a huge, huge win for the u.s. intelligence committee and u.s. military, and the cia as well. jim, we are going to stand top of it. thanks very much. and to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. aaron hicks of our special coverage right now. this hour, the president -- one of the world's most wanted terrorist, ayman al-zawahiri, the leader of al qaeda. the man who oversaw the 9/11 attacks alongside osama bin laden. zawahiri had been on the fbi's most wanted list for 25 years. according to a spokesperson for the taliban which controls afghanistan, he was killed in a

residential health in the area of kabul. he was in the capital of afghanistan. he spent time in united states, and in 2021, released a video to celebrate america's withdrawal from afghanistan. people have been saying he was dead. but here he is. in his video, he is heard being fake, quote, let us not forget the warriors of islam stabbed america in its heart. which america had never tasted before. today, making his exit from afghanistan, broken, deceased defeated, 20 years of war. in the years to follow, he continued to lead al qaeda he prays terrorist to targeted americans. he prays the second lieutenant of the saudi air force who shot and killed three navy s.e.a.l.s in pensacola just in 2019. according to zawahiri wanted poster, the reward for the

most wanted terrorist with up to $25 million. there are things we do not know tonight. details of how they found where he was, how they got it. we do know, 25 years on the list, $25 million, they say, the ward. outside the white house, our president is going to be speaking in just a few moments here, live to the country. tell me about the significance of this moment, and what we are about to hear. i know they have in working on this a painstaking detail. >> reporter: this is an extremely significant moment for president biden, with his time as president. as soon as we learn that president biden was going to address a significant counterterrorism operation in afghanistan, immediately it was clear, this must have been a high-value target. when we do hear from the president of the united states, addressing one these counterterrorism operations. back in february, when the leader of ices, at the time, was killed in a u.s. raid in

syria. now, u.s. officials have yet to officially confirm from the white house that the target was indeed al-zawahiri. we do have several sources at cnn confirming to us that al- zawahiri was killed in a drone strike over the weekend. the senior administered asian official nearly saying that the u.s. conducted a successful counterterrorism operation over the weekend in afghanistan. as you mentioned, aaron, the taliban drone strike happen inside of kabul. downtown kabul. the taliban had agreed , as part of that agreement with the trump administration about u.s. forces withdrawing from afghanistan, to ensure that afghanistan did not become a safe haven for terrorist operations against the united states. one of the major questions here was, did al-zawahiri have any support from members of the taliban government as he was remaining in kabul? at the same time, this

operation comes nearly a year after the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. at the time, you will recall, president biden made very clear that even though u.s. troops were withdrawing from afghanistan, that the u.s. was going to retain what he called, over the horizon capability to strike it any terrorist organizations or individual terrorist who might try to harm the united states. that is exactly what happened over the weekend, as the u.s. was able to complete a successful drone strike to take out al-zawahiri. we are hearing there was no civilian casualties in this operation. that we know president biden has been mindful of. last summer, when there was a deadly u.s. strike that resulted in several civilian casualties in afghanistan around the time of that u.s. withdrawal. we are expecting to hear from president biden this hour, it just a few moments, on this operation, how it was conducted. and perhaps he will explain some of the intelligence that led to this drone strike that successfully killed al-

zawahiri. not only al qaeda's leader, but also, formerly osama bin laden's number two official for years, who helped shape al qaeda more than anyone. >> thank you very much. as we await the president a dro with significant intelligence on the ground and what zawahiri was doing in kabul, there are so many things we simply do not know. i want to bring in now clarissa ward, our chief international correspondent, who's reported extensively from inside afghanistan. seth jones, former advisor to the commanding general of u.s. special operations forces in afghanistan. john avlon, our senior political analyst and leon panetta. he soon became defense secretary and i traveled to afghanistan with him then. director, secretary panetta, let me begin with you. 25 years on the list. $25 million reward. a year after a chaotic u.s.

