to learn more, visit safetyactioncenter.pge.com captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight... >> american troops cannot, and ould not, fight and die in a war afghan soldiers won't fight for themselves. >> woodruff: ...the taliban takeover-- afghanistan falls to insurgents, bringing a chaotic close to america's longest war. we are in kabul and examine the wider fallout. then, disaster strikes again-- another major earthquake hits already-suffering haiti, leaving over 1,000 dead and many more thousands injured. plus, political stakes-- tamara keith and amy walter consider what the rapid collapse of the

afghan government means for president biden. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> well, audrey's expecting... >> twins! >> grandparents. >> we want to put money aside for them, so, change in plans. >> all right, let's see what we can adjust. >> we'd be closer to the twins. >> change in plans. >> okay. >> mom, are you painting again? you could sell these. >> let me guess, change in plans? >> at fidelity, changing plans is always partf the plan.

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and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: afghanistan's government has fallen to islamist militants w make up the taliban, and the frenzy for afghan citizens and diplomats trying to escape the country today reached a fever pitch. seven afans died in frantic scramble at the kabul airport; two of whom apparently fell after hanging on to the wheels of a u.s. cargo plane as it took off. additional u.s. troops are on their way to help with evacuations, 6,000 will soon be there, as the taliban re-take power 20 years after the american invasion that deposed them. special correspondent jane ferguson is in kabul. >> reporter: few images capture the frantic american withdrawal from afghanistan quite like

this: desperate and terrified afghans trying to stop a u.s. military plane from leaving. on sunday, crowds stormed the tarmac of the hamid karzai international airport, anxious board one of the last commercial flights out of the country. scenes like this quickly spread on social media across afghanistan and the world, a symbol of the u.s.'s disastrous withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war. c.c.t.v. cameras filmed the massive crowds blocking the runway. as people rushed to the airport, trying to escape a sweeping taliban takeover, anger was palpable across the city, and a sense of complete abandonment by the u.s. the crowds made it difficult throughout sunday and monday for evacuation flights of u.s. and other foreign embassy employees to take off, delaying chaotic efforts to get diplomatic staff out of the country as the taliban moved into the capital. after top aides fanned out in defense of the president and the withdrawal, and as blistering criticism, and pressure from

capitol hill mounted, president biden weighed in from the white house this afternoon. he again forcefully defended the withdrawal, but did not fully address his administration's role in the chaos on the ground. >> i stand squarely behind my decision. we were clear eyed about the risk and planned for every contingency, but i always promised the american people that i would be straight with you. the truth is this did unfold more quickly than we anticipated. >> reporter: mr. biden say the blame for that “truth” lay with the afghan government and security forces. >> afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the cntry. the afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight. if anything, the developments of the past week reinforce that ending u.s. military involvement in afghanistan now was the right desion. >> reporter: the president said

that the u.s. has warned the taliban not to interfere with the evacuation. >> we have made it clear to the taliban, if they attack our personnel or disrupt our we will defend our people with devastating force if necessary. >> reporter: back in kabul, the u.s. marines continue to try to secure the airport long enough for flights to make it out. from a nearby compound on monday, heavy gunfire could be heard throughout the day as security forces tried to disburse the crowds, even flying apache helicopters low to push them back from the runway. helicopters evacuated us and other international personnel in a constant roar across the city's skies, while taliban fighters poured in, and afghan security forces started to move out. for those fleeing to the airport by road, both were present on sunday in the city's streets for a moment, in an informal and surreal amnesty. the newshour arrived into kabul on sunday morning, just a few hours before the taliban entered the city.

afghan president ashraf ghani fled the country sunday, with a later, in a statement posted to facebook he wrote: “the taliban have won by the judgement of the sword and guns and now they are responsible for protecting their countrymen's honor, wealth and self-esteem. they didn't win the legitimacy of their hearts.” once busy, secure compounds emptied out as foreigners fled too, caught unprepared by the speed of the taliban's takeover of the country. on sunday night, the city braced for a change in power, something rarely peaceful in afghanistan. as the sun sets, technically no one is really in charge of this city. it's an extremely tense situation with a high level of risk for looting and lawlessness. on monday morning, reports of robberies and violence poured in, but so too did images of taliban checkpoints, claiming to be present to simply maintain law and order. deputy leader of the taliban whose released from pakistani custody

