undertaking. one of the most difficult in the nation's history and feat of logistics and coordination under some of the most challenging circumstances imaginable. many, many people made this possible. i want to command our outstanding diplomats who worked around the clock and around the world to coordinate the operation. they volunteered for duty at the kabul airport. they flew to transit countries to help process thousands of afghans bound for the united states. they deployed to ports of entry and american military bases to offer afghans new homes. they staffed a 24/7 task force here in washington over seen by deputy secretary. and they built a list of americans possibly seeking to leave afghanistan, then worked to contact every single one of them repeatedly making 55,000 phone calls, sending 33,000 emails since august 14th.

they solved problem after problem to keep the mission moving forward. they did this because for the thousands of state department and u.s. employees that served in afghanistan in the past 20 years, this evacuation operation was very personal. many worked hand and hand for years with afghan partners. many of whom became trusted friends. we also lost cherished members of our foreign service community in afghanistan. we'll never forget them. helping americans, our foreign partners that have been by our side for 20 years and afghans at risk at this critical moment was more than just a high stakes assignment for our team. it was a sacred duty. and the world saw how our diplomats rose to the challenge with determination and heart. u.s. service members in kabul did heroic work securing the airport, protecting civilians of many nationalities including

tens of thousands of afghans and airlifting them out. they're also providing vital support right now caring for afghans on military bases in europe, the middle east and here in the united states. we've seen pictures of u.s. service members at the kabul airport cradling babies, comforting families. that's the kind of compassion and courage our men and women in uniform show. they carried out the mission with violence and four days ago, four marines, one navy medic and one soldier was killed by a suicide bomber at the airport gate as well as scores of afghans. nearly all of them were in their early 20s. just babies or toddlers on september 11th, 2001. these deaths are a devastating loss for our country. with the state department

fielding deeply, we have a special bond with the marines. the first person that you see when you visit an american embassy is a marine. they guard our diplomatic missions. they keep us safe around the world. we couldn't do our jobs without them. and we will never forget their sacrifice nor will we forget what they achieved. the most exceptional among us perform a lifetime's work of service in a short time here on earth. so it was for our exceptional brothers and sisters who died last week. finally, i want to thank our allies and partners. this operation was a global endeavor in every way. many countries stepped up with robust continueributions at the airlift including working at the airport. some are now serving as transit countries allowing evacuees to be processed on their way to the final destination.

others agreed to resell afghan refugees permanently and we hope more will do so in the days and weeks a i head. we're truly grateful for their support. now, u.s. military flights have ended. and our troops have departed afghanistan. a new chapter of america's engagement with afghanistan has begun. we will lead with diplomacy. the military mission is over. a new diplomatic mission has begun. so here is our plan for the days and weeks ahead. first, we built a new team to help lead this new mission. as of today, we suspended our diplomatic presence in kabul and transferred our operations to qatar that will be notified to congress. given the uncertain security environment and political situation in afghanistan, it was the prudent step to take. and let me take this opportunity to thank our outstanding

ambassador ross wilson who came out of retirement in january 2020 to lead the embassy in afghanistan and has done exceptional, courageous work during a highly challenging time. for the time being, we will use this post to administer humanitarian assistance and work a law allies and partners to coordinate engagement and messaging to the taliban. our team there will be led who served by our deputy chief admission in afghanistan this past year. nobody is better to do the job. second, we will continue our relentless efforts to help americans, foreign nationals and afghans leave afghanistan if they choose. let me talk briefly about the americans who remain in afghanistan. we made extraordinary efforts to give americans every opportunity to depart the country.

