blinken: a few things.of the 82,000 plus people who have so far been evacuated, about 45%, 46% have been women and children. we are intensely focused particularly on making sure we get women out of harm's way. second, with regards to women and other afghans at risk going forward, we will use -- i will use every diplomatic, economic, political assistance tool at my disposal, working closely with allies and partners who feel very much the same way to do everything possible to uphold their basic rights. that is going to be a relentless focus of our actions going forward. ross: that is antony blinken, u.s. secretary of state taking questions about afghanistan, having already made a statement. in that statement, he emphasized the great effort americans are making to ecuate u.s. nationals and afghans who would like to leave within the few days that remain up until the 31st of august deadline. he also emphasized -- and this is something i have not heard said so explicitly -- but over 100 countries have made repres

blinken's words. it seems the taliban say one thing, antony blinken says anotr thing. tell us what blinken was saying. >> i will add to that line that white house spokesperson also says another thing. it is a little t confusing as what is going on with that. we will continue working and we will get people out after august 31. the taliban will let us get people out. that is what tony blinken said. you mentioned with the taliban have said. they will no longer let afghans get to the airport and especially not let afghans leave the country. it seems there are two different things. one is what is going on with americans. tony blinken confirmed a number of americans who were according to their estimates still in afghanistan. that is 1500 americans. of those, there are 500 with him the u.s. state department has had contact, has told how to get to the airport and to be evacuated. there are 1000 so-called probable americans, possibly still in the country. some may have already left. some may not want to leave. those are people of the state department has yet to be able to conta

>> secretary blinken: thanks very much.t 20 hours about a thousand people on about 60 flights evacuated from kabul airport. since this effort began at the end of july, about 30,000 people all told on our military flights and on charter flights that we helped organize and get out of the airport. we've now asked through authority that the president has, airlines, to help participate in moving people not of kabul, but from these third country sites where we are taking them as we finish processing them, going through security checks. we've reached agreement with about two dozen countries were four continents who are no helping or soon going to help with the transit of people out of kabul and this is one way to make sure we have enough flight capacity to move people from those places to their ultimate destinations. >> chris: job one, of course, is getting americans through taliban checkpoints into the airport. here's what president biden said on friday. >> president biden: we have no indication that they haven't been able to get

jake sullivan and secretary blinken i'm told did support the withdrawal. to say the military and the intelligence community did not bring up these objections doesn't jive with the -- >> martha: blinken was on his side. that's what he means when there was a split. he's talking state versus defense. you know, the one thing that he hasn't been pressed on is what he thinks will happen now in this country. what does he think will replace that void? a chess piece has been moved. we have left. the taliban has moved in. i'd love to know what the president thinks will happen now. >> given the fact that the taliban have now achieved this premier status as the number 1 radical islamic organization in the world, they have defeated the united states and they are in charge of an entire country. no one else in the world has ever achieved that status in modern history. they have it. as a result of it, people are going to be drawn to them, foreign terrorists will be likely an epicenter for radical islamic movements much as we saw the boom that took place after isis establi

blinken: thank you. good afternoon. good to see everyone here. before i turned to today's announcement. i want to address a few urgent matters. first, i want to condemn again the attack on friday because the commercial ship which was peacefully transiting through the north arabian sea, in international water when it was targeted a drone laden with explosives, killing two people. we have conducted a thorough review. we are confident around carried out this attack --iran carried out this attack. there is no justification for this attack on a peaceful vessel, and a -- on a commercial mission in international water. it is a direct threat to the region -- freedom of navigation and permits -- commerce. we are correlating with our partners and governments in the region. we join others around the world in sending our deepest condolences to the families of the crew who were killed. second, on friday, the white house announced two outstanding public servants who with the consent of the senate, will be 20 our team at the state department. -- joining our tea

