♪♪ >> good evening, everyone. we begin "the reidout" tonight with that break news we've been meteorology on msnbc. president biden is expected to announce to the nation later this hour regarding a major counterterrorism operation. you may remember this 11 hours ago as president obama announced a successful operation to kill osama bin laden. tonight president biden is expected to announce that the united states has achieved its next biggest target after confirming a short time ago a successful counterterrorism strike against a, quote, significant al qaeda target over the weekend. sources familiar with the operation tell nbc news that

ayman al zawahri, al qaeda's leader and a former deputy to osama bin laden on 9/11, was killed by a cia drone strike in kabul. the administration has not confirmed al zawahri was the target ahead of the president's re, ma. the senior administration official said there were no civilian casualties in the mission. al zawahri has been on the run for year, and his history of violence extends well beyond his role in planning 9/11. the egyptian doctor was at one point arrested in connection with the assassination of egyptian president anwar sadat and was indicted in 1999 for the 1997 bombings of the u.s. embassies in tanzania. joining me now is chief white house correspondent kristen welker. what do we know about what the president is going to announce, and any details about that operation? >> reporter: the details are still coming in. what we do know is that the president is going to announce

that ayman al zawahri was killed over the weekend in a counterterrorism operation. the president will say no civilians were killed in this pray, and i anticipate that we will learn more about how exactly this came about and how that operation was carried out. some of those fine details, but it does come just about a year after the u.s. withdrew u.s. forces from afghanistan, and you'll recall that at the time the president was widely criticized for that withdrawal with officials saying it had been bopped, so this is really a moment in which the president's new strategy as it relates to afghanistan, the pledge at the time, joy, was that it would focus on counterterrorism is now coming to fruition with word that they have taken out this leader of al qaeda. to give a little bit more background and backdrop to who this person was, al zawahri was someone who was considered the ideological lowered of al qaeda when osama bin laden led the group. he was considered to be one of

the key masterminds behind the september 11th attacks, so this is significant for a range of different reasons and he did, of course, take over after osama bin laden was killed. now people debate his level of effectiveness. he's 71 years old, but nonetheless he was still there at the helm of al qaeda. now, according to the "new york times" he was found in a safe house. that is significant. it suggests that there is a level of communication between terrorist groups. apparently this was a taliban safe house half. little bit of backdrop broadly to what we have been covering at the white house which is president biden works of course, contracted covid. was taking paxlovid, tested negative and then tested positive again so he's a rebound case. all of this happening as the president is recovering from covid so he'll be speaking from the blue room balcony. he'll be outside, and he's been

grappling with issues on the domestic front. soaring inflation and now a surprise reconciliation deal and now this, a significant development on the world stage and for the biden foreign policy. joy. >> i don't know, kristen, whether any readouts have been released in advance of what the president's remarks will entail, but to go back to what you said just a moment ago this. development would seem to bolster the case that was made by the president, by the administration in leaving afghanistan, that the united states was capable of continuing to pursue those who were behind 9/11 without having to have masses of troops on the ground. the fact this was a cia operation would seem to be very significant in terms of confirming that theory of the case. do we know whether the president is going to go ahead and make that affirmative case for his strategy because this definitely does seem to bear out the idea that he had of getting the troops out and having the troops here back at home but being able to cop duct sufficient an operation. >> you know, i think you're

exactly right. we haven't gotten a specific preview of his remarks, joy, but i would anticipate that that's exactly what you're going to hear from president biden, that he's going to speak to the fact that he made this commitment as a candidate to bring u.s. troops home and to make this shift it is a relates to counterterrorism and that this is a key part of his policy that is now playing out and that he will, i would anticipate, make the case that this is an indication that the policy is working, at least in this instance, that they were able to take out this leader of al qaeda. it's certainly significant, both from a strategic perspective but also symbolically. you recall that when former president obama announced the killing of osama bin laden, the powerful moment that that was in his presidency, and i would also just point to up other fact, joy. compare this moment and the early reporting that this was done by the cia. and, again, the president will need to confirm that. nbc has not yet confirmed that