was organized in 2018 by the trump administration to jump start talks, spoke. >> day by day we >> ( translated ): day by day we will get involved in the service of our nation, in providing them with security and hope for their future. >> reporter: but these people are not taking any chances. many of them are terrified the taliban will single them out as having worked with the u.s. and its allies in afghanistan. in recent months, president biden and his aides have pushed back against comparisons with vietnam when the u.s. draw-down precipitated the collapse of the south vietnamese government and a rapid evacuation of the u.s. embassy. >> there's going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy in the-- of the united states from afghanistan. it is not at all comparable. >> reporter: given the sces playing out in afghanistan right now, he may be correct. this could be much worse. >> woodruff: and jane joins me now from kabul. so jane, i know it is the middle

of the night there but have you heard any re-- reaction yet to president biden's speech today? >> it is late here, judy, so most people are hunkered down at home. the taliban implement a curfew in the city at this time. but i don't think people are that surprised by bride-- biden's remarks because they have heard him push back against any criticism of the way this has happened. but i do think there will be a little bit of shock about the levels at afghan security levels, those considered american's allies throughout this. and those who have taken huge casualty rates in recent years fighting the taliban. now of course he also eluded to the commandeunit, the special forces units that they had been fighting particularly hard. but they also probably won't be too surprised of his criticism of the politicians and you hear the criticism much more harshly here on the ground. the political leadership in afghanistan that essentially

moved out and people feel very much still abandoned by their own political leadership as well as america. but i think one of the frustrations on the ground here that people voice to us a lot is that the argument has been shaped around this idea of whether america stays or goes. instead of really discussing how america goes, most people here wanted this war to draw down and they saw america withdrawing as an indicator that violence could be reduced and as a positive thing. but what people feel frustrated by is that there isn't the conversation as to what the strategy was for that drawdown rather than simply just wheels up. >> woodruff: and jane we saw a good deal of this in your report just now but give us more of a sense of what it has been like there in these days that you have been in kabul, in the country. >> events have moved so quickly since my time with eric connor have arrived here, as we moved around the city when we arrived

we saw afghan security forces disappear from the street and for a particular moment of time that was frightening for the residents of the city. in one was in charge. there were rumors the taliban were in the city but most of those fighters were on the outskirts of the city until their commanders told them to move in. but where we are right now is right by the airport. and what we've been hearing today is heavy gunfire. just behind me, not far behind me is the airport. nd that gunfire as you saw from the report is something that has become necessary simply to get planes in and out. we've seen more apache helicopters circling over the area, just beyond here taliban checkpoints surround the airport. so it is extraordinarily tense here. you have, of course, thousands of american troops, afghan security forces, those are the only ones we've seen remaining. are present towards the entrance of the airport and thousands of desperate civilians who keep

arriving at the airport even though flights are barely coming and going. >> woodruff: and jane we know were your many trips to afghanistan, you have a lot of contact there in kabul and around the country. what are you hearing from them? >> almost everyone, judy, who gets in touch is trying to figure out whether they should leave, how they should leave, and if they were to stay would they be trapped here. there is a sense of no one really understanding what afghanistan after-- throoks like and will-- in charge. people are terrified of potential retribution. they've been living through assassination campaigns. as you say, we have been reporting on this for quite som time. so they don't take, many of the people that we speak to don't take the taliban at its word. so they're extremely nervous about what their future is going toking look like. >> they're also wondering and sth is especially relevant to women. what the new rules are, what are the new parameters for life in afghanistan. women ve not been given any

explanation beyond they will have their full rights under sharia, islamic law. but that is an extremely vague phrase. that doesn't really give them any details at all. so people are hunkered down and trying to figure out when it is safe to come out. and what life is going to be like from here on in. >> woodruff: and in connection with that, are you getting any sense from the taliban of what their intentions are in coming days? >> we can see very clearly that the taliban are anxious to reassure people that they are indeed the group that is law and order. that's their brand. that they can control the space, thathey can minimize the rioting, that they can provide exa sense of stability for citizens. they've been tweeting this, releasing statements. they are seen to t on a certain show in the city center of checkpoints that encourage law and order. we know that the've gone to major hotels and some major installaons to do things like check for which guns have been

given government permits. and to, app they've also made some announcements of government ministers but there have also been reports of abuses of the con fis kaition of cars. checkpoints that stop people from moving. and also, you know, a lot of harassment at the airport, of people trying to come and go. so it is very unclear as to how this will all shape up realistically as an actual government. but right now they're trying to reassure people that they can control and maintain order in this city. >> woodruff: interesting, jane ferguson reporting for us on the ground. and of course, jane, we'll be coming back to you frequently. please stay safe, you and your team. thank you. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: and we turn now to our own lisa desjardins who is covering president biden's response. and so lisa, i know you were looking, you were listening as the president made those remarks today. it was a determined speech.