when asked, blinken acknowledged that he is only talking about u.s.itizens, not including green card holders. so the real number, if you include legal permanent residents, well, that remains a mystery. so far no american troops and no american citizens have been killed since this all began according to the pentagon, which is good news. though an unknown number of afghans have been killed by both the taliban and in the tragic crush at the airport. in the last 11 days, more than 82,000 people have been evacuated from afghanistan. and while these herculean efforts by the pentagon have been historic, the window is narrowing for those remaining americans and afghans who assisted in the war. the taliban's grip on the kabul airport is tightening, our sources say. and the taliban says they're, quote, not allowing the evacuation of afghans anymore. the spokesman also told working women to stay home lest they suffer the brutality of his fellow taliban militants before such militants have been, quote, trained. still, president biden is sticking to his deadline j

without further ado, secretary blinken. sec. blinken: good afternoon everyone. good to see everyone here. before i turned to today's announcement come i want to take a moment to address a few urgent matters. first, i want to condemn the attack on friday against the commercial ship which was peacefully transiting through the north arabian sea in international waters when it was targeted by a drone, killing two people. we have conducted a thorough review and are confident that iran carried out the attack. it follows a pattern of similar attacks by iran, including past incidents with explosive drones. there is no justification for this attack on a peaceful vessel on a commercial mission in international waters. iran's action is a direct threat to the freedom of navigation and commerce. it took the lives of innocent sailors. we are coordinating with partners and consulting with governments in the region. we join others around the world in sending our deep condolences to the families of the british and iranian crewmembers killed. on friday, the white house announced

secretary of state antony blinken shortly to talk about that and more. cnn chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins joins me live. and, kaitlan, four presidents, 20 years, both obama and trump promised to end this war. and now president biden has done it. it may not have been a pretty exit, but it is a very significant moment for the united states. >> reporter: it is, jake. and i do this have it's significant that of course this is driven by a decision that president biden made. but he did not announce this. it was central command of course that made this announcement that one minute before the deadline before the clock in kabul struck midnight for august 31st was the last time that c-17, a military plane, took off from kabul and headed back home. and he is confirming there that not a single u.s. service member is left in afghanistan. however, he did note the heartbreak of this evacuation saying they did not get everyone out of afghanistan, out of kabul that they wanted to evacuate. but general mckenzie saying there he did not think if they had te

here's what antony blinken had to say earlier.s the president said yesterday, we are on track to complete our mission by august 31, provided the taliban continue to cooperate and there are no disruptions to this effort. the president has also asked for contingency plans, in case he determines that we must remain in the country past that date. but let me be crystal—clear about this. there is no deadline on our work to help any remaining american citizens who decide they want to leave to do so, along with the many afghans who have stood by us over these many years and want to leave and have been unable to do so. that was antony blinken you were just listening to. i'm joined now by our bbc washington correspondent, nomia iqbal. nomia, great to have you on newsday. as we have just heard, antony blinken says they have a commitment to keep going after this august 31 deadline, but basically the us is relying on the word of the taliban on this, aren't they?— on this, aren't they? that's right, as ou on this, aren't they? that's right, as

secretary of state antony blinken.that happens we will take you to it live it could be any moment but before we do that, let's talk more about restaurants. >>> as covid continues to spread, some restaurant owners are starting to reconsider closing indoor dining rooms yet again. kate rogers has more >> reporter: last week mcdonald's discussed with franchisees what data should prompt dining rooms to reclose in areas where the delta variant is widely spreading according to internal company materials viewed by cnbc on a recent call with franchisees they said what is different is we have a position of strength and the result of hard work and collaboration. this according to notes from the call viewed by cnbc. in a statement to cnbc mcdonald's said in part, quote, we're monitoring the impact of the delta variant closely and recently convened together with our franchisees to underscore existing safety protocols, reinforce our people first approach and provide updates on the rise in cases in the country. the company added open

