. both in front of the hotel, and

what is expected to continue for beyond today amir, associated press >> thank you, mr. president. you have spoken again powerfully about your own son and the weight of these decisions. with that in mind, and also what you've said, that the longer we stay, the more likelihood that there would be a major attack. how do you weigh staying even one more day considering what's happened >> because i think what america says matters what we say we're going to do in the context in which we say we're going to do it that we do it unless something exceptional changes. there are additional american

citizens there are additional green card holders. there are additional personnel of our allies. there are additional siv card holders. there are additional afghans that have helped us and there are additional groups of individuals that have contacted us from women's groups to ngos and others who have indicated they want to get out and have gathered in certain circumstances in groups on buses and other means. that still presents the opportunity for the next several days between now and the 31st to be ailble to get them out. and our military and i believe

to the extent that we can do that knowing the threat. knowing that we may very well have another attack, the military's concluded that's what we should do i think they're right. i think they're correct. and after that, we're going to be in a circumstance where there are, will be, i believe, numerous opportunities to continue to provide access for additional persons to get out of afghanistan. either through means that we provide and/or are provided through cooperation with the taliban. they're not good guys, the taliban. not suggesting that at all but they have keen interests

as many of you have been reporting, they very much would like to figure out how to keep the airport open they don't have the capacity to do it. they very much are trying to figure out whether or not they can maintain what is a portion of an economy that has become not robust, but fundamentally different than it had been so there's a lot of reasons why they have reached out, not just to us, but to others, as to why it would be continued in their interest to get more of the personnel we want to get out we can locate them now there's not many left that we can assess that are wanting to come out. there are some americans we've identified, contacted them, vast majority of them, not all of them, who don't want to leave. because they have, they're dual nationals. they have extended families, et

cetera and there's others who are looking for the time so that's why we continue. i'll take a few more questions, but, you, sir. >> i wanted to ask you, you say that what america says matters what do you say to the afghans who helped troops who may not be able to get out by august 31st >> i say we're going to continue to try to get you out. it matters look, i know of no conflict as a student of history, no conflict where when a war was ended, one side was able to guarantee that everyone they wanted to be extracted from that country would get out. and think about it, folks. i know the american people get

this in their gut. there are, i would argue, millions of afghani citizens who are not taliban, who did not actively cooperate with us as sivs, who hif given a chance, they'd be onboard a plane tomorrow it sounds ridiculous, but the vast majority of people in communities like that want to come to america given a choice so getting every single person out, can't be guaranteed of anybody because it's a determination of all who wants to get out as well any rate, it's a process i was really pointing to you you, sir >> thank you, mr. president. there are reports that u.s. officials provided the taliban with names of americans and afghan officials to evacuate

were you aware of that did that happen? and then, sir, do you personally reject a recommendation to hold or to recapture bagram air force base >> last question first on the tactical questions of how to conduct an evacuation or war, i gather up all the major military personnel that are in afghanistan, the commanders, as well as the pentagon i asked for this best military judgment what would be the most efficient way to accomplish the mission. it was not much value added. it was much wiser to focus on kabul. and so i followed that

recommendation with regard to, there are certain circumstances where we've gotten information, and quite frankly, sometimes some of you, saying you know of such and such a group of people are trying to get out or on a bus moving from other people and this is their location and there have been occasions when our military's contacted their military counterparts in the taliban who said this, for example, this bus is coming through with x number of people on it. made up of the following group of people. we want you to let that bus or that group through and to the best of any knowledge in those cases, the bulk is occurred and they've left

through, but i can't tell you with any certitude that there's been a list of names there may have been, but i don't know of my circumstances doesn't mean it doesn't exist. that here's the names of 12 people that are coming let them through it could have very well happened i'll take one more question. wait, wait, let me take the one question from the most interesting guy that i know in the press. that's you >> mr. president, there had not been a u.s. service member killed in combat in afghanistan since february of 2020 you set a deadline, you pulled troops out, you sent troops back in and now 12 marines are dead you've said the buck stops with you. do you bear any responsibility for the way that things have unfolded in the last two weeks >> i bear responsibility for fundamentally all that's happened of late here's the deal. you know, i wish you'd one day

say these things, you know as well as i do that the former president made a deal with the taliban. that he would get all american forces out of afghanistan by may 1. in return, the commitment was made, and that was a year before in return, he was given a commitment that the taliban would continue to attack others, but would not attack any american forces. remember that? i'm being serious. i'm asking you a question. because before -- no, no, wait a minute i'm asking you a question. is that accurate, the best of your knowledge what >> do you think that people -- pulling out of afghanistan against the wake of this attack? >> i think they have an issue that people are likely to get

hurt some have gotten killed. and that it is essy. the reason why, whether my friend will acknowledge it and has reported it, the reason why there were no attacks on americans as you said from the date until i came into office was because the commitment was made by president trump, i will be out by may 1st. in the meantime, you agree not to attack any americans. that was the deal. that's why no american was attacked >> squarely stand by your decision to pull out >> yes, i do because look at it this way. i have another meeting for real. but imagine where we'd be if i had indicated on may the 1st i was not going to renegotiate an