this was a cia operation, but just compare that to the killing of osama bin laden, that picture of former president obama, then secretary of state hillary clinton who was looking and there you see it. she had her hand up to her face as this was unfolding minute by minute, and those who were in the situation room at the time describing what was a harrowing hours long operation to kill osama bin laden, to find him where he was hiding out. now, the operational details undoubtedly will be significant and really interesting to learn, but it looks like it could be a very sharp contrast with that operation that took out osama bin laden. joy. >> and look who is sitting in that photo right beside former president obama, then vice president joe biden. quite full circle on this day. let's bring in -- thanks very much, kristen. appreciate t.kristen welker. let's bring in david rhodes, editor for "new yorker" and he

and two colleagues were kidnapped by the taliban outside of kabul in 2008. i would love to get your thoughts on this development today given all the context that you just heard from kristen welker about sort of the conflagration among many in the political world and this country when the u.s. pulled out of afghanistan after a 20-year war. this would definitely seem to affirm the strategy, but what do you make of these developments as we know of them so far? >> it's definitely a step forward. it's an amazing intelligence operation to have located and have found him, but i'll say i'm concerned. one of the concerns when the u.s. pulled out of saving would the taliban shelter al qaeda members, and the news reports that zawahri was in a taliban safe house. so the taliban were protecting him, so i think this is a step forward. it shows the importance of having a continued u.s. counterterrorism operations in afghanistan, but it is deeply concerning to me that the

taliban appear to have been sheltering the leader of al qaeda so soon after u.s. troops pulled out of afghanistan. i'm not suggesting, you know, u.s. troops go back into afghanistan, but we should be asking the taliban why were they sheltering the leader of al qaeda. >> and it is a fair point, but i would wonder -- i mean, the relationship between al qaeda and the taliban goes back before 9/11, when egyptian islamic jihads were being assisted and aided by the taliban which is why we wound up in this war in afghanistan. do you have a sense from your open reporting and your experiment that that there was a break in that relationship because the relationship at this point extends back 20 years? >> no, there wasn't, and a coplayer in all of this was pakistan. if you remember osama bin laden hid in pakistan. the mac stoppy government sheltered him. zawahri was expected to be inside of pakistan and the pakistanis backed the taliban.

one of the reasons the u.s. was unable to succeed is there were safe havens in pakistan where the taliban was able to regroup and reorganize and that's probably where zawahri was able to hide. this would suggest that al qaeda leader had moved from pakistan into afghanistan after the taliban regained control of the country. look, again, 100,000 u.s. ground troops isn't the answer in afghanistan, but this does know that the united states again needs to pressure the taliban from a human rights session. banning girls have been band from school since u.s. troops withdrew. again, i don't think an american invasion is the question but there's a question of who does the taliban -- who will the taliban it to support? they say they are not going to go to work with damage.

that was part of their public statements, quasi-. peace and they don't appear to be upholding that promise not to cooperate with access. >> there's a reason why this has been called -- to your point regarding and alleging, discovering the fact that the taliban was hiding this man, was essentially assisting this number two al qaeda leader, what kind of might that give you united states because when the taliban wants is they want their community to be recognized. this givers the government a chance to say you can't get recognition yet. you're still not playing in the modern world. you're still sheltering people. >> it does give the u.s. learning and in european crisis there was a problem in terms of

hunger andor in afghanistan. this is not for the u.s. to engage, to turn on them decisive and top use i'd and we can't simply ignore avenue. we overreacted and 20 years was too long so we continue to meet in a region. and then we definitely can't turn a blind eye to afghanistan. >> presidents have to walk and chew gum at the same time. it is a big job. we're just moments away from president biden's address to the nation on that strike that nbc has learned kill al qaeda leader ayman al zawahri. we will bring you that live. more breaking news when "the reidout" continues. more breaking news when "the reidout" continues (driver 1) it's all you. (driver 2) no, i insist. (driver 1) it's your turn. (burke) get farmers and you could save money with the safe driver discount just by having

