u.s. president biden dismisses the criticism over america's withdrawal from afghanistan remaining defiant despite the taliban's lightning-fast victory. chaos outside the kabul airport with thousands desperate to leave. clarissa ward is there. plus the science behind the plan to allow covid booster shots to already vaccinated americans. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada and around the world.

i'm kim brunhuber. this is "cnn newsroom." president biden is tripling down on his decision to withdraw american forces from afghanistan by month's end despite the mayhem that has ensued after the taliban took over the country. during a tense interview with abc news, job said he doesn't believe the pullout has failed so far and when asked if it could have been handled better, he said no. biden then suggested the chaos in kabul was inevitable, but that goes against what he said last month. listen here. >> back in july you said a taliban takeover was highly unlikely. was the intelligence wrong or did you downplay it? >> i think there was no consensus. you go back and look at the intelligence reports, they said that it was more likely to be sometime by the end of the year.

>> you didn't put a time line out, you just said flat out it is highly unlikely the taliban would take over. >> yeah. well, the question was whether or not -- the idea that the taliban would take over was premised on the notion that somehow the 300,000 troops we had trained and equipped was going to just collapse, they would give up. i don't think anybody anticipated that. >> president biden also indicated the deadline for the full american exit isn't entirely set in stone. jeff zeleny begins our coverage. >> reporter: president biden striking a defiant and defensive tone about his administration's strategy in afghanistan as the country deepens in crisis and the white house is watching every movement very carefully of course focusing on the evacuation of american citizens as well as tens of thousands of afghan nationals who have been at the right hand of the america's war effort there for the last two decades. but one question hanging over

this white house and indeed the pentagon and state department is what is the time line for evacuating all of these american citizens and afghan nationals. in an interview with abc news, george stephanopoulos asked president biden if he was flexible on his august 31 deadline. >> so americans should understand that troops may have to be there beyond august 31? >> no, americans should understand that we'll try to get it done before and iugust 31. >> but if we don't -- >> if we don't, we'll determine at the time who is left. >> and? >> and if there are american citizens left, we'll stay until we get them all out. >> so clearly saying that he would extend the deadline for american citizens, but leaving open the possibility of not doing so for afghan nationals. so certainly the president defiant not giving up ground at all saying it was not a failure, but that is an open question here. there are congressional committees already beginning to look into what indeed went

wrong, how the administration was not prepared for the collapse of the afghan government, the rise of the taliban. those hearings will start next week. there is no question here that this is the biggest test of the president's foreign policy credentials, certainly his competence and credibility is on the line. one sort of surprising thing here is he really only began calling foreign leaders within the last day talking to german chancellor angela merkel on wednesday and boris johnson late tuesday evening. but has not reached out to so many other american partners in the war in afghanistan. very unusual for president biden who and campaigned on and indeed has governed as someone who wants to rebuild those alliances. so president biden still operating in a defensive and defiant position here saying that days on was inevitable. that is certainly not what he said a month ago when he said a safe and secure withdraw from afghanistan was likely. jeff zeleny, cnn, the white house. the top u.s. general is

addressing reports that intelligence had warned of a rapid collapse in afghanistan. in a briefing wednesday, general mark milley said there was no indication that the afghan military and government would fall as quickly as it did. here he is. >> the intelligence clearly indicated multiple scenarios were possible. however, the time frame of a rapid collapse, that was widely estimated and ranged from weeks to months and even years following our departure. there was nothing that i or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days. >> and cnn's sam kiley joins me from doha. so president biden very dismiss receive over criticism as how the pullout was handled. take us through the reaction to the latest developments.