withdrawal from afghanistan. how significant is this moment? >> i think this is a very significant moment, because in many ways, it bookends with the operation to go after bin laden. and really, i think undermines al qaeda's leadership for a long time to come. we were successful in going after bin laden. zawahiri obviously is number two, took his place, but the bottom line is that this attack going after zawahiri has made very clear that al qaeda does not have the leadership at this point in time to be able to be a threat to the united states or others. >> clarissa, what about the significance of the location? and again, as i said, we don't know the context yet, and the intelligence, perhaps the president will share a lot more in a few minutes when he begins speaking, but it certainly stands out, not in the -- the

border tribal regions. in the capital. in kabul is where this drone strike took out zawahiri. >> reporter: it's pretty staggering, erin. i mean, this is an area which is just really minutes away from a guest house where we were spending a lot of time. it's a place where many taliban leaders spend a lot of time, have houses. the very real burning question of the moment, i think, becomes, whose house was this? who did it belong to? what was he doing there? how long had he been there? who knew that he was there, and how was this allowed to happen? because while we're already seeing the taliban leadership come out and condemn this drone strike and say that it's in direct contravention of the doha agreement, what is actually really in direct contravention of the doha agreement was the very idea that once again, al qaeda could enjoy any kind of safe haven in afghanistan. when i was out on the streets, erin, every day, as the taliban took power, i spoke to many

officials, many ordinary taliban fighters, who all went to great lengths to stress that it was not possible that this could happen again. and yet here we are, this hugely seminal, symbolic, pivotal figure in al qaeda has now been killed in a drone strike, as you said, not in the hinterland, not in the sort of border areas, but in the very center of kabul. it raises serious questions about what the taliban's intentions are going forward as well. >> so, seth, zawahiri obviously was the leader. he was, though, at this point, 71 years old. but as i showed that video from him last year, very much still, you know, the leader and continuing on his jihad. how much does his death change al qaeda's ability to strike or to threaten the u.s.? >> well, erin, i think the challenge for al qaeda at the moment is, in afghanistan, they've been attempting to rebuild their infrastructure,

including their external operations capability, but it's going to take some time for them to do it. it's going to take some time to build the training camps that they're starting to build in parts of eastern afghanistan. the death of al zawahiri is certainly a blow. he is and has been, since the death of osama bin laden, the most important al qaeda figure, the one that has talked most significantly to the al qaeda franchises across the globe, and has been historically even during the bin laden years, probably the most influential religious leader, including through some of his texts like knights under the prophet's banner. so, this will be a short-term, possibly a midterm blow to al qaeda, but i think as everybody has said here, including clarissa, the fact that this was done in kabul and the fact that a recent u.n. report noted that the number of al qaeda fighters has doubled since the taliban took over in afghanistan, does have some very

serious concerns over the midterm. >> right, right, i mean, that doesn't just go away overnight, despite the significance of this moment. i briefly showed the video, zawahiri talking about the u.s., as broken and defeated, specifically he was talking about the chaotic and messy american pullout, biden's pullout of afghanistan last year. what is the significance of this strike, a drone strike, in the capital in the context of that withdrawal from afghanistan? >> the fact it comes almost one year after that, where he was taunting the united states, taunting us about 9/11, taunting the messy withdrawal, saying we were broken and defeated. well, now he's not only broken and defeated but dead. and i do think that 21 years after 9/11, it's a reminder that justice delayed is not always justice denied. and that also, as clarissa and seth pointed out, and secretary panetta, that the taliban complaining about a violation of the doha agreement is absurd, because the first thing -- one of the first key elements of it was they would not give shelter to al qaeda or terrorist

organizations and here clearly they were, and the silver lining is that lie ultimately, perhaps, ended up to the targeting successfully of zawahiri after 21 years. >> secretary panetta, what do you make of the location here? that he was in the capital of kabul? and again, we don't know the intelligence that led to this. obviously, a drone strike doesn't happen without intelligence on the ground. i mean, i'm just stating the obvious here. we don't know how all those things tie together, what the sources were. but nonetheless, we do know the location, secretary. >> well, frankly, it's not much of a surprise. you know, our concern was that if the taliban took over afghanistan, they would again create a safe haven for terrorists. that's what they did before. and that's exactly what they've continued to do, and the result is that it doesn't surprise me that zawahiri was finding some kind of safe haven in kabul. the problem is that i do believe that our intelligence officials

continued to maintain an intelligence network in kabul and throughout afghanistan, because they had a legitimate fear that because of what the taliban was doing, that terrorism could again spring forth from afghanistan. and that's why zawahiri paid the price for that. >> so, clarissa, since you have spent time there, and of course, you were there during the chaotic withdrawal. as you know, people were desperately trying to get out at the airport, so many of them, you know, people who had worked and helped the united states. when you think about how this intelligence happened, you know, we're going to hear more from the president. he's going to speak for several minutes here, so maybe we are going to get some more details about exactly what happened, but it does appear, clarissa, that taliban announcing it, saying, oh, we confirm, what do you read into that, that they're quick to say that now?