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in iraq and afghanistan. you would think this would be a slam dunk but, no, republicans blocked it. joining me now is a u.s. senate capped in missouri and white house bureau chief for "politico" and host of "way too early" and i'm going to start with you, mr. koontz. i know that president biden, his administration has pulled this off despite all the criticism for the u.s. finally ending this 20-year war in afghanistan, pulled this off with a cia operation, no civilian casualties, 78 years old with covid. i actually think this might be an instance where you have to give the president some damn credit because that's a very big deal. this is the number two guy in al qaeda and they did it without thousands of troops on the ground. if someone who served in both conflicts, the one in afghanistan and the one ginned

up against iraq, what do you make of this today? >> what i'm talking about on the campaign trail, that we can accomplish these meetings without going over spending drillions of dollars trying to build the country up. we can do high-tech, high-speed operations, acparish the mission and actually invest here in our own country. i'm running in a state that needs real investment. people around the country are suffering and they all know we spent drillins yo of dollars, $6.4 trillion in iraq and afghanistan, supposedly nation building and every chance there's a chance to spend a nickel here, nobody wants to spend anything. you can do an infrastructure package and still accomplish the mission over there. i think it's absolutely critical and what we need if we're going to win in places like missouri. >>ion than le mire, it's always ironic, the news has a sense of irony. you know, when president obama came out and made this

announcement about killing osama bin laden, it was the day after the white house correspondents dinner, the one in which he humiliated donald trump, the thing that recordly convinced donald trump that he had to run for president, all optics were very interesting and he gave no sign of it while he was doing his comedy. in this instance, this operation comes at a time when republicans are literally blocking aid to injured veterans who were injured in burn pits in iraq and afghanistan, and when the former president is literally pretending not to know who did 9/11 and partying with the crown prince of saudi arabia on the golf course, you know, with what's his name, tucker carlson. the ironies are many. what do you make of all of that optic? >> yeah. it's a very good week for president joe biden, and that includes a covid diagnosis. despite that he's now on the brink of a major win in

congress, democrat reconciliation bill assuming democrat kyrsten sinema votes for it, and many believe she will with a about few adjustments along the way and that will be a big win for the president heading into the mid terms. despite being in isolation he gives the green light for this strike which is the most successful counterterrorism strike in afghanistan. of course, bin laden killed in pack stop. this is a big deal. al zawahri was bin laden's number two, running al qaeda ever since bin laden was killed. he has the blood of hundreds if not thousands of americans on his hands. he is someone who is number one on the fbi's most wanted list. this is a significant move. each al qaeda in its diminished state, a significant move to take their lowered off the chessboard and does indeed show that the united states can pick

off an al qaeda leader without having boots on the ground there. >> we're now learning, nbc news is learning that it was a drone strike that killed zawahri. which again proves that drop strikes can do the work. you don't need 100,000 troops on the ground risking their lives every day away from families. that got do. i wonder what you make of that optic, the fact that they with can pull things off but people saying we had to keep the troops there because of the human rights catastrophe that the taliban represents, i wonder what they think about the former president partying with mbs and taking money from him for a golf turpy and in saudi arabia, women can't even drive without permission. it's not exactly a human rights bulwark. >> the people who said give us your sons and daughters, give us your trillions of daughters, we're building something real and lasting here. they lied the whole time. i believed them until i went

there, and then i saw it was all untrue and the lie that hurts me the most is just how they told me that i was fighting for free many do. tell us all we were fightinging for freedom like what i've seep on the campaign plan the last few months. the real line for freedom and democracy is right here in mix middlesex, voting right are on the line. afghanistan is on the line. all on the line in so that as a set van exposed to burn pits, see them take away all our rights and the people they take care of us and then hold them political hostage. that's why i'm running and thrilled to run this race. we need to keep our country intact. >> saudi arabia was as culpable, at least according to the cia when it comes to 9/11 and many