>> reporter: well, i think some of the most dramatic reaction came from the british parliament that were called yesterday for what was a very acrimonious debate, a lot of angry finger pointing specifically at the u.s. president biden. this is not something that is a convention in british politics, particularly not among conservatives. a lot of conservatives or several conservative mps themselves, former serving officers, some whom served in a afghanistan, chairman of the defense committee and defense minister all criticizing the u.s. president himself for this precipitous withdraw and also demanding from boris johnson details as to whether or not he was informed, whether he implored the u.s. president to slow things down, whether or not he sought guarantees and was able to do any planning for the

british people and allies that they wanted to get out that resulted in the deployment of some 900 members of their assault brigade. all of this stirring up not just chaos around kabul but also within the ranks of nato. there is extreme bitterness toward the biden administration and toward the british government from within its own membership including cabinet ministers over how this was handled and the reaction of boris johnson and others, the political leadership in what is seen as a failure to acknowledge the intelligence that was rediff predicting a rapid and imminent collapse of the national afghan army and indeed the government. i've worked for nearly 20 years in afghanistan and six months ago i and many of my colleagues were making exactly this prediction. it is all about afghanistan, military commanders, the

decision to when to change tides, turn the turban which is the strategic position taken. and when it looks like you are going to lose, you turn your turban and you do it fast. anyone who doesn't understand that clearly hasn't stepped foot in afghanistan or is ignoring the intelligence. there is extreme anger on both sides of the atlantic towards misinformation being handled to political leadership by generals in the intelligence community or accurate information and then ignored by politicians. this isn't going away. >> appreciate your analysis, sam kiley, thank you so much. and the u.s. is moving quickly to prevent funds from falling into taliban hands. the biden administration pressured the international monetary fund to block afghanistan from receiving $450 million in emergency reserves. the imf said afghanistan can't access the money because of a lack of clarnitclear clarity ab

country's government. and they are also looking to block reserves that afghanistan's government holds in foreign banks. the u.s. will offer covid boosters for all americans starting about a month from now. those who are eight months out from their second dose of the pfizer or moderna vook seen will vaccine will be eligible. new studies show that covid vaccine effectiveness drops over time and it coincide with the spread of the delta variant. one study found it declined from 92% to 80% between early may and late last month and the cdc found a drop in vaccine effectiveness among nursing home residents from 75% in march to 53% this month. here is more from the cdc's director. >> i want to reiterate, we are not saying that you need a booster dose right now, we're saying that we're starting to see waning in effectiveness against mild and moderate disease and that we're preparing for the month ahead because we've seen in other countries

that that could portend wayning for severe disease. so not the time to go out and get your booster now, but we are planning for late september to make sure that we always stay ahead of this virus. >> and as cnn's athena jones reports, the u.s. surgeon general is also backing the need for covid boosters. >> the time to lay out a plan for covid-19 boosters is now. >> reporter: with new covid cases and hospitalizations surging to where they were in november before the first vaccinations began, the white house announced plans for a broad rollout of booster shots next month. starting september 20th, the administration recommending a booster eight months after the pfizer or moderna vaccines. presenting data suggesting waning immunity over time. >> this will boost your immune response, it will increase your protection from covid-19. that is the best way to protect

ourselves from new varpt vaerntss. >> reporter: the fda is still reviewing the data. but experts warn -- >> boosters won't end the pandemic. what will end the pandemic is finding a way to motivate the 30%, 40% of people in this country who haven't gotten any vaccines yet. >> reporter: it is the unvaccinated that have hospitals around the country stressed. in the five hardest hit states, intensive care units are more than 90% full. alabama reporting it is out of icu beds. >> it is really just a domino effect that then clogs up our ers and everything else. >> reporter: with more than 121,000 new child covid cases reported last week, texas and florida lead the nation in new pediatric cases. in mississippi, a 13-year-old died just one day after testing positive for covid. >> she was sick, went to the

hospital and knowing she was sick, they should have september her to a hospital to get her some help. >> reporter: but the debate over masking in schools rages on. schools in broward county, florida instituting mask mandates as students return to class today in defiance of governor desantis. the state board of education voting to punish counties for violating the country's ban on such mandates. in hillsboro county, almost 10,000 students are quarantined due to covid cases. one student outside dallas, texas getting around the ban on mask mandates by making masks part of the dress code. president biden directing his education secretary to take additional steps to protect children. >> this includes using all of his oversights authorities and legal action if appropriate against governors who are trying to block and intimidate local school officials and educators. >> reporter: and the debate over masks in schools isn't just