what stood out to you. >> a number of things. first of all, this is not a political speech. this is durch than candidate biden. he was very clear in saying this is my defense of what i have do. i will admit one thing, this happened more quickly than i thought. and there was no message in here. this was joe biden, someone who is himself a student of history. now there was not in this speech, however, a really kreer addressing of the major questions you heard just now from jane. why was there not a better plan for how the u.s. would pull back and what is the u.s. cul ability. you can say afghan forces collapsed but the u.s. was supporting those forces, and when the u.s. pulled out was there really a plan for how they could get their own aircraft in the air. those things he did not answer. >> woodruff: and lisa, you cover capitol hill 24/7. a number of lawmakers are you were approximating back hard at the president. what are you hearing. >> i have to say, this is an interesting moment because some democrats are defending the president and saying it was a

good speech, he laid out a proamerica stance, a proamerican forces stance but even some democrats like senator mark warner of virginia say there are a lot of questions here. and that we had intelligence that something like this would happen. from the republicans, blistering sharp pushback. some even saying the president is showing he is unfit for this. some like mitch mcconnell saying not only was this fore seeable, it was fore seen. but congress really can't do much here except sit back and wait. they are on recess now, expect briefings and questions down the road but in the meantime they're all trying to get the people they know out of afghanistan as well. >> woodruff: the most urgent thing right now. >> that's right. >> woodruff: lisa desjardins, thank you. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: we continue our look with the fall of afghanistan with retired general hr mcmaster, national security advisor to former president trump, now a senior fellow at stanford university. general mcmaster thank you

very much for joining us. the core argument from president biden is that it was not in the interest of t united states to keep troops in afghanistan any longer, whether it it was one month, a year or ten years. how do you respond to that? >> well, i tnk 2 is just wrong on a couple of countsk judy. first of all, we were there to preserve and protect our own interests, our security interests. we foe for a fact, right, we know from historical experience that terrorist organizations when they control territory and poplations and resources, that they become orders of magnitude more dangerous. we saw that with the mass murder attacks of 9/11. we saw it again when vice president biden thanked president obama for ending the r in iraq. hey, wars don't end when one party disengages. and of course in iraq we saw al-qaeda and iraq more of into isis, the most destructive terrorist organization in history and then we had to go back. what i nownd also, was fundamentally wrong about the

president's approach here is that he thinks that lost war in afghanistan isn't going to have consequences, we're already seeing the horrible humanitarian consequences. but there will be severe political consequences in connection with our credibility with our allies and partners in other countries who will wonder how reliable we are. but of course it there have big security implications in connection with jihadist terrorists who will declare victory over the world's only superpower. and of course they didn't defeat us. we defeated ourselves, judy, swi what is so sad about it. >> woodruff: i apologize for interrupting. but i do want to ask you about the terrorist threat. pause we hear the president saying this is something coming from a number of countries rye i right now. on the african continent in libya, in yemen, anthat this is something that the u.s. doesn't have to have boots on the grounds to watch and to take care of. what about that argument? >> it is a pipedream, judy. the way that we made ourselves safe really since 9/11 is by

partnering with partners across the world who actually bear the brunt of the fight against jihadist ter rusts. the president disparaged afghan soldiers today but we shld remember that tens of thousands of them gave their lives to protect the freedoms that they've enjoij-- enjoyed sips 2001 but also to protect us really from modern day barbarian, modern day afghanistan is on a modern day frontier between barberrism and civilization. just right across the border, judy, there are over 20 u.s. dessic natured jihadist terrorist organizations. and a victory for the taliban, a reestablishment of islamic emirate of afghanistan is a victory for al quied and those other groups. it soo-- . >> woodruff: apologize for interrupting but i do want to get in several more questions. and what ifs. an one is the president repeatedly saying that afghan troops, how you can ask u.s. troops to fight for a country when the afghan troops

themselves are giving up so quickly. >> well, if we think what lead to this collapse, really, it it occurred across two administrations. trump and the biden add approximate mrgses, we're esntially we had this dilusion that we could actually partner with the taliban against terrorists, when in fact we were enabling a terrorist organization itself. and this is the negotiations with the taliban, political commission in dohar. that was always a pipedream, judy. and it was a key element of our self-dilusion. and then what we did was we delivered really tremendous psychological blows to the afghan people, afghan leaders and afghan security forces on our way out. you know, judy, if we were going to leave afghnistan, why didn't we just leave. why did we make concession after concession on our way out that forced the afghan government to release 5,000 of some of the most heinous people on earth who wept right back to terrorism. and then of course right back to the battlefield as we know, right. and-- . >> woodruff: and some of those. >>