in many cases, talking and sometimes walking them into the airport. of those who self-identified as americans in afghanistan who are considering leaving the country, we've thus far received confirmation about 6,000 have been evacuated or otherwise departed. this number will likely continue to grow as our out reach and arrivals continue. we believe there are still a small number of americans under 200 and likely closer to 100 who remain in afghanistan and want to leave. we're trying to determine exactly how many. we're going through manifests and calling and texting through our lists and will have more details to share as soon as possible. part of the challenge with fixing a precise number is that there are long time residents of afghanistan who have american passports and who are trying to determine whether or not they wanted to leave. many are dual citizen americans with deep roots and extended families in afghanistan who

resided there for many years. for many, it's a painful choice. our commitment to them and to all americans in afghanistan and everywhere in the world continues. the protection and welfare of americans abroad remains the state department's most vital and enduring mission. if an american in afghanistan tells us they want to stay for now and in a week or month or year they reach out and say i've changed my mind, we will help them leave. additionally, we've worked intensely to evacuate and relocate afghans who worked alongside us and are at particular risk of reprisal. we've gotten many out but many are still there. we will keep working to help them. our commitment to them has no deadline. third, we will hold the taliban to its pledge to let people freely depart afghanistan. the taliban is committed to let

anyone with proper documents leave the country in a safe and orderly manner. they said this private and publicly many times. on friday, a senior taliban official said it again on television and radio. and i quote, any afghans may leave the country including those who worked for americans if they want and for whatever reason there may be end quote. more than half the world's countries have joined us in insisting the taliban let people travel outside afghanistan freely. as of today, more than 100 countries have said that they expect the taliban to honor travel authorizations by our countries. in just a few short hours ago, united nations security counsel passed a resolution that enshrines that responsibility laying the groundwork to hold the taliban accountable. so the international course on this is strong and it will stay strong. we will hold the taliban to their commitment on freedom of

movement for foreign nationals, visa holders, at risk afghans. fourth, we will work to secure their safe passage. this morning, i met with the foreign ministers of all the g 7 countries, united kingdom, france, germany, canada, italy, japan as well as qatar, turkey, the european union and secretary general nato. we we discussed how to work together including by reopening kabul civilian airport as soon as possible and very much appreciate the efforts in particular. this will enable the small number of daily charter flights, which is a key for anyone that wants to depart from afghanistan moving forward. we're also working to identify ways to support americans, legal permanent residents and afghans that worked with us and may choose to depart the over land routes. we have no illusion that any of this will be easy or rapid.

this will be an entirely different phase from the evacuation that just concluded. it will take time to work through a new set of challenges. but we will stay at it. john bass, our former am basketba -- ambassador to afghanistan who returned to kabul to lead efforts at the airport will help american citizens and perp inn permanent residents and afghans at high risk and visa applicants and high risk people that wish to depart. we're grateful for his commitment to this mission, as well as the extraordinary officers who are serving by his side. fifth, we will stay focused on counterterrorism. the taliban has made a commitment to prevent terrorist groups from using afghanistan as a base for external operations that could threaten the united states or our allies.

including al qaeda and the taliban's sworn enemy, isis-k. here, too, we will hold them accountable to that commitment. but while we have expectations of the taliban, that doesn't mean we will rely on the taliban. we will be vigilant in monitoring threats ourselves and maintain robust counterterrorism capabilities to neutralize those threats if necessary as we demonstrated in the past few days by striking isis facilitators and threats in afghanistan and as we do in places around the world where we do not have military forces on the ground. let me speak directly to the engagement with the taliban across these and other issues. we engage with the taliban during the past few weeks to enable our evacuation operations. going forward any engagement with a taliban-led government in kabul will be driven by one thing only, our vital national interest. if we can work with the new afghan government in a way that

helps secure those interests, including the safe return of a u.s. citizen held hostage in the region since early last year, and bring greater stability to the country and region and protects the gains of the past two decades, we will do it. but we will not do it on the basis of trust or faith. every step we take will be based not on want the taliban government says but does to live up to its commitments. the taliban seeks international legitimacy and support. our message is any legitimacy and support will have to be earned. the taliban can do that by meeting commitments and obligations on freedom of travel, respecting the basic rights of the afghan people including women and minorities, upholding commitments on counterterrorism, not carrying out reprisal violence against those who choose to stay in afghanistan and forming an inclusive government to meet the needs and reflect the