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we continue to following breaking news. nbc news has learned that a u.s. counterterrorism operation in afghanistan this eke-of-weekend killed ayman al zawahri, al

qaeda's leader and a former deputy to osama bin laden on 9/11. president biden will deliver remarks just moments from now, and joining me right now is andia mitchell, nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent. john brenn, former cia director, peter bynard, editor at large and correspondent trina parsy. let me start with you, mr. brepan. this was cia operation. this really does give truth to president biden's theory of the case that we can conduct these operations on much smaller scale level without hundred of,000 thousand of troops on the ground. this has borne that out. what do we expect to learn from the president about the detoys of the cia operation? >> well, we will learn the details of the operation from president biden, but it seems as though there was a successful strike against a leading al qaeda or terrorist figure,

possibly ayman al zawahri. if that's the case, us a point out, joy, then president biden has been true to his word that after the withdrawal of u.s. forces from afghanistan as well as intelligence personnel, that the united states is going to be able to maintain a capability to find, track down and take action when appropriate against terrorist targets, especially those that present a threat to u.s. personnel and interest, ayman al zawahri, who has been the number one in al qaeda the last eleven years, certainly did present such a threat because he's been the ideological lowered but also the fact that he was able to move from where we thought he was in pakistan for many, many years into afghanistan and into the capital and the reports about his income a home that was -- whether it with a haqqani member, and have

the haqqani network been reconstituted for a potential terrorist strike. the fact this was a successful terrorist strike is good news considering we don't have a preps this. >> we're waiting for president biden to walk up to the podium. we was diagnosed with a slingback case of covid after taking paxlovid. he is somewhat isolated. not doing it in the same areas he would normally do that. what are we expected to hear tonight? will we hear a broad case for the policy of afghanistan and the success of the policy at least when it comes to zawahri, but what are you expecting to hear from the? >> i think you'll hear, first of all, joy, i think you'll hear details, details what, we would call atic yok of this operation,

extraordinary details of the precision, the care that was taken, the involvement of the president. you're going to hear about the lack of civilian deaths, about the taliban relationship because you'll recall that the taliban promised in the doha agreement that they would not tolerate terrorism in their midst and this apparently was a cia drone strike in downtown kabul which could not have happened without the taliban knowing about it. the other thing is that the taliban is basically the haqqani network running that regime and the network has very close connections to pakistan this. raises very important cases about whether this could each be done according to a top veteran cia official with whom i spoke to tonight, could not have been done without pakistan's knowledge so there are implications for that, but certainly immediate implications for our relationship with taliban that justifies the u.s. not lifting the sanctions despite the terrible effect, the

economic impact, the starvation real of so many people in afghanistan but not letting the taliban have access to those frozen assets because they have certainly not lived up to that agreement. it also speaks to the care and the precision that our intelligence operations can operate as you've just been pointing out, peeking to former cia director jop brepan join us, of course, as an msnbc contributor and nbc contributor. >> here's the president. i hate to interrupt you. i would never interrupt the great andrea mitchell. >> the united states at my direction successfully completed an air strike in kabul, afghanistan that killed ausary. you know, zawahri was bradden's leader. he was with him the whole time. he was his number two man, the deputy at the time of the taste attacks in 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 has was the mastermind of attacks against americans including the bombing of the sous -- of the uss "cole." 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, zawahri 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 call for and inspired attacks against

u.s. targets. he made videos including in recent weeks coming for his followers to attack the united states and its 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 diller. 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 -- 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 zawahri for years under president bush, obama and trump our intelligence located zawahri earlier this year. he moved to downtown kabul to meet with members of his family.

after careful considering the clearing clear and convincing evidence of his low care, i authorized a precision strike 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 up week ago after being advised that the conditions were optimal, i gave the time approval to go bet 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 cop firming the mission's total success through the paper staking work of our counterterrorism community and coallies and partners. my administration has kept congressional leader informed as well. when i ended our military mission in afghanistan almost a year ago, i made a decision that after 20 years of war the united states no longer needed thousands of boots on the ground in afghanistan to protect about

america from terrorists who seek to do us harm, and i made a props 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 and now we've taken out another isis leader and now we've gotten the amir of isis. he's gone and we'll make sure that nothing else happens. you know, captain be a launching bad against the united states. we'll see to it that that woep happen. this is a clear strong administration that well and we can afternoon will always mac good on the solemn pledge. my administration will continue to monton and address threats from al qaeda no matter where