>> woodruff: again, my apology for interrupting but some of those concessions, of course, came during former president trump's administration when you were there as national security advisor. i do want to ask you, general mcmaster. >> no, judy, have i to correct you on that. that was not when i was there as national security advisor. when i was there, i think, the president put into-- place the only reasoned and sustainable approach that we had in av tban stand but then abandoned it. and are you correct. i'm not making part i san points here, i'm saying that this is really an american catastrophe. and it is a catastrophe that was going to have already seeferred profound humanitarian consequences, but it there have profound political and security consequences as well. >> woodruff: general hr mcmaster, thank you very much for joining us, we appreciate it. >> well, judy, i just want to stay too, there is a lot more we can do now to stem this humanitarian disaster. and i hope that the biden administration does more, ovides safe passage, provides

safe spaces to get more afghans out. and i think that this is what all of us should demand of our leaders at this point. >> woodruff: general mcmaster, we appreciate it thk you for joining us. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: and now for a different perfect-- perspective, we turn to laurel miller, deputy and then acting u.s. special representative for afghanistan and pakistan from 2013 to 2017. she is now director of the asia program at the international crisis group. laurel miller, thank you very much for joining us. and let me just turn to you with the argument general-- former general, retired general mcmaster was making. and that is that this is not just a failure for the united states right now, it is going to lead to a strengthening of the very terrorist group that the united states does not want to even think about being in our future. >> i think that that is really

quite a speculative assessment. i mean it is true that there is some remaining al-qaeda presence in afghanistan. and it is true that there are connections and relationships between the taliban and those remaining al-qaeda elements in afghanistan. what isn't clear is what is going to happen with thenow. what the taliban has said and i'm not saying i take this at face value but what they have said is that they're going to keep a lid on those terrorist elements in afghanistan. i think we can be assured that if they don't, that is the one thing that could bring the u.s. back involved in afghanistan militarily. the taliban also are reaching out to the regional powers who they are cultivating their relationships with. now the taliban are the government of afghanistan and those countries do not want to see a reverse of the al-qaeda threat >> so your point being that the

taliban are trying to establish alliances am i do want to am could back to another argument though that general mcmaster made. that this sends a signal of american weakness. that it sends a signal whether it is to the chinese or russians or others that the u.s. is not a country that sticks with it's original promises. >> well look, i think the counterargument to that is there were consequences for american credibility either way, if continuing to fight the war in afghanistan was not going to ever produce a victory over the taliban, and sin sted produce only a slower defeat, then that is not good for american cred ability either. it's not the case that the con nict was at some kind of sustainable-- the u.s. was keeping its finger in the dike in afghanistan but the dike was leaking already, for years now since 2014 the taliban has been gaining certificate tore and

afghanistan has been for a number of years running the most deadly conflt of the world. that is not a sustainable situation. >> woodruff: the argument that we're hearing from so many quarters right now, laurel miller, is that this administration should have anticipated the chaos that is taking place right now. that they were being told by their own intelligence sources, by sources at the defense department and by allies that this kind of-- that there would be a situation like what we are seeing now. which could lead to a humanitarian, a worsening humanitarian disaster. >> yeah, i mean i think there were two basic scenarios that many people projected, certainly from outside government. and i think probably from inside government as well. one was thpossibility that after the american withdrawal the afghan government resistance would be strong enough to achieve essentially a bloody stalemate, that you would have

an intensified and protracted civil war. that was the best case scenario. that is a scenario with a lot of humanitarian consequences as well. the other main alternative scenario is essentially what happened. rapid collapse, as president biden noted, no one expected the collapse to be as rapid as it was but that's just a question of a short difference in time. never the less that was rapid collapse. i expect the decision to withdraw was made knowing that those were the two most plausible scenarios. >> and just very quickly, we heard general mcmaster make the case that it's wrong, it's unfair to puts the blame on the afghan army because they never were supported by a government that was going to back them up. >> i think what is, what i would partially agree with in that is that the afghan army was the army that the united states and nato built. if they had weaknesses, those

were weaknesses that were, and they did, they were weaknesses that were long known to the united stes and to nato partners who built that force. a lot of mistakes were made along the way. a lot of exaggerated ambitions that were never going to be realized. so yes, you can blame them for not stepping up to the plate as president biden did. you can blame their political leaders for not providing the leader shirp that gave these fighters a cause to fight for. but there is plenty of blame to go around here and a lot of it st attributable to the united states and how it went about building this army in afghanistan. >> woodruff: laurel miller with the international crisis group, thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate it it. >> it was my pleasure to be with you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the death toll from