aspirations of the afghan people. sixth, we will continue our humanitarian assistance to the people of afghanistan. the conflict has taken a terrible toll on the afghan people. millions are eternally displaced. millions are facing hunger, even starvation. the covid-19 pandemic has also hit afghanistan hard. the united states will continue to support humanitarian aid to the afghan people. consistent with our sanctions on the taliban, the aid will not flow through the government but independent organizations like ngos and we expect those efforts will not be impeded by the taliban or anyone else. and seventh, we will continue our broad international diplomacy across all these issues and many others. we believe we can accomplish far more and exert far greater leverage when we work in

coordination with our allies and partners. over the last two weeks, we've had a series of intensive diplomatic engagements to plan in afghanistan. i met with the foreign ministers of nato in the g 7. i spoke one on one with dozens of my counterparts. last week, president biden met with the leaders of the g 7 countries and deputy secretary of state wendy sherman is convening a group of 28 allies and mapartners. going forward, we'll coordinate closely with countries in the region and around the whorld as well as leading organizations, ngos and the private sector. our allies and partners share objectives and are committed to working with us, i'll have more to say on these matters in the coming days, the main point i want to drive home today is america's work in afghanistan continues. we have a plan for what is next, we're putting it into action.

this demands reflection. the war in afghanistan was a 20-year endeavor. we must learn the lessons and allow the lessons to shape what we think about questions of national security and foreign policy. future diplomats, policy makers, military leaders, service members. we owe that to the american people. but as we do, we will be relentlessly focused on today and the future. we'll make sure we're finding every opportunity to make good on our commitment to the afghan people including by welcoming thousands of them into our communities as the american people have done many times before with generosity and grace throughout our history. in this way, we'll honor all those brave men and women from the united states and many other countries who risked or sacrificed their lives as part of this long mission right up to today. thanks for listening.

>> mr. secretary -- >> good evening. i'm erin burnett. you've been listening, as you saw there walking out the door the secretary of state antony blinken speaking after the last u.s. military plane left afghanistan with an end to the bloody 20-year war. he believes 6,000 americans have been evacuated and there are 200, closer to 1000 americans h says that want to leave and are still there. he says our work in afghanistan continues as of course, today the end of a war that cost trillions of dollars and 2,461 americans died. last u.s. c-17 to leave kabul left just one moment, one minute, exactly before august 31st, which is the formal deadline to withdrawal that biden said he would adhere to and left just four days after 13 u.s. service members were killed in a terror attack outside the airport. the chaotic evacuation of more

than 116,000 people, 123,000 according to the latest numbers the secretary of state just shared happening in two weeks coming to a close. secretary blinken say laid out the plans what america will do next, including diplomatic relations with the taliban. we're following this story tonight from the state department and also from the white house. we want to start with alex marq marquardt. kaitlan collins is also with us. it's a monumental day. one minute before the stroke of midnight in afghanistan, that last u.s. military plane took off. >> it did, erin. 3:29 eastern time, 11:59 kabul time and the day before this u.s. deadline was reached. erin, when we see secretary blinken, we're reminded he's the most senior biden administration official to speak and that is to make clear that now they see this when they look at afghanistan, they see it as a

diplomatic mission. the general of command called this a sequel. he said it's no longer ending, not just in practice and purpose but physically they will be moving diplomatic operations to doha in qatar. one of the main priorities is getting out american citizens that want to leave as well as afghans who have worked alongside american forces and diplomats and who are -- who would be targets of the taliban. but what was really remarkable, erin, is how much seems to hinge on the coordination and cooperation with the taliban

starting with how the airport will function, making the assumption counting on the taliban to let people out of the country if they've got the right papers as they have promised to do. so much -- and counterterrorism operations, as well. blinken by no means said they will rely solomon on the taliban for those things but certainly huge players in this. so so much of this hinges on what the taliban does, erin. >> so much of it hinges on that. they're careful to say they don't trust the taliban but obviously, to do certain things, you do have to trust what someone says they will do or not do. that's the reality. don't want to use that word but it is a word that will reflect what they will do with the government. alex made the point, what we just watched there, that speech from the secretary of state, he is the one speaking. it has become a diplomatic mission. he's the one who we heard from