>> well, i think they're trying to get ahead of this. they're trying to say, you know, immediately, we're aware of this. we're going to announce it. we're going to say that it was a drone strike. the rumor mill in the background is also going into overdrive, casting aspersions on pakistan, potentially, that they were somehow involved in sort of providing the intelligence, and to really get their narrative straight and to say that, you know, this can't happen again. they've already said such actions will damage any future available opportunities of cooperation between the u.s. and the taliban/afghanistan going forward. the reality is, that relationship is severely damaged now, and the taliban does not have a lot of recourse for how it can really try to repair it. so, i think that you're seeing some damage control. i do think it's very interesting that they broke that information. i don't think you're going to hear much more from them in terms of how exactly zawahiri

ended up in kabul, whose home he was staying in, and it will be very interesting to hear what president biden says on that topic if he goes into the specifics of it at all. it's possible that they will continue to hold some of that back for obvious reasons, but also to have more leverage with the taliban going forward. >> right, and of course, such high interest in that. seth, you said a couple of things, though, that i want to make sure everyone heard. you talked about camps that have been resurrected in certain parts of afghanistan. and you talked about a doubling in al qaeda recruitment since the taliban took over. what else should we know about that is currently happening right now in a taliban-controlled afghanistan, which obviously, there has been haven for terror? >> well, erin, we also need to remind everyone that the islamic state, isis, continues to operate from afghanistan, and there are other groups that have been active, the pakistan

taliban, the army of the righteous active in afghanistan, so there are other terrorist groups operating in afghanistan that have moved across the border, like zawahiri himself, from pakistan into afghanistan since the taliban's takeover, and i would just add one other thing. having been involved in a range of these counterterrorism operations, it's certainly one thing to conduct one drone strike against an individual, but if there is a campaign that is required to conduct action against al qaeda or other groups, the u.s. is in a pretty tough position to do that right now. >> right, just doesn't have anyone there. john, quickly before we go, because obviously the president is going to be speaking in just a few moments so we're going to be listening to this live. this is a huge moment for him. obviously, he's had some domestic achievements here on the policy side, but this is a very big moment, and afghanistan isn't something he necessarily wanted to ever talk about again, but this is a moment he does want to pound the table on, but he's got to get it right.

>> he does, and he needs to be, obviously, clear that this is a victory for america that goes far beyond party or even a particular president. it happened under his watch. it is a victory for the military and the intelligence facilities who got this done. but it is important that he crystallize this as a bookend to an era, the following on from the killing of bin laden, and some justice, finally, for the victims of 9/11. >> all right, all of you, thank you very much. please stay with me, though, because as i said, we are standing by for president biden's address to the nation. we will all be there for that, when he speaks live in just a few moments. and china, all this happening as china's threatening the united states in unprecedented ways, warning it won't sit idly by if speaker nancy pelosi visits taiwan. tonight, the biden administration responding. and we are also just hours away from polls opening in five crucial states. one of the biggest primaries, arizona, where trump-backed election denier is the leading contender to oversee that state's elections. ♪ ♪

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get ready - our most popular battery is even more powerful. the stronger, lasts-longer energizer max. tonight, the biden administration warning beijing that it better not respond if house speaker nancy pelosi makes a trip to taiwan. sources tell cnn the house speaker will visit the island during her trip to asia this week. she would be the highest level american official to visit in 25 years. and tonight, china is flexing its military might, showing what retaliation could look like. they released a propaganda video claiming it would, quote, burying inning enemies, while showcasing warships, fighter jets, and weapons, including bunker busters, which are