secretary of state, antony blinken. [applause] sec. blinken: good afternoon, everyone. it is wonderful to be here at the university of maryland college park. one of our country's outstanding public research universities, to be joined by some of the students, university leaders, and public servants. who helped make this community such a dynamic place to learn, teach, and to create. mr. president, i especially want to thank you, both for your kind words, for hosting us today, and for your leadership of this institution. leader hoyer, it is always an honor and pleasure to be with you. i know you are a very proud alum of this university. thank you for taking the time to join us. as well as my colleagues and friends, senator harden and senator van hollen. i'm flattered to think i had something to do with you being out here this afternoon. but i know that is not the case. it is this university. i know your strong support across the board for this extraordinary institution. i'm glad to be able to share that with you today. sarah, a special thanks to you for a wonderful introdu

i spoke with secretary of state antony blinken late yesterday. we'll bring you that interview in a moment, but we begin with the latest. ian pannell joins us now from qat qat qatar. what do we know about the air strike? >> reporter: we're hearing from the u.s. military that it was a targeted drone strike against a vehicle born ied, in other words a suicide car bomb they believe was driving towards the airport where the u.s. troops are based and the evacuation mission is taking place. there was a drone strike on the vehicle. they say they believe it was successful. they say there was a secondary explosion afterwards that gives them confidence it was an ied. at the moment they're saying no reports of civilian casualties, but we have to wait for the full assessment. this underlines the threats to the troops and the enduring threat from isis and other terrorist organizations inside afghanistan as we up stakes and leave. martha? >> the big question now, how does the military evacuate the remaining people while avoiding another catastrophe in the final

secretary of state antony blinken says there are roughly 1500 who have left to leave. secretary blinken says taliban leaders have said americans outside of kabul will be granted safe passage as long as they have proper documentation, even if that is beyond august 31st. but, from firsthand stories from americans and afghan allies on the ground too secret and controversial bipartisan congressional trip to the kabul airport, a different reality is becoming clearer on the ground. correspondent trey yingst is in doha, qatar tonight with the story. good evening, trey. >> bret, good evening. the clock is ticking as the world awaits american evacuations to wrap up and u.s. troops to go home. still though scenes of devastation happening outside the airport in kabul. >> afghan civilians weighed through sewage outside of kabul's airport. lines of people as far as the eye can see with paperwork in hand. many locals and foreigners have the correct documents to board flights out of afghanistan. but can't make it to the airfield due to taliban checkpoints and brutality outside the ga

joe biden, antony blinken, they can't share responsibility for this. this was not a military operation. the military was there in support. finally, we have to move forward with the terrible situation we have right now. what i asked this morning was we should inc. about options for the future for counterterrorism and isr capability. the fact is that now that we are out, we have no eyes or ears on what's going on in afghanistan. this over the horizon digestion is ridiculous. if we fly out of qatar, you are looking at flying down to pakistan, seven or eight -- seven or eight hours. it's not effective. that's assuming pakistan will let us continue to fly. we all know that the taliban is nothing but a proxy in we have to have a decent afghanistan. this idea that they are going to allow us in with russia and china, it will never happen. i charge them with coming up with proposals for us. we've got to deal with this vulnerability or we will have another attack on our soul and we can't have that get mr. gallagher, armed services committee? >> on november 20 4,

. -- antony blinken. this debacle happened in afghanistan. it is a leadership and policy failure. calling upon -- calling for the resignation of secretary austin and general milley. this crisis could have been averted if we had had leadership and good policies in place. and ultimately, this comes down to the man himself who always says the buck stops here and then blames everybody but himself, president joe biden. we call upon him to resign immediately. with that, we've got time for a couple questions. >> you've been out spoken -- you've been an outspoken supporter of ending these intractable military policies. given the scenes we are seeing on the ground, did you change your mind? was it a mistake for this and the past administration to withdraw troops this summer? >> a couple things with that. this administration basically scrapped the power-sharing and conditional response withdrawal that president trump put in place. he put in place a system of checks and balances. and they had entered into an agreeme