they emanate from. as commander in chief, it's 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. we answered with the same principles and resolve that have shaped us for a generation upon generation. to protect the innocent, defend libticious and we keep the light of freedom burning, a beak op for the rest of the entire world because this is a great and defining truth about our nation and our peep. we do not break. we never give in. we never back down. last year on september 11th, i once more paid moy respects to ground zero in new york city at that quiet field in shanksville at the -- and at the pentagon. standing at 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 forgot. there's also the quotation no day shall rerace you from the memory of time. no day shall erase you from the memory of time so we continue to mourn every innocent life stolen on 9/11 and honor their families. to the families who lost fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and co-workers on that september day, it's my hope that this decisive action will bring more measure of close ney. no day will replace them from -- the dedicated women and men who tirelessly work every single day to keep our country safe and to

prevent future tragedies. it is thanks to their extraordinary persistence and skill that this operation's success. they made us all safer and for those around the world continue to seek to harm the united states. hear me now. we'll all 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 loss and 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. way. we will never -- we will never give up. >> president joseph robinette biden making the announcement

that the cia has killed ayman al zawahri. he is the number two or was the number two leader of al qaeda, second only to osama bin laden, killed in a cia drone strike that the president said did not kill any additional family members. no family members plaintiff zawahri were killed and no civilians killed as well. president biden -- president biden ending that very brief set of remarks with an ode to those innocent victims lost on 9/11, a very poignant, very joseph biden style ode to those victims saying no day -- no day shall remove you from the memories of the living. i'm back with andrea mitchell, job brennan, and a former state department official in the obama administration. i'm going to go to you because you were there on the day that president obama made a very similar address in a very similar sort of era of conflagration in the country. what do you make of these

remarks, and what ghoos sort of the planning of how, when and where to make such a really important announcement because this operation apparently was approved a week ago? >> it's an operation that we'll find out the details of in the come day, the same way we found out the details of s.e.a.l. team 6 of. very closely held information, required coordination across u.s. agencies and with the government of pakistan. we do know that osama bin laden was targeted inside pack stop where he had about for years. that was mbasing for pakistan to deal with at the time. we're now getting a negative statement from the taliban saying this is a violation of international norms, but, again, they were giving support and had had the number one leader of al qaeda in their capital so who helped coordinate all those details? they will come out and what we do know is that al qaeda has lost not only its leader but it's also losing the connectivity it had to other terrorist networks like isis. the poor people of afghanistan,

i have to mention them. they have the al qaeda in control and al qaeda and isis k fight each other and yet the united states was able to kill the number one leader of damage twice in a decade without ever needing ground troops there so it raises the question was the war in afghanistan necessary for 20 years if drop strikes from outside the territory are ultimately what decimated and defeated al qaeda leaders? >> absolutely. the president also announced that they recently also killed emir of isis. these operations taking place without ground troops on the ground, without a giant invasion to make them happen. what does that say to the region, to understand that the united states can tampa bay out the intellectual leader as well as functional leader of damage in downtown kabul. you know what, does that say to those who are supporting and sheltering the taliban in the

region? >> well, it's clearly a devastating message to them, those who believe that they can get away with something like this, but i also think it's a very strong message to the american public and pea. we don't need to be there in order to be eliminate those from the battlefield that's who are planning to attack the united states. i think when biden gave the speech and he was absolutely right pulling out of of a. he made the reference saying this is the end of an eare a of regime change wars. we're sunil syria without congressional authority and still in iraq each though it's quite clear that a significant portion of the iraqi government doesn't want us there. much of the justification has been count terrorism, but this is a clear indication that we don't need to be physically.