continuing, it is heating inin some places and it is not just shourt shouting matches. in austin, one parent ripped the mask off a teacher's face. athena jones, cnn, new york. hurricane grace is closing in on mexico with heavy rains and life-threatening storm surge. next, we track the storm getting closer and closer to landfall. plus a one-two punch, that storm already hit haiti still reeling from a major earthquake. volunteers carrying supplies on their shoulders as damaged bridges slow recovery. it even kills the covid-19 virus.s. science supports these simimpe facts. there's only one true lysol. lysol. what it takes to protect. you love rich, delicious ice cream. but your stomach doesn't. at disagreement ends right now.

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look, reverse mortgages aren't for everyone but i think i've been 'round long enough to know what's what. i'm proud to be part of aag, i trust 'em, i think you can too. trust aag for the best reverse mortgage solutions. call now so you can... retire better mexico is bracing for hurricane grace which is expected to make landfall south of cancun just hours from now. at the same time, tropical storm henri is picking up storm in the atlantic and expected to become a hurricane as well. forecasters say henri could become a threat to the u.s. northeast coast in the coming days. derek van dam is joining us with the latest. you are tracking both storms, so let's start with the latest on

grace. >> yeah, grace is the more immediate threat although it is a bit ominous to hear a potential tropical system making impacts at least to the northeastern united states. that in a moment. but first grace, which is only hours from making landfall across the yucatan peninsula, if you've been to cozumel, you know these areas very well. very flat and also prone to hurricane strikes. just within the past year alone, less than a year in fact, they have had three named tropical systems, this will be the fourth named tropical system to make lawful within a 70 mile radius of cozumel. this hear as been rocked by tropical storms and hurricanes, strongest being a category 3 last year in october. they have hurricane warnings including cozumel at the moment just south of cancun. newly hoisted hurricane watches for the sa r varicus state.

and it continues to strengthen. it will move through mountainous terrain. warm waters means reintensification before making landfall across central mexico. here is the wind forecast, you can see how it becomes more defined as it reaches the bay of campeche, main threats being landslides, localized flooding. and this is transparency henri, as we go forward in time, we have the potential to see an impact from a tropical system across new england, that would be for sunday into monday, this is a spaghetti plot, various models showing a westward shift in the trend, that is what metrologists look for for any indication that this system could potentially impact some of the most densely populated areas

of the northeastern united states. >> we'll stay on both of those weather stories throughout the day. thanks. as derek mentioned, grace pummeled haiti earlier this week on the heels of a powerful earthquake that killed more than 2100 people. grace triggered mud slides that are hampering deliveries to quake sir vifrsurvivors. matt rivers has more. >> reporter: driving into rural haiti is not easy. miles and miles of tough unpaved roads. but it is at the end of the those roads where some of the worst damage from this earthquake lies. this is a fishing town of 30,000 where hundreds of structures have been destroyed. this mperson lost everything. i lost my business and home, she says. i have six kids to send to school and i don't know what i'm

going to do. hers was just the first home we saw. up the street we couldn't drive past this home because like so many others here, what remains could collapse at any moment. so these guys behind me aren't professionals, just locals with hammer, wood and nails trying to figure out a safe way to bring that severely damaged building behind me down to the ground. they told us in the nearly five days since the earthquake happened, they still have not had one representative from the central government show up. it is a tough place to get to, but as some pointed out to us, we managed to do it. so why hasn't the government. anger, a persistent sentiment for many. this man's family was injured when their home collapsed. do you think that the government can come here and help you? >> i don't think so. i don't think so. i don't think so. >> reporter: so you are not waiting for them? >> no. >> reporter: and are you frustrated with that? >> yeah, yeah, very frustrated. i'm very frustrated. >> reporter: some blame corruption and a lack of will for government inaction.