once again, we're awaiting the secretary of state blinken. you see the live pictures coming in from the state department right now. we will have live coverage. anxious to hear what he has to say. in the meantime, i want to bring in our chief international correspondent klaclarissa ward. sam kiley is with us. also retired lieutenant general mark hirtling. the reality is many were left behind on this mission. i want you to watch and listen and our viewers as well to what the head of the u.s. military central command just said. >> no american citizens came out on the last what we call the joint tactical exfiltration. there is a lot of heart break associated with this departure. we did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out. >> you have done excellent reporting on the ground in kabul. how crushing do you think this moment is for the 250 americans and so many others, thousands of afghans who were so desperate to try to get on? >> i think it is absolutely crushing. of course, wolf. i speak earlier on in the day with a family of four from h

secretary of state antony blinken. secretary blinken, thanks so much for joining us.e a listen to what president biden was saying less than six weeks ago. >> your own intelligence community has assessed the afghan government will likely collapse. >> that is not true. they did not reach that conclusion. there is going to be no circumstance where you'll see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy. the likelihood there is going to be the taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely. >> secretary blinken, as you know, the taliban has closed in on kabul. we are evacuating the embassy, burning documents, biden increased troops to the country in three days to rescue those there. this is not just about the overall idea of leaving afghanistan. this is about leaving hastily and ineptly. secretary blinken, how did president biden get this so wrong? >> jake, first let's put this in context. as we've discussed before we were in afghanistan for one overriding purpose, to deal with the folks who attacked us on 9/11. that is why we went there

secretary austin, general milley, secretary blinken, are still in charge after this disaster.he consequences are going to reverberate for a long time. we all know that another 9/11 is coming. our allies don't respect us and our enemies don't fear us. we are in a terrible position worldwide. in addition, the administration has allowed our southern border to remain open and exposed for any terrorist to cross unimpeded, and remain in the united states. the first duty of the government is to protect its people. we have open borders and a national security disaster with less than two weeks from the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 national heartbreaking disaster. our troops were deployed to the most dangerous place in the world to save american lives. the leaders should have had their backs. i go to bed at night, wake up during the night, wake up in the morning thinking about the families that have lost loved ones over there, and in addition, the americans we left. the allies we abandoned. the christians that are going to be murdered, tortured and murdered, and the women and girls. i h

i know blinken, i like blinken. of iraq in 2011, agreeing to the iran nuclear deal in 2015 or now this complete and utter fiasco in afghanistan. i think both in terms of diplomacy, in terms of advice that they were giving the president, in terms of what our military planning was for this evacuation and for salvaging the afghan government against collapse, it's all been just one debacle after another. but at the end of the day, i really have to say this is all 100% joe biden. he's been chomping at the bit to be president after obama and trump both wanted to get out of afghanistan and didn't make the decision because they knew and were told by their advisers it would lead to precisely this kind of disaster. but joe biden said, no, i'm going to be the great president who -- jackie: the hero. >> -- who made this decision the come hell or high water, and hell has now come. jackie: let me ask you this, because he said that the mission was completed, and i think there are many who would disagree with him. he said all you h

we'll wait to hear from secretary blinken. >> thank you very much for that. kylie atwood is standing by. what are you hearing as we wait for the secretary of state to answer some of the questions? >> what we're looking to hear from the secretary is exactly how many americans are still in afghanistan and are trying to get out of the country. now president biden said that is what the secretary of state is going to be doing today, providing a detailed report as to how many more americans want to get out. as we know, the administration has repeatedly said they won't leave afghanistan militarily until all of those americans who want to leave the country are out of the country. i know the secretary of state is also going to talk about how massive this effort really is, the individualized effort that the state department has made to reach out to americans on the ground, get them to safe places and get them out of the country. they'll also talk about the enduring support for the afghan people. but that is really a question mark here as we talk about getting out these