recall. >> you no, thank you for making that point. we're have in the context of a new conversation about speech again raising questions about the or jen of that attack on the united states and sort of making friend and taking lots of money from the saudis via would say were involved in 15 of the 19 hijackers being saudis and the way we took that entire conflict and export it had to iraq and we're also having this in the context of a time when a people doing a war, sort of an old-fashioned war of regime change is, and one of the justifications that vladimir putin used was to say iraq. who do you make of the bigger picture contest of what we're seeing happen with the cia being able to be do what 100,000 on the ground could not. >> this is really an indication that an erow sending in for

policy as the united states folk us on. there will be a split and splintered groups that play in. he was the one could convinced -- wefrp, both sa zawahri hated and wanted to overthrow. it was zawahri who sold bin laden on the -- terrorism will remain. the jihadist terrorism will remain but his death i think symbolizes the fact that the centrality that it once had in american foreign policy is now passed. >> yeah, indeed. andrea let's go back and talk

little bit about zawahri's path this. man goes all the way back to the plot to kill anwar sadat, to punish him for making a deal with israel. this is somebody who has a very affluent man, a doctor, comes from a prominent family, very much like osama bin laden. what do you make of that, because that -- that was an eras as well, these wealthy men who decided to dedicate their lives to going after the great satan, the united states and waging war upon us from places like afghanistan. >> and was radicalized in an egyptian prison, exactly what you pointed out, that he was responsible as the president just pointed out for the "uss cole," for the horrific bombings in 1997 that i was covering in kenya and tanzania where hundreds and hundreds of people died at our two embassies. the "uss cole," 17 service members died that. was in 2000. october of 2000 and then, of course, the lead up to 9/11.

he was the brains. he was the ideologue, and what was pointed out by the president and the national security council background briefing that we had that we could not report on until the president was speaking, his ideology and his operational ability, his inspiration for terrorists around the world was current because they say they have current videos, some of which have yet to be released. most possibly are in the pipeline as we speak, urging attacks upon americans around the world. the other thick that's really notable here is that -- the fact that the relationship with the taliban has now been really seriously damaged because it's clear that he was hiding in plain sight. their responsibility for him income a safe house in downtown kabul, and the other thing we were told on this pc ground briefing is that the president over a sires of weeks, because this first came to light, the intelligence that he might be there was in may and june and he

started confirming it. reconfirm it. there was a red team and plus team working on all these details and the president was briefed by jake sullivan and another top deputy and national security adviser lynn sherwood and also william burps, you know, who he and, of course the head of national intelligence were all directly involved in this in briefing the president. the president asked repeatedly how can you be sure that his family will be safe, that there will be no civilian deaths. they affirm that according to all of their intelligence and after-action reporting that there were no members of his family that were hit, that they had eyes on him through these unmanned drone -- the unmanned drone attack, that they saw him on the balcony when they struck him. that the president saw a mold built by the intelligence agencies of the house, a model of the house, the president asked about the structure, the win dose, whether it was blast

never-before-seen that the family was extricated by the haqqani's afterwards and taken to another location so that cover-up was complicit. >> wow, that is great detail. thank you, and iia. john brennan, i want to go back to you on this because, you know, the cia has been through it. for the previous four years they had a president who did not listen to them or believe them in terms of the agency's intel regarding, are regarding vladimir putin. he believed putin over them. the intelligence services have been pretty beaten up, but this is a pretty big triumph for the cia and the fact that they were able to do that, andrea said, without injuring any of the family members or civilians and the fact that they had the intel to be able to do this in downtown kabul, it's a pretty big deal. is this the future of the way that intelligence will work on the battlefield, and when do you make of the cia's ability to do this and to pull this off without massive bloodshed?

>> well, first of all, cia professionals disregard a lot of the political winds that blow in washington. they know that they have a job to do, particularly on the counterterrorism front, and so they have developed the technical and analytic capabilities that allows them to integrate intelligence from technical sources, and to be abt type of overhead surveillance mobility, that allows them to identify individuals in these remote areas, or in downtown kabul. and so, therefore, that intelligence collection, and really, it is so critically important to be able to provide the president with the confidence that he or she needs, in order to authorize a strike. as andrea mentioned, it appears as though there was meticulous planning, and real rigorous efforts to try to prevent any civilians, or even the zawahiri family members from being injured in the strike. again, i think it just shows that the cia professionals, irrespective of what's happening in the corridors of washington, continue their