saturday's 7.2 magnitude earthquake in haiti has soared to nearly 1400. 6,000 others were injured. the quake's epicenter was about 80 miles west of the capital, port-au-prince. rescue crews raced to extract survivors and victims from the rubble before tropical depression "grace" inundated the area with heavy rain. haiti's prime minister appealed for an organized humanitarian aid operation. >> ( translated ): in this crisis, we want more appropriate responses than those we received after the 2010 earthquake. all aid that will come from outside the country must go through civil protection. i do not want aid to arrive in a disorderly manner, where everyone decides what they want. >> woodruff: we'll get the latest on the devastation in haiti right after the news summary. tropical storm "fred" regained strength with winds up to 65 miles per hour as it barreled into the florida gulf coast today. flooding was seen along the

shoreline in saint george island before the storm made its way into panama city. the national hurricane center warned of heavy rainfall and flash floods across southeastern states as it moves farther inland this week. on the pandemic, new york state will now require all health care workers, including staff at long-term care facilities, to be vaccinated against covid by september 27. that comes as new york city's vaccination mandate for indoor activities officially goes into effect tomorrow. mayor bill de blasio warned anyone using fake vaccination cards will face consequences. >> that literally could result in prison time as much of seven years. so i want people to understand that is not something to play around with. we are in the middle of a pandemic. the vaccination cards a pretty sacred document to tell us whose vaccinated and whose not. >> woodruff: meanwhile, the texas supreme court moved late sunday to temporarily block a

mask mandate that was issued in two of its largest counties. infections have skyrocketed in the state in recent weeks. the biden administration is permanently boosting food stamp benefits by 25% over pre- pandemic levels. that's the largest single increase in the history of the supplemental nutrition assistance program, which helps provide healthy food for low- income families. the new increase goes into effect in october for all 42 million "snap" beneficiaries. nearly 15,000 structures in northern californiare still under threat tonight by the "dixie" fire. more than 6,000 firefighters are working to contain the month-old inferno, which is 31% contained. it's one of about 100 wildfires burning in more than a dozen western states, fueled by hot, dry, gusty weather. and, for the first time ever, u.s. officials declared a water shortage from the colorado

river, which provides for around 40 million people out west. the u.s. bureau of recmation says the shortage at the massive lake mead reservoir will trigger water reductions to drought- stricken parts of the southwest, starting in october. stocks were mixed on wall street today, as investors awaited major retail earnings reports this week. the dow jones industrial average gained 110 points to close at 35,625, a record closing high. the nasdaq fell 29 points. and the s&p 500 added 12 to also notch a record high. and, federal regulators are investigating tesla's automated driving system, after a series of collisions with parked emergency vehicles. the national highwayraffic safety administration identified 11 such crashes since 2018. one person died and others

were injured. the probe covers some 765,000 vehicles, almost every vehicle tesla has sold in the u.s. since the 2014 model year. still to come on the "newshour: how haiti faces another saster, struggling amid the rubble. tamara keith and amy walter break downhe impact of the fall of the afghan government. and we sit down with secretary of interior deb haaland. >> woodruff: as we reported earlier, an earthquake has brought new devastation to haiti. landslides have made major roads impassable for aid groups. now, hospitals in southern haiti are overwhelmed and forced to

turn people away. all a tropical storm bears down on the nation. william brangham has the latest. >> brangham: judy, saturday's earthquake occurred on the very same fault lines as the 2010 earthquake that killed 300,000 people and destroyed much of haiti's capital port au prince. today thousands are sheltering in the streets or on soccer fields, with the few belongings they could salvage from their homes. haitian authorities are still going door to door searching for survivors. the suffering could get worse later today, because tropical depression grace is expected to dump roughly 10 inches of rain on the country, which could trigger flash flood flooding and landslides. akim kikonda is the haiti country representative for catholic relief services, and he joins us from port-au-prince. mr. kikonda, very good to have you on the newshour, i understand that you have staff in the big city that was closest

to the epicenter of this quake. can you just give us a sense of what kinds of things they are seeing now, how bad is it there? i, thanks, william. so is there is a certificate vie destroyed city. so they are reporting houses that have been totally or partially destroyed. schools and churches and hotels, and even road infrastructure that has been severely impacted-- impacted. so the situation is really bad. and in terms of the population they are really-- they have lost their houses. they don't have drinking water. they don't have food. they lack everything. so this is really, really bad

right now. >> brangham: we've been hearing reportses of a growing death toll and certainly authorities are trying to find people who might still be living. do you have a sense of the medical needs, are hospitals able to be open and help the wounded right now? >> yeah, so the few hospitals that are still up and running have been overwhelmed due to the number of injuries. the rescue teams are still working, as you say. trying to find any survivors. if there is still any in the rubble. >> brangham: is it your sense from just the most pressing needs from a humanitarian point of view, is it food, is it shelter, is it tents? what is the most pressing thing that you need to do your job? >> shelter in the first place, people have lost their homes.