chris: secretary blinken, thank you.nks for your time in the midst of everything you've got going on and i very much appreciate and respect the fact that you're willing to answer all our tough questions. sir, thank you. >> thanks, chris. good to be with you. appreciate it. chris: up next, we'll get reaction from a republican senator who calls the evacuation incompetent and says there's plenty of blame to go around. we'll talk to senator ben sasse. that's next. at usaa, we've been called too exclusive. because we were created for officers. but as we've evolved with the military, we've grown to serve all who've honorably served. no matter their rank, or when they were in. a marine just out of basic, or a petty officer from '73. and even his kids. and their kids. usaa is made for all who've honorably served and their families. are we still exclusive? absolutely. and that's exactly why you should join. growing up in a little red house, are we still exclusive? absolutely. on the edge of a forest in norway, there were three th

chris: secretary blinken, thank you.nks for your time in the midst of everything you've got going on and i very much appreciate and respect the fact that you're willing to answer all our tough questions. sir, thank you. >> thanks, chris. good to be with you. appreciate it. chris: up next, we'll get reaction from a republican senator who calls the evacuation incompetent and says there's plenty of blame to go around. we'll talk to senator ben sasse. that's next. introducing xfinity rewards. our very own way of thanking you just for being with us. enjoy rewards like movie night specials. xfinity mobile benefits. ...and exclusive experiences, like the chance to win tickets to see watch what happens live. hey! it's me. the longer you've been with us... the more rewards you can get. like sharpening your cooking skills with a top chef. join for free on the xfinity app and watch all the rewards float in. our thanks. your rewards. chris: members of congress in both parties are blistering how the biden administration has handled a

that's| right. -- antony blinken. to talk right. —— antony blinken.ricans still believed to be in afghanistan, how many had been evacuated. he will update us on that, but also speak more broadly about the evacuation operation in general. especially what the americans are doing to try to help allies as well. the state department and the pentagon have publicly said they don't know exactly how many americans are in afghanistan because they don't have to register, so they have been working very hard to get into contact with those who are registered, try and contact those i think are there. then give them directions to get to the airport. they're in the midst of evacuating employees locally at the embassy, and of course, those afghans who helped with the us war efforts. this is something that the administration has been pushing, this narrative that the massive airlift is an exceptional success, to carry out over time. that is true, but that hasn't dampened the criticism here that the evacuations relate to. there's attention potentially between this determi

so a real pitch there from entity blinken. anthony blinking. from the united states at the very end of that statement will continue in a different way now and that relates is one detail event needs to take very in order to get proper engagement from the united states for some we can bejoined by united states for some we can be joined by ashley thompson who is in sydney and has been watching this very closely for us. he's an expert in foreign relations between the united states as well as the rest of the region. i know that this is something that partners and in this part of the world and asia that they have been watching very closely. an historic day today. how much do you think afghanistan it was happening, the way the united states is manage this withdrawal, how much do you think that has damage or has it rather us credibility with partners in the region?— credibility with partners in the reuion? , ., ., , the region? there is no doubt that the nature _ the region? there is no doubt that the nature of _ the region? there is

just last month, tighe terry of stay blinken met with the -- secretary of state blinken met with china in anchorage. the differences came right to the surface. blinken said china was threatening the rules-based order that maintains global stability and yang said the u.s. had to stop advancing its own democracy on the rest of the world. on capitol hill and in this administration, the biden administration, there is a lot of concern about cheney's treatment of the uighurs -- about chinese treatment of the uighurs and yet we all know there is a desire to figure out how to manage our relationship with china in a way that is mutually beneficial and not -- there is not an open military conflict. how do we bring all that together? how do we remain in any way true to our values of freedom and human rights and still managed to live successfully in a world with a china? sec. kissinger: when i was security advisor to president nixon, the united states had no diplomatic contact with china or any contact with china for 25 years. and mao was the leader in china. dramatic upheavals had been taking pla