tonight, right? the prime time address came from the secretary of state antony blinken, not from the president. >> reporter: yeah, even though this is a decision completely driven by the president because he made the decision to withdrawal the u.s. presence from afghanistan, one he announced in april and come full circle by august 31st in kabul, still august 30th here on the east coast and the united states and it's notable we have not heard from president biden yet but we'll hear from him tomorrow around at 1:30 east herb. he did issue a statement earlier today toting the huge effort it took that is led to the u.s. military to get over 100,000 people, 120,000 people evacuated from afghanistan within a matter of over two weeks that of course, we've seen and monitored closely every single day with these military flights taking off up until that one as you noted that left one minute before that deadline actually hit. that was the last plane going

out and so the president says tomorrow he'll explain why he didn't want to stay in afghanistan further. it something we heard from democratic lawmakers that believe the united states should have stayed there longer and the president says he'll explain that he had an agreement from the commanders on the ground and from the joint chiefs that it was right to end this mission on august 31st. but erin, one question that the president will also face tomorrow is something related to what he said recently. in an interview with abc news he said u.s. troops would remain on the ground until every single american who wanted to leave afghanistan had left afghanistan and what we just heard from the secretary of state there is that not every american who wants to leave has left. he said he believe there is are between 100 and 200 americans still there. he thinks that number is closer to 100 and he talked about the efforts they took to get americans out of there, to assist them but the bottom line is there are still americans in afghanistan who want to leave. that will be a big question for the president tomorrow as many

others of course on where this goes from here, erin. >> absolutely. thank you very much. i want to go to someone in the thick of this, the chair of the house armed services committee. one minute before the stroke of midnight in kabul, chairman, the united states completes its military mission. now the secretary of state takes over and gives the prime time address and lays out the switch steps of what comes next. are you confident where the u.s. goes next? >> absolutely not. it's a difficult situation. the taliban can't be trusted and the taliban can't control the taliban and can't control isis-k as we learned a few days ago. nobody should be confident about the situation and chaotic situation that we have in afghanistan. now, what i do think is the case is secretary blinken made it clear there part of the plan, look, they did not explain this

clearly. we had a briefing last week and they said we'll complete the mission by august 31 s 1and a number of us pressed them what is the mission? they said it was one thing and it was really something else. the mission is we got to be out by august 31st because if we're not, the taliban are going to turn on us and it becomes impossible but we want to get as many people out as possible by that deadline and crucially put in place a situation where we have enough of a relationship with the taliban to keep getting people out after blut that was the mission even though it wasn't clearly explained. >> when you hear where they are, 123,000 people out, 6,000 americans. they are in complicated situations and many have family ties. the 200, closer to 100 still there. did that number surprise you how low it was, how high it was? >> not based on the

conversations. you've had access to this information like we have. that is about what we expect and heard the last few days. >> all right. so let me ask you then about some of these other numbers. the 123,000. people that have come out of afghanistan as part of this mission. the united states has a history of resettling refugees but never in the numbers, certainly not in any recent history that we're seeing now and about to see. so where you stand as chairman of the armed services committee. where are these people going to go? are you confident they will be vetted and we will know who they are and there is a plan where they will go or is this sort of i don't know? hope and prayer? >> it's an extraordinary difficult situation because they were brought out with no clear plan where to take them. it was an emergency situation. so they were responding to that emergency and the mission was get them out. we'll worry about the details

later. so yeah, it is chaotic and difficult. right now, as i understand it, in qatar where we have a fair number of these people, they're struggling just to make sure they get enough food and water to take care of them. so this is a plan that will have to be developed from this point forward. it will be difficult to care for these people, we have other nations that have agreed to take some of the refugees. i think we can work it out but it will take a lot of work and international cooperation. >> i mean, in a sense, it seems like it's just the beginning of something really huge and people -- >> absolutely. >> it hasn't really sunk in. let me ask you about one other thing in your role. so general mckenzie today said the united states and this final day, right, one minute before midnight removed or demilitarized equipment at the airport attica b kabul. that's in the chaos and unexpected end of the afghan government. a lot of things were left behind they didn't think they would leave behind, helicopters, guns,