designed to penetrate underground bunkers. the white house saying today it won't engage in a tit-for-tat with beijing. >> we will not take the bait or engage in saber rattling. at the same time, we will not be intimidated. >> but u.s. officials have acknowledged that the pentagon is working around the clock to monitor any and all chinese movements in the region and the straits of taiwan. celina wang is "outfront." what is china saying? like, what is being put out to the domestic audience about a possible visit by the third most powerful political figure in the united states, house speaker pelosi? >> reporter: well, erin, through state media, china is telling its people that this is a reckless act that is provoking a powerful china with a powerful military. they are painting pelosi as this hostile figure. she is known for her long history of being tough on china, and they're saying, look, pelosi is just doing this to further

her selfish political interests and they're also say if pelosi visits, this would be a direct challenge to china's sovereignty. and all of this tough language, these threats we're hearing around what china's military could do, that there will be a powerful reaction, that is as much pointed to the u.s. as it is to the political audience, the domestic audience here at home, because this is a moment when xi jinping cannot look weak. we are just months away from a key political meeting when he's expected to step into an unprecedented third term. august 1st is also china's military anniversary, so we are seeing a string of these propaganda videos showing off china's military hardware with these messages to prepare for war. there have also been several recent military drills, including one this weekend around ping tan island, which is china's closest point to taiwan, just over 77 miles away. you cannot overstate just how important taiwan is to the communist party, to its legitimacy, to its very dna, but

at the same time, most experts i speak to, including here in beijing, say that this is just tough language. beijing does not want this conflict to escalate, so the question is, how does beijing respond in a way that shows its anger, that saves face for xi jinping, while also not risking that? all of this spirals into a real conflict, erin. >> what, of course, would be a massive war. thank you very much, selina, live from beijing. i want to go now to retired major general spider marks who served as senior intelligence officer in asia. general marks, let me just start with u.s. response here. secretary blinken today said that congress is an independent, coequal branch of government. the decision is entirely the speaker's as to whether she goes to taiwan. do you think, general, that biden should be trying to stop pelosi from going or not? >> i think that's, you know, look, it's a statement of the obvious. we certainly have separation of the different branches. >> yep. >> but i think it's foolish that the president would say, look,

this belongs to the speaker. the united states must establish what its policy is going to be vis-a-vis beijing as well as taipei, and it's been clear that our relationship with taipei was established in 1979 with the taiwan relations act. we wrapped that in strategic ambiguity, right? we told the world, look, we're behind taiwan, we will sell them goods, we will interact with them, but it's one china, it's two systems, but test us in taiwan and let's see what the united states will do. so, i don't think the that the speaker needs to go to taiwan to reinforce the tra. it exists. but i do think the president should be very emphatic about what u.s. policy is, call up the speaker and say, recommend you don't go. >> all right, so, obviously, he hasn't done that, there's been no indication he will, and we expect that visit to be imminent. selina's reporting, that xi jinping cannot look weak coming into the fall, that they have to do something, they feel they

have to do something, but what is that something? i mean, general, you know, that is short of causing a broader conflagration? i mean, is there a way out of this that both preserves face for them and for the u.s.? or are we teetering here? >> no, i don't think here teetering. look, there could be an asymmetric response. the united states navy has routine ships on patrol in the waters off taiwan. there could be some type of a provocation, not imminent in terms of shots being fired, but you could see the chinese maybe get up at close and personal, either using that through aircraft or through their own naval vessels against u.s. patrol ships. or it could be the chinese exercising their patience and doing nothing other than speaking very aggressively. >> all right, general marks, thank you very much. obviously an incredibly potent moment in asia. next, president biden is about to address the nation about the terror strike after

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discomfort and swelling. you've come this far... coolsculpting takes you further. visit coolsculpting.com breaking news, you are looking at live pictures inside the white house. president biden will be approaching that podium in just a few moments here and will be speaking live on the death of al qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri. multiple sources tell us that zawahiri was killed over the weekend in a drone strike in afghanistan in the capital of afghanistan, kabul. as i said, the president of the united states will be walking to that podium in just a few seconds here. in the meantime, i want to bring in jeremy diamond. so, jeremy, obviously, this is a -- this is a very important moment, and this is going to be a very scripted moment. this is an address to the nation in primetime. >> it certainly is, and it is the first time that we have heard directly from president biden on a counterintelligence