secretary of state blinken about the last plane leaving afghanistan.t ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i work for waste management, been there 5 years. we take pride in doing our job. we're so fortunate to have somebody like billy in our community. you looking good, like that hair, you got it down. i gotta work on mine. see you later darling. smiles are contagious. (laughter) i love it. it's another day. and anything could happen. it could be the day you welcome 1,200 guests and all their devices. or it could be the day there's a cyberthreat. get ready for it all with an advanced network and managed services from comcast business. and get cybersecurity solutions that let you see everything on your network. plus an expert team looking ahead 24/7 to help prevent threats. every day in business is a big day. we'll keep you ready for what's next. comcast business powering possibilities. what happens when we welcome change? we can make emergency medicine possible at 40,000 feet. instead of burning our past for power, we can harness the energy of the tiny electron. we can create ne

antony blinken there. more on his message over the evacuations, here's our washington correspondent nomia iqbal. mr blinken was defiant, as we heard there, saying there is no deadline to get afghan allies, us citizens and us troops out, but tell that to the taliban, because they are effectively running the show. he went on to say that they promised, the taliban promised, that they will give people safe passage beyond that deadline, but we have heard reports — and obviously we've got our correspondents on the ground there — that, in some cases, the taliban aren't letting people through right now, so it will be like after that deadline? but i think the us is very confident — certainly, that's what came out of mr blinken�*s press conference — that given how well they say the evacuation mission is going so far, they will get everyone out that wants to get out by next tuesday. yeah, nomia, there's been some speculation in the american press, a question i think also asked tojen psaki at the white house, that the

blinken: we are determined to mediate. we need to mediate, we need to make sure we are resource conscious financially and in terms of human resources to address many of the things we've had an opportunity to talk about today, particularly in areas where we do need to strengthen our capacity, were -- whether it comes to bill of health, climate, china, where we have a very significant program to increase the human resources dedicated to the different manifestations, emerging technologies, cyber, all of that demands not just people but a certain amount of expertise as well. so we are trying to find ways to bring that in as well as fill some of these gaps. we have about a 10%-12% vacancy rate overseas at our embassies and consulates. some of that is seasonal as people are in between assignments. what we might -- want to make sure we don't have gaps. we found temporary ways to deal with some of these gaps, temporary deployments of people, bringing back retirees, and using family members, for example. with our consular services,

you see tony -- secretary of state blinken start to take this burden on.ith basic weaponry that just defeated the world's only remaining super power. and we now have the task, unlike henry kissinger, tony blinken has the task of how do you develop relations with this group. can there be flights? can you get the rest of the americans out of afghanistan? can there be regular flights as the taliban said today where people could freely leave afghanistan? are there incentives we have to induce the taliban to do this? so you're right, lawrence, we have no idea how this relationship could develop. we could be looking at a very different story than the one that's been painted in washington circles over the last two weeks. >> i want to take a look at this imagery released by the department of defense of apparently the last american soldier to leave afghanistan. this is major general chris donahue. he was the last person to board the final c-17 leaving kabul. and, david, that seems to be the final, that image of the american presence in afghanistan. that will be jux

anthony blinken said they are just remnants. according t the cia there were when we pulled out of iraq, there were 700 isis fighters left, those we're remnants within three years they had grown to almost 32,000 fighters and they spread their tentacles across the world . it took three years to do that, even that, tony blinken was the missing the threat saying they're not worried about external operations. at was in 2014 perry 2015, they launched a campaign of terror across europe and carrie out attacks in paris, knees nice , brussels, london, germany, and it was only then after the terror hit europe, our european allies that they finally sent troops back into start dealing with the caliphate they had created. now it took almost eight years to eliminate the isis caliphate and joe biden has just given them an islamic place. >> in terror attacks here in th united states as well we remember all too well the peopl who were run down on the west side of new york as they were walking around. >> john, we have the best in th business here