efforts to find these terrorists, try to mitigate the threats that they pose. and it is, i think, the future, and thankfully, we have been able to demonstrate now that we don't need the people on the ground. i do want to diminish the accomplishments of the last 20 years of the u.s. military, and the intelligence community, in terms of what they were doing to cripple al-qaeda. again, biden has demonstrated that we can still take these very successful actions, despite the fact that we don't have people on the ground. >> indeed. i think a lot of the families of those men and women who fought in afghanistan, i'm glad that they are home, and not having to be there. i just want to ask you, what do you think the papers are gonna be saying in places like pakistan, and kabul, tomorrow morning? >> or maybe this morning, given the time difference. >> it's gonna be a lot of noise. and obviously, this is gonna put a significant strain, both the relationship of united states with pakistan, mindful of the haqqani connections there, as well as the -- i do hope however, as andrea

said, i think it's gonna be very difficult for the administration to post sanctions. i think they're working very hard to try a way to do so, because those sanctions are not gonna -- and they haven't punished enough for the past few years. >> i think everyone agrees with that. andrea mitchell, former cia director john brennan, peter beinart, trita parsi, thank you all very much. really appreciate. we'll be right back. l be right back. lily! welcome to our third bark-ery. oh, i can tell business is going through the “woof”.

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before we go tonight, after that breaking news whirlwind of international news, and news out of the white house. i would like to take a moment to recognize two icons. actress nichelle nichols, and basketball legend bill russell, who both passed away sunday, and whose legacies far exceed their accomplishments on the court and on the small screen. nichelle nichols was best known for smashing barriers for black actresses, and black nerds like myself, as lieutenant noted horror. she was in the star trek tv series in the late 1960s. the first black actress to start a major role on a primetime series, nichols did in fact, went when no one has gone before. she almost didn't return for a second season in 1967, on the civil rights icon and star trek fan dr. martin luther king junior introduced himself at an naacp function. >> he said, don't you understand that for the first time, we are seeing as we

should be seeing. you don't have a black role. you have an equal role. >> in deciding to return the gorgeous miss nichols made history as part of the first interracial case on american television, with william shatner's. and went on to appear in six star trek movies. her influence extended beyond television. she later worked with nasa, including astronauts, and aspiring others, the first black woman to go into space. and virtually, the same time, she was making her mark on television, her presence and itself an act of defiance. bill russell was solidifying his legacy on the basketball court. drafted by the boston celtics in 1956, russell won his first nba title the following year, and didn't stop from for more than a decade. arguably, the greatest nba player of all-time, russell won 11 championships, all with the celtics, including two as a player coach. the first black head coach in a

major american sports league. with all that winning, came racist abuse from boston fans. russell recalled moving his family to a predominantly white boston suburb called reading, only to have his home vandalized in racial slurs, spray-painted on the walls. russell was active in a civil rights movement, speaking out against school segregation and marching with reverend dr. martin luther king junior. and after medgar evers was assassinated, russell ran an integrated camp at the assistance of ever's brother, despite death threats. he is one of a group of prominent black athletes, along with kareem abdul-jabbar, who supported muhammad ali, when he refused to be drafted to serve in the vietnam war, paving the way for activist athletes like colin kaepernick, decades later. russell was awarded the presidential medal of freedom in 2010, but president obama, said basketball was what russell did, not who he was. >> bill russell, the man, was someone who stood up for the rights and dignity of all men.

and i hope that one day, in the streets of boston, children will look up at a statue built not only to bill russell the player, but bill russell the man. >> bill russell and michelle nichols, joined on and off the court, and a legend on this planet and beyond, true trail blazers who changed the landscape for black americans, and for that we thank them both. and that is tonight's reidout. all in with chris hayes starts right now. ght now. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> good evening from new york. i am charles blow in for chris hayes. in the last half hour, president biden just formally announced that the united states has killed the head of al-qaeda, ayman al-zawahiri. the terrorist was killed in a targeted cia drone strike in kabul, afghanistan on saturday night. >> this operation is a clear demonstration that we will, we can, and we will always make good on the solemn