operation since last february when president biden was able to announce that the u.s. had conducted a successful raid to kill the leader of isis in syria. tonight, we are expecting president biden to announce that the u.s. has conducted a successful drone strike to kill al qaeda's leader, ayman al zawahiri, the 71-year-old leader of al qaeda, formerly osama bin laden's deputy, who helped shape al qaeda into not only what it is today but what it was, particularly in the early 2000s when al qaeda was at its most potent. we are now, i think, it's also important to keep in mind that this is coming near a year after the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan, and at the time, you'll recall, erin, president biden talked about the importance of the united states maintaining that over the horizon capability to be able to go after terrorists in afghanistan should they pose a threat to the united states. and that is exactly what appears

to have happened here as we have learned that this drone strike took out ayman al zawahiri, a strike that likely would not have required any u.s. personnel on the ground for it to be conducted. and so tonight is certainly a vindication for president biden of those capabilities, capabilities that were questioned at the time when the u.s. was pulling out, these questions were raised of whether or not the u.s. would be able to target any terrorist threats to the united states in afghanistan without the manpower there, and now here comes the president. >> all right. >> my fellow americans, on saturday, at my direction, the united states successfully concluded an air strike in kabul, afghanistan, that killed the emir of al qaeda. ayman al zawahiri. you know, zawahiri was bin laden's leader. he was with him all the whole time. he was his number two man, his deputy at the time of the terrorist attack of 9/11. he was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11.

one of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on american soil. for decades, he was a master mind behind attacks against americans, including the bombing of the uss coal in 2000, which killed 17 american sailors and wounded dozens more. he played a key role, key role in the bombing of the u.s. embassies in kenya and tanzania, killing 224 and wounding over 4,500 others. he carved a trail of murder and violence against american citizens. american service members, american diplomats, and american interests. and since the united states delivered justice to bin laden 11 years ago, zawahiri has been a leader of al qaeda, the leader, from hiding, he coordinated al qaeda's branches and all around the world, including setting priorities for providing operational guidance that called for and inspired

attacks against u.s. targets. he made videos, including in recent weeks, calling for his followers to attack the united states and our allies. now, justice has been delivered. and this terrorist leader is no more. people around the world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined killer. the united states continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the american people against those who seek to do us harm. you know, we make it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the united states will find you and take you out. after relentlessly seeking zawahiri for years under presidents bush, obama, and trump, our intelligence community located zawahiri earlier this year. he had moved to downtown kabul to reunite with members of his immediate family.

after carefully considering the clear and convincing evidence of his location, i authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield once and for all. this mission was carefully planned, rigorously minimized the risk of harm to other civilians, and one week ago, after being advised that the conditions were optimal, i gave the final approval to go get him, and the mission was a success. none of his family members were hurt, and there were no civilian casualties. i'm sharing this news with the american people now after confirming the mission's total success through the painstaking work of our counterterrorism community and key allies and partners. my administration has kept congressional leaders informed as well. when i ended our military mission in afghanistan almost a year ago, i made the decision that after 20 years of war, the united states no longer needed thousands of boots on the ground in afghanistan to protect

america from terrorists who seek to do us harm. and i made a promise to the american people that we continue to conduct effective counterterrorism operations in afghanistan and beyond. we've done just that. in february, our forces conducted a daring mission in syria that eliminated the emir of isis. last month, we took out another key isis leader. now, we have eliminated the emir of al qaeda. he will never again, never again allow afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven, because he is gone, and we're going to make sure that nothing else happens. you know, it can't be a launching pad against the united states. we're going to see to it that won't happen. this operation is a clear demonstration that we will, we can, and we'll always make good on the solemn pledge. my administration will continue to vigilantly monitor and address threats from al qaeda,

no matter where they emanate from. as commander in chief, it is my solemn responsibility to make america safe in a dangerous world. the united states did not seek this war against terror. it came to us, and we answered with the same principles and resolve that have shaped us for a generation upon generation. to protect the innocent, defend liberty, and we keep the light of freedom burning, a beacon for the rest of the entire world, because this is a great and defining truth about our nation and our people. we do not break. we never give in. we never back down. last year on september 11th, i once more paid my respect to ground zero in new york city at that quiet field in shanksville, and at the pentagon. standing in the memorial at ground zero, seeing the names of those who died forever etched in bronze, is a powerful reminder