secretary blinken have spoken to dozen counterparts. this morning under secretary of state and i convened political directors from more than a dozen allies. i think we have 20 on the phone. partner to encourage everyone to take additional steps to help the afghan people. our ambassadors are working day and night in capitals around the world. as i said, this is an all hands on deck effort. we aren't going to let up. on the political front, we saw very strong statement on monday from u.n. security counsel including china and russia. they reiterated the need for an inclusive just, durable and political assessment that protects human rights including, women, children and minority. president biden and prime minster boris johnson agreed yesterday to hold a virtual g-7 leaders meeting on afghanistan next week. earlier told, nato secretary general, announced he is convening a virtual meeting of nato foreign minister on friday to discuss our common approach. the united states and international community has been clear, we remain committed to com

i watched you all listening to secretary of state blinken. it does seem like he was pressed to answer a lot of questions and he provided a lot of answers. >> this main question as to how many americans are still in the country who want to leave was key here. what we have learned is that the united states believes there are no more than 1500 americans who are in the country and want the leave. there are 500 of those that the state department has been in contact with, given them directions for evacuation and there's another 1,000 in that group who they tried desperately to get in contact with. they don't know if those are all americans, if all of those americans want to leave the country. they're still trying to figure out just how many in that group of 1,000 want to leave. we know that 500 americans are part of the system and need flights out of the country. he said what they hope is those afterghans who want to leave th country will be able to do so. we still don't know how that will be possible because he talked about the united states being

thanks very much. >>> joining me now is secretary of state antony blinken. secretary blinken, welcome back to "meet the press," sir. >> thanks for having me on, chuck. >> what is happening right now in kabul? we have reports that the taliban and the afghan government are in negotiations for what the taliban is referring to as a peaceful surrender. there are reports we're going to close the american embassy perhaps as early as monday. what can you tell us? >> well, it's a very fluid situation. here is what i can tell you, chuck. we're focused, and the president is focused first and foremost on the safety and security of our personnel. we're moving personnel to the airport, to a facility there. we've been focused all along on making sure they're safe and secure. the president, as you know, has sent in a significant force to make sure that we can proceed with an orderly move and getting down to a core diplomatic presence in kabul. we're working that very, vsh add sid ousley right now. at the same time we've seen reports of the afghans -- the afghan government a

just today, secretary blinken met with the g7. this was a topic of discussion as well with president biden and the g7 and the eu, nato as well. the other point is that our strategic competitors would love nothing more than to see the u.s. bogged down in a conflict for another two years, four years, 20 years. a conflict that has come at tremendous opportunity costs for the u.s. -- what we are doing is focusing on the threats and the opportunities that matter most of the american people, tore safe, tour security -- to our security, to our prosperity. it's why you've seen such a focus of the said ministration on those partners and alliances around the world. but also in the indo pacific, and the commitment we have made to our system of alliances in that region, the first country secretary blinken visited work -- where the republic of korea and japan. we have invested deeply in ambassador sherman, who was in the region recently. we have met with oceana, with member states. what i can tell you is that this administration values our all

there are 1,000 others that secretary blinken said they want to get out. after that, the expanded group of afghans who are at risk. only yesterday secretary blinken told us at a news conference when pressed about the threats, he said it is hard to overstate the complexity and danger of this effort. we're operating in a hostile environment, in a city and country now controlled by the taliban with a very real possibility of an isis-k attack. we're taking every precaution, but this is very high risk. so, that's sullivan on saturday started talking about it. zeroing in on the isis threat. in the last couple days this has continuously been the explanation for the president's decision to go with the august 31st deadline despite a lot of bipartisan pressure in congress to extend that. again this has interrupted the flow of evacuations and made it impossible for americans to safely get to the airport, to the gates as you know as we have been reporting. last night there was a warning and this was confirmed at the time that it is because of the isis continuing threa