and those still standing have become unstable because of cracks in the walls and those kind of things. and we have a-- storm that start, and tomorrow. so people exposed to the elements. so shelter is a really pressing need. the second most pressing need would be for water and hygiene items. just to ensure that we control covid and also prevent some water-borne and transmissible diseases. and thirdly i would say food would be a very important and urgent need to meet because people have lost everything and we need to ensure that at least ey have food to put on the table. >> we know that in the midst of all of this haiti is of course

also dealing with the vacuum created by the assassination of president moise. is it your sense that the government is able to organize as effective a response as it it can given the leadership vacuum, given the devastation? >> yeah, actually, as you know, haiti has been dealing with emergencies of this kind for quite some time so that the government has really a lot of-- capacity. the sisk protection authority has a team that is doing its best to coordinate the efforts of humanitarian, trying to ensure that we-- of what happened in 2010 when you had thousands of-- coming in from everywhere and dumping all kinds of shipments on the airport tarmac w very little coordination. so the government is trying to

ensure that we are-- avoid those kind of disaster this time of around. the government is doing a good job supporting the humanitarian response. >> brangham: that's good news in the midst of certainly a very awful tragedy, akim kikonda, thank you very much for being with us from catholic relief services. >> thank you, william, for having me. >> woodruff: the weight of the fall of afghanistan falls heavy on the white house. we look at president biden's response to the chaos with amy walter, editor-in-chief of the cook political report. and tamara keith, white house correspondent for npr. >> it st so good too to see both of you on this monday but the news as we are remiengding everybody is very heavy this i da. amy, presidents are judged by

moalts like this. what do you see from president biden and how do you think he will be seen? >> so what we heard especially today from president biden was a focus on the policy. the policy that for all intended-- intent and purposes seems to be popular. at least if you poll the question, should america leave afghanistan. z majority of americans say yes, we should. americans long have dis liked spending blood and treasure overseas. but if the question is how competent tently was it done, and this is a president who sold himself as someone who is going to come and bring competency back to the over-- bring the adults back to the table. and on that front, he failed. and what, the question will be going forward is where will americans continue to judge him, as somebody who put a policy forward that they liked but then the execution of it failed. or will the execution of it

become less sort of sal yent the farther away we get from this. i think the most important thing for these next few week, of course, are the scenes that will be coming out of afghanistan, not just of the civilians but the troops who are being brought in, the american troops being brought in, if tragedy should befall any of them, the impact politically i think would be pretty significant. >> woodruff: the humanitarian consequences, everybody is looking to see, tam, what the toll is on this country. we're waiting to see. but it is always political season here in washington. and in the minds of people who are thinking you know, the democrats could suffer from this, republicans could gain. >> certainly, president biden in the way he is presenting this is that it was a buy nary choice t is either in afghanistan or out of av ban standment now some kriltics say that there shubd a residual force that stays. many critics including both

democrats and republicans argue sure, with draw u.s. troops, that is fine. but as amy says, people are arguing that the execution with quite flawed. and as y pointed out, this is an administration who came in to be the people who could get it done. who know how to pull the levers of government o make government work. and it is not just afghanistan right now there is also a crisis at the border with the largest number of apprehensions at the border that have ever in history happened in a single month. and that inch just came out. now they say oh, some trump era policy that is part of the problem at the border. well, they're also blaming trump era policy for what is happening in afghanistan. and at some point in a presidency, the public stops buying that. well. >> the president said today the buck stops with me, i'm the

president. >> woodruff: he flat out said it. >> he said it. >> woodruff: and amy, at a time, i will say at a time that this country is doing with covid, worried about the economy, is what happens in a country, thousands of miles going to matter in the mid-term election. >> and foreign policy rarely registers with voters, even in a presidential-- presidential campaign but it is the imagery, and i think that will be the question, i think that to the summers of other first term presidents and what we remember from that, i mean we think about president obama and it was the townhall, right. the health care townhallsk the anger from constituents, you think about president trump and what was happening in charlottesville, those images really seered. those things, some of them were impactful for the actual election. others have been just, they sort of built the story about that president, right. it it was a telling momen that may not be the definitive sort of issue in the campaign but it