there is also the recent assassination of haiti's president, gang violence and a lack of quality infrastructure probably at fault. this bridge in the city of jeremy in rough shape before the earthquake now so damaged that heavy trucks like these loaded down with aid cannot cross, supplies sometimes hand carried. no matter the reason, the reality persists. people in need are growing increasingly desperate. i need help, she says, and no one is helping me. so far it is only god who i think will help me. the place where she height prayer for that, the church in the town's center, also destroyed. thankfully fewer people tied du -- died during this earthquake compared to similar quakes. imagine one person said if it had happened on a sunday morning when church was full. and we did reach out to haiti's central government asking have you sent representatives to see the hundreds of structures that have been destroyed here. what are you planning on doing

to try to make the lives of people affected by this earthquake better. they did not respond to our requests for comment. matt rivers, cnn, jeremy, haiti. in the u.s., a fast growing wildfire has forced almost 7,000 people to evacuate their homes. have a look at this, this is what remains of the community of grizzly tflats, california. c caldor fire is still spreading with 0% containment. there are more than 100 large fires burning, but as lucy cavanaugh reports, the kaldor fire is something else. >> reporter: it is exhibited in-precedented fire behavior due to the really dry fuels and winds. you can see a little betit of t fire whirl behind me. over there, pine trees that literally caught on fire in front of our eyes. the dry conditions making it so difficult for firefighters to

put it out. they are attempting to, they have cut down some of these large trees behind me to try eliminate some of that dry fuel. but you can see there is so much on the ground that this fire is still burning. this is just a fraction of this massive fire that exploded with unprecedented speed in just the past few days. so you can see the bulldozers being carried to different parts of the caldor fire. but i want to give you a sense of life. fighting the fire has been so difficult, look at the terrain behind me. this saearea is mountainous, hi, and that makes it dipgt for firefighters to get the heavy equipment like bulldozers into these areas to dig out containment lines and to prevent there from being a lot of fuel for the fire to burn in hopes of having it burn itself out. this kind of terrain just makes it almost impossible to get the heavy equipment there. and so firefighters have a very

difficult task ahead of them. i want to show you what the he will impact of the caldor fear looks like. we're on the 168 and he canner property of chris kinsley, he got here moments ago, was able to see that almost virtually nothing surviviviv what you are looking at right now are the remains of his house. he had a sawmill here, millions of dollars worth of equipment. the only thing left standing if you see over there the yellow fire truck, the vintage fire tric truck, the only thing in-touched by the flames. and this area is incredibly rural so he wasn't able to get insurance to get any monetary compensation for the destruction. this is his entire life's work. his family has lived here for 38 years. he was going to actually create a riding facility for children to ride horses. the barn area was over there, he was able to get out his animals, his animals are okay. but obviously his home, his valuables, his antiques, his

entire way of making a livelihood completely destroyed. l lose city lucy calf now gnaw, c. and a widely used pesticide is banned because it has been so associated with possible neurological effects in children. agricultural piece producers had been allowed to use it. several states have already banned it. desperation grows by the hour, the taliban tighten their grip on afghanistan. coming up, thousands of afghans try to run a gauntlet of taliban fighters to reach kabul airport but even those with documents are encountering impossible obstacles. plus afghanistan's former president surfaces in the united arab emirates and explains why he fled. we'll have a live report from

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ah, they're getting so smart. choose the app that fits your investing style. ♪♪ welcome back to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber, this is "cnn newsroom." kabul's airport remains the best hope for thousands of afghans desperate to escape from the taliban but the airport is surrounded by militant fighters who are making it almost impossible for anyone to get inside. the u.s. hsays about 6,000 peope have been air lifted so far, but that is a tiny fraction of those who worked as translators and other jobs that may entitle them to be evacuated. the u.s. state department is

warning that safe passage to the airport can't be guaranteed. lloyd austin says that the u.s. is working with the taliban to let more people leave. >> we will continue to coordinate and deconflict with the taliban and make sure that those people that need to get to the airfield have the right credentials to ensure passage and the taliban has been checking those credentials and if they have them, they have allowed them to pass. >> the u.s. estimates up to 65,000 afghan nationals and their families may be eligible for admission to the united states, but first they neat to get past the taliban who are blocking access to the airport. clarissa ward takes us through the chaos. >> reporter: america's last foothold in afghanistan is now guarded by the taliban.