ammunition, all sorts of things in the hands of the taliban. are you aware right now what was left and what wasn't? have you been given all the numbers and feel confident you know what's left there that could get in the hands of taliban or isis-k or some other group? >> we have not been given all the numbers yet. you've reported on it and shown us clearly what happened because of how rapidly the regime collapsed, a lot of that was left. we left it for the afghan government but now the taliban is the afghan government. look, if there is one central failing in this exit, it was to not, you know, take a cold eyed look at what was going on there and say the taliban are going to take over. whether it's weeks or months,ist n -- it's not going to be years. it will be days, weeks or months. if that's the case, what do we need to do? two big things, one, pull more equipment out. two, we need to get people out sooner, particularly afghan sivs.

that should have started much sooner than it did. >> chairman, appreciate your time. thank you very much. >> thanks, erin. and next, the death toll rising right now in louisiana. we have new video in of the devastation left behind from hurricane ida and we're just starting to get a sense of how severe this damage is. this video is actually filmed by the state's lieutenant governor so what did he see? he's next. plus, we'll take you to one of the hardest hit areas of louisiana where rescue operations are underway now. an update to a story we've been following here with you for the first time see one afghan inter interpreter's dangerous journey to safety. >> yeah, heading to the airport, hope to make it and survive. zer? so you only pay for what you need. sorry? limu, you're an animal! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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♪ ♪ life can be a lot to handle. ♪this magic moment,♪ but there's plenty of magic in all that chaos. ♪so different and so new.♪ ♪was like any other...♪ breaking news, a second confirmed death from hurricane ida. louisiana's governor expects that number to rise, quote considerably as they just begin to reach the hard hit areas that are still completely unaccessible. we are getting new inemages tonight of the storm. entire neighborhoods under water street after street littered with debris from the rain and wind. 1 million people currently without power. more than 2,000 miles of transmission lines are down. let me say that again.

more than 2,000 miles of transmission lines down and many without service so they can't call for help. 5,000 members of the national guard are deployed to help in the rescue and recovery efforts underway. the coast guard is also now on the ground. i'll be speaking with the man leading that mission in just a moment. i do, though, want to begin president biden today saying that the administration will do everything it can to help those affected by the storm. here he is. >> we're going to stand with you and the people of the gulf as long as it takes for you to recover. >> jason carroll has more tonight from houma, louisiana. >> reporter: throughout much of downtown houma, louisiana, one can see the damage from hurricane ida in nearly every direction. this was once a childhood home of harrison. his great grandmother lived here, now it's all gone. >> my whole childhood is just

gone now. all the memories left in one storm. >> reporter: across the street the barbershop destroyed, the home next door is still standing barely. part of the roof is damaged, his carport gone. he waited out the storm with his wife at home and at one moment the wind was so bad they thought they would not survive. >> we was scared, you know. me and my old lady pried and went on our knees and asked the lord to take care of this house and protect us, you know what i mean? give us the opportunity to breathe. >> reporter: you got down on your knees and prayed? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: what do you think, next time a category 4 comes, will you evacuate? >> i'll get out of here. >> reporter: winding 100 miles an hour swirled around houma as idea crawled around. portions of terrebonne airport destroyed and countless homes damaged.

tim came out and found someone else's roof had landed on his car crushing it. thankfully, it missed most of his home. >> i heard a big thump on top of my house and really scared me. >> reporter: trying to figure out -- >> the roof here. >> reporter: it could be from this building here or that one there. >> every restaurant in the backyard so we're not sure where the roof came from. >> that's our jason carroll in houma, louisiana tonight. i want to go now, as i said, to steven, the coast guard commander of the atlantic area in charge right now and commander, appreciate your time. where does your search and rescue mission stand right now? >> well, we're very well coordinated with the state of louisiana. we work through the statem of louisiana to make sure we have a corporative and integrated search and rescue system and that's what we've been doing all day. we were able to get up at first