st set the chord for the nar tough of the president. >> woodruff: which is interesting, i think, when you think about the president's statement shall it-- speech there, we spoke about it tw lisa a few minutes ago. but this was about as determined as you have seen him talk about anything in his time in office. >> and in a way his tone and message on what should be done on afghanistan has no changed a single bit from the campaign to the presidency to a speech he delivered two months ago to a statement he made two weeks ago to what he is saying now. he is firm in his belief that this is the right action, that this is the right policy. and you know, behind the scenes administration officials are saying yes, we know that this happened far faster than they were expecting but they insist that they were running table top exercises, that they were planning for this scenario. i think what happens as amy says, in the next week or two, whether american lives are lost, whether the u.s. is able to keep

its commitment to thousands of afghan--hall afghans, that will determine, we're just too early in this to know where it ends and what the plilt kal implications are. >> we have very early and we are early if you will in the political cycle. >> absolutely. >> but you know, the juxtaposition. comments that the president made in july, just a month ago to yamiche, saying this is not going to be sigh gone. and then the image-- images, those side-by-side. >> hanging on. >> are really, really powerful. again, it may not be the definitive issue for sure but that image is indelible. >> woodruff: we will see. amy walter, tamara keiththank you both. >> you're welcome. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: and we'll be back shortly with a conversation with secretary of the interior deb haaland. but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station.

>> woodruff: for those stations staying with us, we take another look at an instant "new york times" bestseller out this spring, "finding freedom," which details the trials and triumphs of the maine restaurant, "the lost kitchen" as jeffrey brown reports, "finding freedom'' takes on multiple meanings for an innovative restaurateur on the rise. it's part of newshour's arts and culture series, canvas. >> the lilacs came on strong this year. >> brown: the lilacs bloomed early in maine this spring-- so, lilac ice cream, it is. make it, taste it, preserve it for the coming season. this is the lost kitchen, a

48-seat restaurant in a restored 1834 grist mill, in the tiny town of freedom, maine, population around 700, in an area well away from the more upscale coastal villages where you might expect a high-end dining experience. and owner erin french is still amazed by it all. >> this was not the original plan-- i never imagined this would become one of the hardest restaurants to get into in the country. i thought this would be a quiet little cafe in the middle of nowhere, with really good coffee, some homemade english muffins, and free wifi. >> brown: it is in the middle of nowhere, but rather than a" little cafe," the lost kitchen is a big-time culinary phenomenon, including as subject of a magnolia network series on discovery+. here giving a sense of the scene pre-covid: french presiding in the small open kitchen where diners can watch her and her team work, some of it gleaned

from her past. >> the sliders are an ode to my diner days, and they're made with local pork from a fancy mangalista pig. homemade mayonnaise and local cheese, and last-of-the-season peaches from krista's farm. >> brown: all local ingredients, part of a six-course dinner. >> fresh celery and leek soup with smoked ricotta and fresh maine crab meat that we tossed in brown butter. >> brown: it looks-- and, of course, tastes-- great. but in her new memoir, "finding freedom," erin french tells how hard it was to get here. note the subtie. she calls herself a "cook," not a "chef." why? >> it feels fraudulent. >> brown: your idea of a chef is, what? >> a man in a white coat who is in power and makes perfectly frothed and foamed dishes, and is organized and can make a perfect omelet and has knife skills. and those are things that i have none of. but there are other things that i can do well.

and it's simple food. >> brown: that began in childhood, when she worked in the local diner, then owned by her father-- a difficult man, in her account, whorank and was psychologically abusive. she was determined to escape him, and the confines of this small town. >> i didn't believe that i could do anything here that mattered or that was important or meaningful. and i just looked at it and thought, this can't be it. there's got to be more out there. there has to be. >> brown: there was, but not what she hoped for: she dropped out of college when she became pregnant with her son, jaim. she later suffered through a toxic fit marriage, and depression that led to alcohol and prescription drug addiction. she started an early version of her restaurant in the seaside town of belfast, maine-- only to lose it in a contentious divorce. do you recognize that person you were? >> i remember her. >> brown: her? >> yeah. she's changed a lot.