>> the taliban are all over and they don't allow anyone. >> reporter: we've come to kabul's airport to see the gauntlet people must pass through to fly out. you can hear gunshots every couple minutes. >> cnn, cnn, cnn. >> reporter: quickly we are accosted by and an angry taliban fighter. can i ask you a question? excuse me? k cover my face? okay. cover my face. what is that? he told me to cover my face but he doesn't want to comment on that weapon he is carrying. the fighter tells us these chaotic scenes are the fault of america. the cause of all this is america this afghanistan. look at these people, he says. america is really acting unfairly towards them. why are they lying and telling them that they can go to

america, why don't they let them stay and help their country. he doesn't want to talk. all right. we keep walking to avoid confrontation. a man follows us asking for advice. >> how we can enter. >> reporter: how you can enter the base? >> yes. because they are -- >> reporter: do you have paperwork to enter? >> yes. >> reporter: show me. >> give me that paper. >> reporter: was this an italian company? >> yes, italian company. >> reporter: i don't want this guy to whip you. >> all right. thank you. >> reporter: others crowd around us to show their documents. >> i'm a translator. >> reporter: you're a translator? >> yes. >> reporter: okay. you're saying they all worked at american camps as translators

for the americans and they can't get in to that airport. these taliban fighters are a little upset with us. we decide to leave and head for our car. the fighter takes the safety off his ak-47 and pushes through the crowd. >> stay behind him, stay behind him. >> reporter: you can see that some of these taliban fighters are just up on adrenalin orion what. it is a very dicey situation. suddenly two other taliban charge towards us. you can see their rifle butt raised to strike producer brent swales. when the fighters are told that we have permission to report, they lower their even withes and let us pass. clarissa ward, cnn, kabul. while some have been lucky enough to break through the chaos for a chance at a new

life, and a look at this, this photograph of an afghan child was taken on board an american military plane departing kabul's airport. the u.s. air force jacket serves as a blanket allowing the kid to get some sleep and maybe a little bit of peace. the former afghan president fled the country last sunday and until now his exact whereabouts were unknown. on wednesday the united arab emirates confirmed that ashraf ghani had taken refuge in that country. he explained why he decided to leave. >> translator: if i had stayed the president of afghanistan, i would have been hanged in front of the eyes of the people of afghanistan. this would have been a dreadful disaster in our history. i'm not fearful of an honorable death. but i don't want the dishoneorig of afghanistan. >> eleni giokos is covering this

for us in dieubai. so ghani pushing back against the accusations that he cut and run. >> absolutely. he is justifying why he felt he needed to flee and he needed to flee with such urgency. and he described the circumstances that played out on sunday that forced him to make that difficult decision. he described a situation where people that had entered the presidential palace which he says made little resistance started moving from room to room and he barely had enough time to take his shoes or his prized possessions which he says were his laptop and his notebooks. we also know the uae foreign ministry says that they welcomed ghani and his family on humanitarian grounds. now, this is very different to the perception that has surrounded him leaving afghanistan. the taliban had said that they wanted a peaceful transfer of power, that they were standing on the sidelines before they

entered kabul, but ghani said that was not the case, that the taliban didn't have any intention of a peaceful transfer of power, that he was probably going to be hanged and he wanted to avoid that blood shed, that he did it for the good of the people. he spoke about his desire and commitment for peace, stability and development of afghanistan. and this is the first time we've heard from him since he fled on sunday. we also now are seeing lots of questions being raised whether he will try and be part of negotiations from abroad, whether he is going to be part of afghan politics down the line. but what we do know is that him leaving blindsided a lot of the politicians on the ground that felt that he left the country without any leader, with the commander in chief basically leaving the forces on the ground completely demoralized. the parliamentarians, the politicians that he left behind. and some of those politicians