light, the weather was still treacherous. i got on an over flight this morning from mobile, alabama at 4:30 and the weather was still horr horrendous. we were able to get the aircraft out and on scene to provide life saving service. >> what are your crews seeing on the ground right now? >> well, i can tell you what i saw. i was able to do two over flights today and i saw utter devastation. it was catastrophic. my heartbreaks for the people in louisiana. we were able to fly over some of the hardest hit areas, new orleans, houma, grand isle, those places were it's hard to describe. it just a catastrophic scene and my heartbreaks for folks. >> some of these images that we've had, you know, as you say, it's hard to put words to it. we have images of horrible flooding. are you rescuers even able to

access all the impacted areas at this point when we think about the flooding and areas being completely blocked off and thousands of miles of transmission lines that are down, some of them of course in the water. >> well, it's hard to access by boat right now because there are so many obstructions in the water. we have reports of tugs that have sunk, barges that are a drift and may have been sunk. vessels that are aground. our primary effort is wet helicopters. the helicopters have been able to get into locations where we've been able to save people or assist lives. frankly, it was almost erie. the weather over new orleans in southern louisiana sort of cleared at daybreak. much different than what we're experiencing here, i think, in miss issippi and alabama where i'm at now. >> so how long do you expect the rescue part of this mission to last? i mean, you know, we know of a couple of deaths right now. that's it. but we just don't know how many people are there, how many

people need help, what condition they're in. >> i don't know how long it's going to last but i'll tell you that the coast guard will be here as long as it takes to save lives and assist property. that's what we do. that's what we've always done as the united states coast guard and america's coast guard stands ready to assist and help the people of louisiana. >> commander, thank you very much. >> thank you for having me. >> good luck with the mission and challenges that you're facing. i want to go to the republican lieutenant governor of louisiana. he joins me on the phone and lieutenant governor, thank you very much for just taking a couple of minutes even to talk to us. you know, you heard what the coast guard commander said, that he doesn't have words for the catastrophe he's seeing and you've seen it, too. you took video that i'm putting on the screen right now for our

viewers in viewers plaquemines parish. do you have a sense of damage in your state? >> communities are completely s submerged in water. you saw the debris up on the mississippi river levee. it is devastating. you have areas along the coast, grand isle, morgan city and areas that flooded from rainfall. so the rescue mission underway with the coast guard and the firemen and first responders and national guard is -- it's a treacherous thing to get into these communities, make sure people are not trapped in the attics and make sure we find everybody that rode it out, hopefully, alive. >> so the governor said that you have about 1.1 million customers in louisiana alone still no power that includes hospitals. three hospitals across your state have been evacuated. a fourth i understand is in the process of that right now.

2,000 miles of transmission lines in the ground down in water in some cases. how worried are you right now lieutenant governor that your state can handle medical needs and emergencies at this point? >> well, it being pushed to the brink. i know the federal government, fema and those teams will be here and support from the federal government is crucial. we have a major power line over the mississippi river levee laying into that transmission tower into the river. so we're not talking about days, we're talking about weeks. and getting the medical facilities, generators or moveded to facilities where they have electricity is crucial and we have to make sure we're pressurizing the water systems and getting back to clean water to those hospitals and to people. power -- >> yes -- >> -- and clean water are two

elements that will be a long time coming and really before we can get any kind of sense of getting people back in their homes and businesses and back to a working area. >> so lieutenant governor, i know your colleague the governor expects the death toll to rise considerably. president biden said today the federal government is there and they will provide any help that you're going to need, that's the quote from the president. is that happening? are you getting everything you need right now? >> we're seeing the fema teams on the ground. they're moving. i came from plaquemines parish, i'll be flying with the governor and his coordinators tomorrow to all the devastated areas and their moving command center where they can get. we got a lot of flooded areas.

we want to make sure nobody is trapped and get these people safe and start the work of rebuilding. i think we've made a lot of progress since katrina in working with the federal government to get through the process quickly. there is always room for improvement. but it's crucial that we work as a team to get through this. louisiana will get through it. we've been through it before. this is a horrible disaster. wide spread, a lot of work but it's going to take a team effort to make it happen. >> lieutenant governor, appreciate your time very much. i thank you. >> thank you. and next, president biden facing crisis on every front and it is pushing his white house to the limit. plus, you heard his pleas for help. >> they're going to cut our heads off if they find my location. please help. [crying]