of the sacred promise we made as a nation. we will never forget. memorial also bears the quotation from virgil. "no day shall erase you from the memory of time." so, we continue to mourn every innocent life that was stolen on 9/11, and honor their memories. to the families who lost fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and coworkers on that searing september day, it is my hope that this decisive action will bring one more measure of closure. no day shall erase them from the memory of time. today and every day, i'm so grateful for the superb patriots who serve the united states intelligence community and counterterrorism communities. they never forget. those dedicated women and men who tirelessly worked every single day to keep our country

safe, to prevent future tragedies. it is thanks to their extraordinary persistence and skill that this operation was a success. they made us all safer. and to those around the world who continue to seek to harm the united states, hear me now. we will always remain vigilant, and we will act, and we will always do what is necessary to ensure the safety and security of americans at home and around the globe. today, we remember the lost. we commit ourselves to the safety of the living, and we pledge that we shall never waiver from defending our nation and its people. thank you all, and may god protect our troops and all those who serve in harm's way. we will never -- we will never give up. >> mr. president. >> you're clear. >> and you just heard the president of the united states speaking about the successful

drone strike against ayman al zawahiri, the leader of al qaeda, in the capital city of afghanistan, kabul. he spoke for about eight minutes there from the white house. our panel is with me, but i want to go back to the white house and jeremy diamond first because we learned some things there, jeremy, from the president. he talked about how they -- the united states was able to ascertain that zawahiri was in afghanistan earlier this year, in downtown kabul, and he said that one week ago, they were given convincing evidence, they knew exactly where he was, and the timing was right, and he gave the final approval. those are details, but do you know more of the details about this strike that was conducted when, of course, there are no u.s. forces in afghanistan? >> reporter: yeah, that's right. a senior administration official did brief us with some additional details of how this came together, and this was, as is so often the case with these situations, a painstaking progress of gathering and confirming intelligence and ensuring that it was to the highest possible degree of

confidence before president biden ultimately gave the okay one week ago today on july 25th, when the president convened a final meeting, we're told, with his key cabinet members. all of them strongly recommended approval of this targeted mission, we're told, and president biden gave the okay. but this was a painstaking progress -- process over the last year. initially, we're told, u.s. intelligence officials learned that al zawahiri's family had moved to a safe house in kabul. they then were able to confirm that zawahiri himself had moved into that safehouse as well. interestingly, u.s. officials say -- or this senior administration official says that zawahiri did not once, to their knowledge, leave this safehouse, but here is where he was ultimately targeted. on the balcony of this safehouse is allegedly when this strike took place, according to the senior administration official, and the strike was done in a way that, according to u.s. -- to

the u.s., no civilian casualties occurred, which is pretty remarkable when you think about the fact that two hellfire missiles, we're told, were fired on this balcony where al zawahiri was late on saturday night eastern time. and only he was killed. the strike was done with the intention of ensuring the structural integrity of the building, where zawahiri's family were presumably as well, that that building would not collapse, and we're told the president actually examined a model, erin, of this safehouse in the situation room during a july 1st meeting. he examined the house, asked questions about the structural integrity, to ensure there would be a minimal risk to any civilians in the area. >> jeremy, thank you very much. all of this new reporting that jeremy is breaking here, let's go back to the panel. first, former cia director, leon panetta, when, of course, osama bin laden was taken out. what do you take away from what we just heard from the president, some of the details

that jeremy just added in his reporting, two hellfire missiles taking out ayman al zawahiri while he was on the balcony but when you look at the timeline that the president laid out that jeremy is giving more detail on, what do you take away friom it, director? >> i think the most important thing is that we need to pay tribute to our intelligence and military officials that were involved in this strike. they gathered the right intelligence. they were able to target zawahiri without any kind of collateral damage. it was a well planned and well executed targeting of a terrorist, and just as i said when we got bin laden, it sends a message to the world that nobody attacks the united states and gets away with it. >> clarissa, you talk about this neighborhood, right, and you have been there. you know what these villas are like, and they said that when zawahiri went there, the

president said he never left. and that he joined his family. he was on the balcony when this happened and two hellfire missiles, as jeremy reported, took him out. what do you take away from what we just learned, clarissa? >> i think the main takeaway, still, for me, is trying to get a little bit of a better sense as to who invited zawahiri to spend time in kabul, who thought that that was a good idea. it's impossible, obviously, that he was in the neighborhood, which is favored and frequented and many taliban leaders have villas there, without some kind of an express invitation, and indeed, we just heard from zawahiri himself on july 13th, i believe, was his last audio message. a u.n. panel of experts just last week was talking about the fact that he was communicating more often and with a higher level of comfort, and there was this real concern that essentially, you were seeing a kind of regrouping, if you will.