evacuation date. we were going to stay there. i had only one alternative pour thousands of more troops back into afghanistan to fight a war that we had already won relative the reason why we went in the first place. i have never been of the view that we should be sacrificing american lives to try to establish a democratic government in afghanistan. a country that has never once in its entire history been a united country. and is made up, and i don't mean this in a derogatory way, made up of tribes who have never, ever, ever gotten along wher

each other as i've said before, this is the last comment i'll make we'll have more chances to talk about this unfortunately beyond because we're not out yet. if osama bin laden as well as al-qaeda had chosen to launch an attack when they left saudi arabia out of yemen, would we have ever gone to afghanistan? even though the taliban completely controlled afghanistan at the time. would we have ever gone? i know it's not fair to ask you questions. it's rhetorical, but raise your hand if you think we should have gone and given up thousands of lives and tens of thousands of wounded. our interest in going was to prevent al-qaeda from

reemerging first to get bin laden, wipe out al-qaeda in afghanistan, prevent that from happening again. as i've said 100 times, terrorism has grown around the world. we have greater threats coming out of other countries a heck of a lot closer to the united states we don't have military encampments there. we don't keep people there we have capability to keep them from going after us. ladies and gentlemen, it was time to end a 20-year war. thank you so much. >> we will not forgive we will not forget we will hunt you down and make you pay. president biden's message to those who carried out this attack who in the world did not think when he said it of 20 years ago

of president bush with the fire captain. they're going to hear from all of us soon and here we are 20 years later the president saying we've been watching an air lift unlike anything seen in history more than 100,000 people evacuated. another 7,000 in the last 12 hours, he said that we will hunt them down on our time, at a place we choose, at a moment of our choosing. and we will not be intimidated and the mission will continue. the evacuation will continue the air lift will continue and we will rely on the taliban for security as we have throughout security which broke down in one way or another because what was supposed to happen was everyone who was coming to that gate had to be screened by the taliban. checked physically by the taliban. then and only then could they walk the blocks through the maze

with the blast walls on either side to reach the check point where they would again be checked and frisked by u.s. marines. 11 of them died doing that today. and a navy medic died as well and 15 others are in hospitals and the president said he takes responsibility for all that's happened, but america, he says, does not leave people behind which means the evacuation must continue and yet he said only until august the 31st. tens of thousands of afghans sivs, special immigrant visa recipients and others who want out. tens of thousands who we promised, who we promised an exit, will not receive it. and more than 1,000 americans are still in country waiting for evacuation the president says they will be evacuated. and that if they're not out by august 31st, somehow they will figure out how to get them out

eamon javers is with us from washington it was an extraordinary moment and stage for this president in an extraordinarily important moment your assessment of whether he rose to it >> shep, these remarks were equal part sorrowful and defiant as the president of the united states insisted that he made the right decision here to end this war. in fact, those were the very last words of this press conference it was time to end a 20-year war, but also expressing sorrow for the loss of life and you could see the pain in the president's face as he mentioned his own son's death and also the moment of silence. a very powerful moment in the white house for all those who have lost their lives today. meanwhile though, the president was tasked here with delivering c some conflicting messages. on the one hand, he said we will get everyone out, but at the same time, he acknowledged we won't be able to get out everybody who wants to leave the country.

he said he knows of no war that's ended where one side has been able to get everybody out of the country left unsaid, he was talking about the side that loses the war is not able to get everybody out of the country that's one conflicting message here delivered by the president. the president also saying that the united states will not be deterred by terrorists and we will complete our mission. also left unsaid in that part of the commentary was the fact that this mission here is a strategic retreat and that we have in fact been deterred by terrorists. the taliban has won this war they're taking over the capital city and when the united states leaves, we're going to give them the airport in kabul that's the raw fact on the ground here that the president is wrestling with. he's projecting american strength even amid an american retreat and that's a very difficult message for any leader to deliver we'll see what the american public makes of all this, but this was a defining moment for this president what he's banking on politically, if we can go to that shallow level right now at

this significant moment, politically, what the president is banking on here is that the american are fundamentally with him that it was time to get out of the afghan war and that it is not worth additional blood, sweat, and tears in afghanistan when as he said, we achieved our initial mission and that was to get osama bin laden and his direct supporters. >> the big problem he is, and peter, the last correspondent who was given the mike there from fox news, the way in which the evacuation has taken place with which the american people appear according to the polling, to have some concerns and you know, this idea that you turn over the security of your troops and of this airport from which we're evacuating to a terrorist organization which has overrun a country in 11 days and essentially defeated the united states military in a war is really hard to wrap your head around according to many of the polling. >> the president defended that position here and that decision

to do that, but the reality is that the afghan national army collapsed in such a quick way that the u.s. military was caught unprepared. nobody believed the afghan national forces would collapse as quickly as they did so there was some assumption there would be some remaining afghan army to be on the perimeter there and that army has just melted away they've gone home. they're back with their families and they're nursing their wounds and are trying to figure out what the rest of their lives look like. they don't have anymore capacity to defend american troops. the u.s. is in the position where it's the u.s. military and it's the taliban and they are feet away from each other and what the president is saying here is they have to talk to each other in order to deconflict that moment and get out as quickly and effectively as possible with the minimal loss of life there's no other opportunity there. there's nobody else to talk to because you're dealing with either the taliban