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tonight, a withdrawal from afghanistan marched by tragedy and chaos, destruction of louisiana after the state is pummeled by one of the strongest hurricanes ever seen. grim warnings of possibly another 100,000 americans dead in the next four months as covid cases surge across the country. remember when we first hit 100,000 deaths, right, "the new york times" headline was an unimaginable death toll. another four months another 100,000 and north korea appearing to restart a nuclear reactor. these are things happening now with president biden being tested on every front and pushing his white house to the limit. "outfront" now matthew doud, the former chief strategist to the bush cheney 2004 presidential campaign and author, as well. so matt, he is being tested on every single front and it is tragic and challenging to national security and americans

are dying. what does he need to do to emerge from this moment stronger and not weaker? >> well, he needs to do his job confidently and well, which so far i think he's done. he's done what nobody thought possible so far on covid, obviously, he's faced with the delta variant and trying to make that work better. i think the afghanistan thing went way better than most people expected two weeks ago when the best number of people gave was getting 40,000 out. he got three times that many out. he has to handle the aftermath of the hurricane and the devastation in louisiana. well, my guess is he will. he's himself and people around him had the experience so the best thing he can do is not actually talk about it but actually make it work and if he does that, three months or six months from now, he'll be in a better position but he has to make government work in response to all these things. >> so he traveled to dover, of

course, to dover air force base this weekend to pay his respects to the 13 u.s. troops killed at the kabul airport suicide attack and met with their families. "the washington post" is reporting one family felt biden's interaction with them was quote scripted and shallow, a conversations that lasted only a couple minutes. i bring it up because it's reminiscing of the public spat between president trump and the wife of a u.s. soldier that died in 2017 when she said trump called her and couldn't remember her husband's name. now biden's empathy is the thing that people turn to him for, that the country turns to him for that he can rely on. being put to the test. this isn't the sort of reaction to him that i would imagine he or those around him expect. how significant is this as a turning point? >> i don't think it's a turning point because i think he is so vested and he's such a person of empathy and he carries it with them on a daily, hourly basis. he's the first president in more

than a generation that had a son or daughter that served in a war zone. we haven't had a president like that since i can remember. so making his decisions from a place of not only wisdom but heart in that. i mean, obviously, there is interactions that don't go exactly according to what the survivors or what people that are suffering the tragedy want. that will happen in any circumstance but i don't think joe biden, there is many things you can criticize him for, lack of empathy is not one of those. i don't think it sticks. republicans on one hand accuse him of being too weak when he's overly empathetic and now they will say he's not empathetic enough. if i was attacking joe biden, i would attack joe biden on empathy. it's completely, incredibly part of his brand. >> and quickly before we go tomorrow, he's going to speak to the nation at some point during

the day. what do you think he should say? >> i think she should say that we're facing trying times and we'll continue to face trying times in all of these things, prove out that he's aware of it unlike some previous presidents that didn't seem aware of when circumstances were going on and i can think of what happened with katrina, he's he's engaged and he has the right people in place. that's what he needs to say and prove out. fwu again, erin, it's be going to be so much in what he says. it's going to be proved out in what he does and how he responds to all these crises that face the nation at this one moment. >> matthew dowd, thanks for your insight. >> thanks, erin. next, the story we've been following of one afghan interpreter's attempt to leave afghanistan. tonight you're actually going to see it. you're going to see his family's dangerous trek to the united states. that's next. and now only t-mobile gives new and existing customers one year of apple tv+ on us.