now, it appeared that there was no capacity or capability yet for launching transnational attacks, and so perhaps the focus wasn't quite as keenly of the moment, but with zawahiri now being killed, it does raise real questions going forward about how the u.s. can continue its relationship to the extent that there is one with the taliban, how the taliban, if they even will try to explain this situation, will indeed explain it. and whether some senior leadership of the taliban were somehow involved with his presence in the capital and what that portends for the future. so, you know, it's obviously a significant victory for the u.s., but still a lot of questions going forward about what this means. >> and among those questions, seth, something the president said that stood out to me was sort of his trying to make the argument that even though the u.s. is gone from afghanistan,

look, we were able to do this. okay. but he took it a step further, saying now that zawahiri was taken out, you know, we're going to make sure that never happens again in terms of al qaeda being given safe sanctuary. obviously, seth, did he go too far with the way he phrased that? >> well, i think that any american official has to be a little bit careful here. i think on the one hand, secretary panetta is exactly right, this was an extraordinary example of great intelligence work by u.s. intelligence and military officials, painstakingly tracking zawahiri and then conducting a precise attack against him. on the other hand, if we're talking about concerns about broader terrorist sanctuary in afghanistan, the reality is u.s. doesn't have a base in the region, doesn't have a partner force on the ground, and it doesn't have, really, a significant intelligence infrastructure, because most of it left when the u.s. pulled out in august. that does create some hurdles

for any kind of a sustained campaign if the u.s. becomes alarmed at growing, plotting, and you know, recent u.n. security council report just out over the last couple of weeks does express growing concern about not just al qaeda but other groups operating from afghanistan. that's a little bit of the longer term challenge. >> right. and john, how do you think he handled the moment? obviously, this was a -- this was a scripted speech. it's from a teleprompter, about eight minutes long. they had, obviously, very carefully scripted it. how did he do? >> look, i think, from delivery standpoint, there were moments where he was clear and crisp and said, you know, we will find you, and we will take you out. and there were other moments that did not live up to perhaps the gravity of the moment. but those kind of critiques are small compared to the moment, objectively, for the country. and i just want to bring it back home. you know, he spoke -- the president spoke about how this was in some ways promises kept to the families of the victims of 9/11.

and as you know, i worked in city hall at that time and was across -- couple blocks away when the towers fell and wearing a bracelet for terry hatton, captain of rescue one that died that day that i keep on my desk and have every day since. i found myself being so emotional at this news, because this is, in some ways, been the shoe that didn't drop. even ten years after bin laden, knowing that -- or thinking that zawahiri was still out there, and the fact that the u.s. took him out with a drone strike and took such care to minimize its civilian casualties, apparently having none, that's more than zawahiri or his colleagues did every day of their lives, where they intentionally targeted civilians to kill. and that's what makes this, i think, such a profound moment for the country and for, just, everyone who lived through 9/11. >> director panetta, it's amazing what john raises and the president made clear. not just no civilians were killed. but no members of zawahiri's family. that there was such care taken, right? using the scale model, waiting until that moment he walked out on the balcony. director, how does this moment

feel for you? when you were there as director with the intelligence with osama bin laden, you were there the day that he was taken out, and now here we are on this night with ayman al zawahiri finally gone. >> yeah, it's, you know, it was a little bit different operation because we had to send two teams of s.e.a.l.s 150 miles into pakistan at night to go after bin laden. which obviously, again, was a tribute to the intelligence and military officials involved. here, as a drone strike, which is something that we've done in counterterrorism operations a lot, but it does require very good intelligence on the ground, frankly, as well as other sources of intelligence to be able to make sure that you have the right target. because that would be a horrendous mistake if you don't have the right target. so, having the right intelligence, being able to plan

it, doing the hit when he walked out on the balcony, is all part of the careful responsibility involved with these drone strikes that makes it a very effective weapon when it comes to going after terrorists. >> it is. it is actually, when you think about it, simply and the questions raised about the intelligence on the ground, still so many questions we will find the answers to in the coming days. thank you all very much for your time tonight. and next in these evening hours we are now getting ready for polls tomorrow. two trump backed election deniers are on the ballot in arizona's crucial primary. so how is this message playing? and we're going to take you to kentucky. there's a race against time there to locate those still missing after catastrophic flooding tododay. flowers are fighters. that's why the alzheimer's association