and even the negotiators that are working with the taliban had to put video messages out to assure the people of afghanistan that they will be secure and they are in safe hands. in the meantime, the narrative, the rhetoric from the taliban has been vastly different to what ashraf ghani has been describing. and of course that is the big concern here, should we believe what the taliban is saying, should we believe what ashraf ghani is saying. what we do know right now is it is a very tense situation and that things are escalate being on the ground. >> many unanswered questions there. thanks so much, eleni giokos. disputes over face masks and other covid restrictions have reached a boiling point here in the u.s. >> we're surrendering our children to a pandemic of severe ignorance. >> you are assaulting the masks, you are assaulting parents and

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president biden is escalating his push to get more people vaccinated. he is directing nursing homes to remember their staffs to be vaccinated. and if they don't, they could lose their medicare and medicaid funding. a nursing home industry group says the vaccine will cause those hesitant to quit and leaving nursing homes without adequate staff. florida's largest school district has voted in favor of requiring masks in schools defying the governor's executive order against such mandates. miami-dade county voted 7-1 on the measure with the district superintendent saying he is ready to accept any consequences for doing the right thing. top infectious disease expert

dr. anthony fauci says wearing a mask is the best way to keep students safe. >> when you talk about the extra added degree of protection, even in a school system where you may have vaccinated teachers and some of the children may be vaccinated, you want to wear a mask to protect the children so that they can continue to be in school, this persin person, in classes so that we don't get the deleterious effects on the child of keeping them out of school. you want to do that, but you want to do it safely and masks contribute greatly to the safety of the children. >> rowsa flores has more on the growing disputes on face masks. >> reporter: the heated debate over masks is escalating into physical altercations in various states across the nation. in texas, a parent ripping a teacher's face mask during a

meet the teacher event monday according to the superintendent. >> let's just leave the mask wars out of the schools. >> reporter: in a letter to parents and staff, leonard calling it a physical assault on a teacher by a parent. >> if you want to fight it, fight it somewhere else. but don't mess with the teachers. >> reporter: in northern california, an elementary schoolteacher was hospitalized last week after a participants at parent attacked him over a verbal argument over face masks. >> it was originally between the parti parent and the principal and the but the teacher intervened. >> reporter: the teacher was stitched up for cuts. police are investigating. the parent was not arrested. the superintendent there sending a letter to parents saying assaulting a staff member will never be tolerated on any school campus. at this protest outside los

angeles city hall where dozens of demonstrators waved signs opposing covid-19 met gags ef mitigation efforts, a news reporter fell victim. his hat getting ripped off and glasses ripped off his head while he tried do an interview. >> just exploded pretty quickly. unfortunately this is a pattern that we've seen at a few other protests around l.a. >> reporter: the tension and misinformation flowing into county board meetings like this one in san diego. >> your children and your children's children will be asked for many vaccines have you been, have you been a good little nazi? hail fauci. >> reporter: and to school board rooms in florida too. the debate today in miami-dade stretching out for hours. >> you know what is better for our children, better than the parents and the mothers who have to give birth to those children.

>> reporter: at the same time, this in hillsborough county in the tampa area. >> we're sun remember denying our children to a pandemic of sincere ignorance and don conscientious stupidity. >> reporter: this meeting was adjourned after a ruckus crowd refused to put on masks. in tennessee, the chaos started inside the school board room. >> we know who you are, no more masks. >> reporter: and then spilled into the street. with crowds heckling and threatening officials leaving the meeting after they approved a temporary mask mandate. sheriff's deputies having to intervene to help officials leave the premises. >> parents shouldn't feel threatened for their lives. that is not the america i know. >> reporter: as the unrest over masks grows, educators warn children are watching and learning. rosa flores, cnn, dallas.