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during an emergency. tonight an update to a story that eph woo been following with you of an afghan interpreter who made desperate attempts to leave kabul. >> i went to the airport.

my wife's -- my wife was beaten by the taliban. my kids were beaten by the taliban. and i myself, i was beaten by the taliban. p. >> we introduced you to him as just abdul to protect his identity. but his full name is abdul rashid sherzad. and now he wants you to know his full story. he wants you to see his family's dramatic escape from afghanistan. anna coren is out front. >> reporter: his family piled into a taxi with just a bag of belongings. abdul rashid sherzad hoped this was farewell to kabul's dust-covered streets. >> we are heading to the airport. hope to make it and survive. >> reporter: the 34-year-old former afghan interpreter knew their chance for escape was slim. >> that's a taliban vehicle right there. with the white flag. >> reporter: but as the father of three young boys, the alternative was not an option.

>> that's ali akbar. that's my wife right there. this is me. this is ali abbas. and that's right there. >> reporter: once at the airport rashid realized he'd made a mistake. his eldest child nearly trampled in a chaotic sea of humanity, also desperate for a way out. >> that's the marine right there. there is no way to get inside. >> reporter: this was the family's second attempt at the airport within days. and as darkness fell, reality set in. >> with this crowd it's impossible. >> reporter: we met rashid last month in kabul while doing a story on afghan interpreters who'd worked with the u.s. military only to be left behind. a number of them had recently been executed by the taliban and rashid among others feared they would also be killed. rashid had spent five years working for the u.s. special

forces. s.e.a.l. commanders describing him as a valuable and necessary asset who braved enemy fire and undoubtedly saved the lives of americans and afghans alike. >> these guys were your american brothers. >> american brothers, yeah. >> reporter: but at the end of 2013 his contract was terminated after he failed a polygraph test. so when he later applied for an s.i.v. to the united states, his application was automatically denied. rashid and i kept in touch after i left afghanistan. and in a matter of weeks the country had collapsed and was now under taliban rule. >> i don't want to be killed by the taliban. they're going to cut our heads off if they find my location. please help. >> reporter: cnn evacuated staff from kabul with the help of a security team on the ground working with british paratroopers inside the airport. the channel established was now

an opportunity for rashid. >> salam alake elm. cnn. >> reporter: before dawn on sunday 22nd of august rashid, his family, and another nine people were picked up at a location near the airport. they were p driven close to a taliban checkpoint near the baron hotel back gate manned by the british. >> we are at the back gate of camp baron. we are so close to the gate. if they just come to the gate they can see us. they can see us from the tower. >> reporter: in less than an hour british paratroopers let them in. >> we're good. we are inside now. thank you so much. >> reporter: but celebrations were short-lived. u.s. marines would not allow rashid and his family past the checkpoint because they did not have a visa. >> the americans asked just for u.s. visa and u.s. passport. that's it. >> reporter: a frantic seven hours ensued as messages and phone calls between london, hong kong, atlanta, virginia and kabul were made, coordinating with security on the ground. once his identity was confirmed, they were through.

>> we're at the airport terminal. we made it. we are really excited. >> reporter: for almost two days they waited patiently at the airport as thousands of fellow afghans were airlifted to a new life. >> another aircraft about to take off. lots of marines there. >> reporter: then it was their turn. exhausted but happy. aboard a c-130 to the u.s. base in bahrain. >> we are in bahrain. bahrain. >> reporter: less than 24 hours later they were on the move again. >> somebody knocked our door and said pack your stuffs up, you've got a flight now. we are so excited. we still don't know where we are heading to. so hopefully it's the u.s. >> reporter: and sure enough, their wish had come true. >> our aircraft is landing in d.c. that's washington. we are this close. everybody is excited. >> reporter: in the space of four days they were on u.s.

soil. how does it feel to be in america? >> we are so lucky that we are safe. it is beautiful to be here. we are the luckiest people, you know. >> reporter: housed at fort lee military base virginia while his s.i.v. is processed rashid was reunited with a s.e.a.l. team member who he hadn't seen for nine years. a second chance at life for an eternally grateful family. whose hearts may remain in afghanistan but his future now lies a world away. anna coren, cnn, hong kong. >> an incredible story. thank you for joining us. anderson starts now. good evening. we have two breaking stories tonight, each with considerable impact now and certainly for years to come. there's the aftermath of hurricane ida and rescue operations under way right now. first, though, this country's 20-year war in afghanistan is over. a four-star general making the