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costs to promote betting reduce money for the tribes, so they get less. hidden agendas. fine print. loopholes. prop 27. they didn't write it for the tribes or the homeless. they wrote it for themselves. tonight the mid-terms now just 99 days away, and tomorrow voters are heading to the polls in five states for primary elections. one of them michigan. and in arizona march finchem, a trump backed conspiracy theorist a leading contender to be arizona's secretary of state. he says he won't concede if he loses. hard to even read that sentence, it's disturbing. but the governor's race has turned into a proxy war between

trump and pence with trump backing carrie lake, pence endorsing thompson. you've obviously covered this, you've spoken to the contenders. whose endorsement has more weight? >> it's a little hard to tell at this point, and polling here especially in the governor's race has shown one over the other depending on what day and what time these polls are released, so it's very difficult to tell. but what we can say is that when primary voters, these republican voters go to the polls tomorrow we will find out the result of all of this is does trump still have a hold on the republican party here in arizona? carrie lake has fully embraced trump's election lie. she has said if she was governor in 2020 she wouldn't have certified the state's election results. contrast that with karen taylor robeson who's taken a half step back, and she's basically been backed by mike pence saying what she wants to do is that her part

no longer looks back on 2020 and is instead looking forward. the question here, erin, is what these results will show at the end of the day. trump has endorsed an attorney general as well as secretary of state mark fincham as you mentioned. and these candidates as you said have embraced the lie and all of them as you said believe there could be conspiracies in this election, teeing up some of those conspiracies just in case they lose. >> kyung, thank you very much live in arizona ahead of those polls opening tomorrow. and next we're live in flood ravaged kentucky which is tonight bracing for more rain as the death toll rises and hundreds -- hundreds are missing. it's the number one doctor recommended brand that is scientifically designed to help manage your blood sugar.

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tonight, a race against time in flood ravaged kentucky. at least 37 people were kill, hundreds remain unaccounted for af after last week's catastrophic flooding. more rain is in the forecast. a new flood watch has been issued in areas where search and rescue efforts have already been hampered by washed out roads and bridges. so evan, you're there seeing this first-hand. what is it like on the ground there right now? >> reporter: well, erin, it can be hard to capture the size of the devastation here with one camera. i'm standing next to a creek here along route 28 in perry county. where i'm standing a house blew off its foundations and traveled down this road. but it's not just here. we put the cnn drone up earlier today, and you can see that all along this route 28 where we were, this major thoroughfare in this county, you can see this devastation everywhere on both sides. as this water has receded we're

seeing more and more of this damage and people trying to figure what what to do next. here's one person in wrightburg talking about what the going to happen to his house. >> basically it's all destroyed. anything that was touched by the flood waters, it had mud all in it. any of our clothes that were down on the lower hanging are gone, all of our furniture gone. >> reporter: erin, that devastation is just starting to reveal itself because some of these waters have receded, but there's a real scary problem on the horizon, which is that tonight there's more rain forecast. and some places that have already been hit are now currently under a flood watch. it's just the worst possible news to have here in this part of kentucky, erin. >> and evan, these images are pretty stunning. i can't imagine you've ever seen anything like this before, just these bridges blown out. >> reporter: that's right.

and it's not just me. people who live here it rains a lot, they live in valleys, they're used to flooding. but nobody has seen anything like this. picked up and washed away, everything gone. it's just an unbelievable scene, erin. >> evan, thank you very much reporting on the ground there in eastern kentucky. and thanks so much to all of you joining us. "ac 360" starts now. good evening. we begin tonight with breaking news. a little more than 11 years since president obama told americans about the raid that killed al-qaeda leader osama bin laden and 29 years since the 9/11 attacks on this country president biden tonight announced the killing in a drone strike in afghanistan of bin laden's second in command and his successor. for more than two decades he's been one of the fbi's most wanted with a $25 million bounty for his apprehension or conviction. tonight that is no longer