after two years, the federal trial of r. kelly has finally begun in new york. prosecutors accuse the r&b singer of using his fame to lure young women and girls. he pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual exploitation of children, kidnapping and sex trafficking. there could be decades in prison if convicted. >> reporter: when it comes to the prosecution, they describe kelly as a predator, they say for decades he organized a criminal enterprise with the help of people in his inner circle to recruit young women to engage in illegal sexual activity. they also claim that kelly not only did he do that, but he also took sexually explicit pictures of numerous amgts of girls under the age of 18. now, for the defense, they came out swinging saying that many of the women that came forward are lying and that kelly had a consensual relationship with most if not all of them.

in fact the defense described kelly's relationship with many of these women as, quote, beautiful. north carolina is one step away from raising the minimum age for marriage in the state. currently girls as young as 14 who are pregnant can marry if they receive permission from judges. 14-year-old boys can also legally marry the mother of their babies with a judge's permission. the age is expected to be raised until 16. still to come, chaotic close of america's longest war. >> we made promises to people that we would expect them if they stood with us. and tdeepest wounds that many o us carry around, that no one is left behind. >> we'll have more on the message for military leaders as some veterans question whether the last 20 years of war were even worth it. stay with us. can you repair your credit yourself?

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trust aag for the best reverse mortgage solutions. call now so you can... retire better the international community is voicing deep concern over the future of afghan women under taliban control. the u.s., eu and 18 other countries have called on those

in power across afghanistan to guarantee their protection writing in a joint statement afghan women and girls as all afghan people deserve to live in safety and abuse should be prevented. they said that they are ready to assist with humanitarian aid and support. this as many fear return of the taliban's oweppressive rule. u.s. defense secretary is vowing that the military will evacuate as many americans, allies and afghans as possible despite the chaos on the ground, he stressed to veterans that their service and sacrifice wasn't in vein. >> now, all of this is very personal for me. this is a war that i fought in and led. i know the country. i know the people. and i know those who fought alongside me. as i said, we have a moral obligation to help those who

helped us. and i feel the urgent city deeply. >> but with the taliban back in power, some u.s. veterans can't help but wonder if it was all worth it. tom foreman reports. >> reporter: amid the turmoil, panic and shattering end to 20 years of combat, u.s. veterans of the afghan war are struggling. some taking calls around the clock from afghan allies trying to find a way out. mike breen is a former army captain. >> we made promises to people because we were told to. we made promises to people that we would protect them if they stood with us. and the deepest most core belief that many of us carried around is that no one gets left behind. >> this feels like a personal thing for many veterans. >> of course it is. it is deeply personal. >> reporter: the administration has acknowledged that impact. >> i know these are difficult

days for those who lost loved ones in afghanistan and for those who carry the wounds of war. >> reporter: but the truth is far beyond bad feelings. post-9/11 veterans have a significantly higher rate of suicide than other vets and a study from brown and boston universities estimates over 30,000 active duty veterans in that age group have died that way, many more than the roughly 7,000 killed in others. why? in part because the length of the afghan and iraq wars took a terrible toll subjecting troops to multiple tee deployments and repeated traumas. and this retired air force nurse dedicated her life to helping vets. she nearly died in afghanistan. >> i was like what was all of this for. why did i work so hard. why was i gone for six months away from my family. >> reporter: jason candor, former missouri secretary of state sand previously a cnn

contributor, works to help vets as well and he served in afghanistan too. >> a buddy of mine said to me, you know, the vietnam veterans and others had it really bad too but at least their wars ended. >> reporter: and so it is with so many who went there, who fought, who believed, who are still proud like former green beret and nfl player nate boyer. >> we did what we could, we fought for those who can't fight for themselves and we'll still do that in the future moving forward. >> reporter: and now they are all wondering after all the years of the fighting and grieving, what will the legacy be and how will we all live with it. >> this is the last act of an american soldier in afghanistan going to be pushing an personal lie, pushing a former interpreter away from an airplane, will they get on? >> reporter: tom foreman, cnn,

washington. that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." "early start" is next.

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