a lot more confidence now. >> brown: and how bad was it? >> i mean, to the point where sometimes i'm feeling beyond thankful to even be sitting here alive, still. >> brown: re-invention cam through food, first driving around an old airstream to do pop-up dinners in barns, orchards and farms, en in the restored old mill back in the town she'd first so wanted to leave. this is a proudly women-run business-- a small group of friends, with everyone doing more than one job. french's mother, deanna-- divorced from french's father-- learned the wine business from the bottom up, and runs the wine cellar and shop. the secret to her success, french believes-- make the restaurant feel like home, keep the food simple and fresh, cook by intuition. >> what inspirese and what makes me a good cook are the ingredients. so, i don't want to go searching for ingredients and forcing them if i can't find the right fresh thing. so i need it that morning. this is what's coming and this

is what you've got to work with. and that's my challenge. like: here's your toolbox. >> brown: she works with neighbors, like village side farm, and gets fresh fish from the maine coast. fresh eggs come from the henhouse at her home. this is a seasonal restaurant, open normally from may through october. and, awith restaurants everywhere, the pandemic shut it down, forcing the latest reinvention. >> we started out with the farmers market. it turned into a maker's market. >> brown: french and her staff created a new online retail business, including selling crafts made by maine women. >> so, yeah, we wouldn't have this without covid. and now this is giving us a steady income. >> brown: they also raised money to fight food insecurity here in waldo county. to do that, french used her signature reservation system. some 20,000 people around the u.s. and 25 other countries apply each year by postcard, some quite fanciful, to have their name drawn for a coveted

table. french asked them-- people well-off enough to pay $190 per person, plus tip, tax and wine-- to include a few dollars for the aid fund. she's raised more than $330,000 to date. >> i need to give to my community. i need-- i didn't grow up this way. last summer, with husband and business partner michael dutton, french built three small cabins in the woods for isolated dining. soon, she'll open for outdoor meals. and, playing it safe for now, hopes to open the lost kitchen indoors by summer's end. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown in freedom, maine. >> woodruff: and please explore all of our arts and culture coverage on our canvas website at pbs.org/newshour/arts.

>> woodruff: the 19th, a nonprofit newsroom focused on stories of gender and politics, kicked off its annual week long summit exploring why for which newshour is its streaming partner. earlier this month, our own lisa interviewed secretary of interior deb haaland about the significance of her role, which aired as part of today's summit launch. here's a sneak peak of some of that conversation >> desjardins: this country has had 580 cabinet agency heads. you are the first one, of all of those people to be native american, and the president of your tribe, when you were confirmed called ia defining moment not just for indigenous people in this country, but indigenous people across the world. can you talk about what you think this means for real change, and then also what is it like to be you both have blessings of being in a historic moment and if there are other moments, that's a burden. >> well of course i feel that there's always a weight that is on your shoulders when you're carrying essentially the hopes

and dreams of hundreds of years of, you know, a community's hopes that hopes and dreams. and, and so there it is somewhat of way but i'll tell you, i have, i mean i stand on the shoulders of so many native americans who have come before me leaders in, in so many respects, when i think about the native leaders who have who have given voice to the issues of their people through the centuries. so i feel confident in that respect that they have. they have made a path for me. >> desjardins: i know that you yourself as a just a descendant of some people who participated in the pueblo revolt, which is something i have to say i didn't learn about in school i wasn't taught that in school, and i want task you about this concept right now of expanding what we teach and talk about in history, especially about race. there is a lot of tension ov that.

i wonder what you think should be the approach here, and also what you say particularly to white americans who say they're afraid that this is about shaming america about saying that they're racist how do you respond, and what do you think we should be doing? >> what our what our country has taught us, even over the last year or so, is that our history is everyone's history, and we can't deny that history doesn't change. however, we cayou know we can choose not to learn about it but i will say that native american history is american history. and, and i feel very confidently that if, if we, if we all take the time to learn about this history as devastating, and as sad, and as traumatizing, as it

is that we can shine a light on, on our past and embrace a future that we can all be proud of. >> woodruff: you can watch the rest of lisa's interview with secretary haaland as well as the rest of the week's virtual convening on our youtube channel: youtube.com/pbsnewshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned.

>> the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through vestments in transformative leaders and ideas. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

♪ ♪ hello, everyone. welcome to "amanpour & company." here's what's going on. >> we will not allow afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorist attacks on our homeland again. >> as the taliban tightened the noose and set their sights on kabul, what does that mean for you are skooity at home and around the world? >> being in belarus i was really afraid about their life and about their parents. >> she made headlines by refusing to return home from tokyo. my conversation with belarusian olympian krystsina is imknopf skaa. >> you feel like your feet are on fe