blinken says 1500 u.s.izens remain in afghanistan. >> i'm laura trevelyan in austin, texas, where we are nearly a thousand miles from afghanistan but the ripple effect is being felt here. >> nations have been pouring into help afghan refugees, and translators who you -- who work for the u.s. forces have been asking for help to evacuate their families. >> they are sleeping outside the airport, because they are freight -- they are afraid if they go back, the taliban have found out that their son was a translator so they cannot go back. ♪ >> hello and welcome to "world news america, on pbs and around the globe. "80,000 people have been evacuated from kabul since the taliban took control. the pentagon says there are 10,000 on the ground waiting for flights. time is running out before next week's deadline for u.s. forces to continue evacuating their citizens and allies. multiple u.s. officials came out to microphones today at the state department, the pentagon, also the white house, to paint a picture of an urge

and that seems to me, was one sentence away from what's secretary blinken was saying that passage. >>efer to as vietnam syndrome was when we listen to those lessons. when we understand that this was a loss tour we never should have started, it was profoundly mistaken, but with that happened in washington, was a determined effort to determine that around. and then other proponents in washington foreign policy establishment are step in the back narrative. we didn't lose the vietnam war. politicians in congress gotta funding for, it that's why we. lost and you saw that justified, that you brought up in the early days of the iraqi invasion, to say no we could have no more -- which is to have to say it. and you see now in washington with this insidious met that's being developed, that this withdrawal as one person called, it was a withdrawal of choice. that we could have stayed in afghanistan, that we could have perhaps one in afghanistan. politician the far left have not declare the war lost. this in's and extra meade important debate to happen, to shape the future of american foreign pol

. >>> we are moments away from the secretary of state tony blinken. coverage continues with my colleague ari melber and the beat. hi, ari. >> hi, nicolle. thank you very much. our coverage continues with the beat. we are tracking breaking news on the end of the war in afghanistan. at any moment, we will hear from the secretary of state, antony blinken. you can see the room prepared. we will bring you that address to the nation live this hour. blinken will be addressing the public, backing bide's policy ending two years of war. we will jump to the address when it ginls. october 7th, 2001, that was the exact date the first u.s. strikes began against the taliban in afghanistan, and that operation that was dubbed enduring freedom and that certainly endured. that brings us to another date. today's date. august 30th, 2021. the formal end to this now 20 year war. the united states has fully withdrawn formally and completely from afghanistan today. over that ensuing time across two decades, 2461 american troops died in service to their country as well as many

even some of what secretary blinken said. so to suggest that there may be activities post 31 august. now, that could be through ngos, could be through other countries. we just don't have any clarity there. clearly there are activities that will continue, but it's going to be under the rubric of the taliban who would appear based on the state department that they're almost to the point of recognizing the taliban as a legitimate government in spite of the fact that there are still significant remnants to include the vice president of the afghan government now running around in the region and creating havoc and some remnants of what is emerging as a new civil war. >> neil: yeah. this isis k, these are just former talabani. we're out of there, colonel. what do you suggest? >> we're out of there. of course, they're celebrating in beijing and moscow. obviously in tehran. in the past, we have been able to help insurgencies. in this case, we ought to. we should not have sent troops into iraq in 04. instead, we should have helped the

and second blinken is out doing his rounds on the sunday shows. definition, or the reason for the chaos has not been adequately addressed by the administration. i do appreciate the forecasts on togethering americans out. what we're seeing with helicopter air lifts to the airport, the president of afghanistan leaving the country. there's. so more that needs to be explained as to why the embassy staff did not go down to a skeletal staff weeks ago and so much that could have been proactively prevented including the visa process for the afghans trying to seek refuge in the united states. >> secretary blinken was on "meet the press" this morning. here's part of how he explained the administration's perspective on the outcome. mission. >> we went into afghanistan 20 years ago for one mission. that was to deal with the folks who attacked us on 9/11, to bring them to justice and to make sure to the best of our ability that they wouldn't be able to do that again from afghanistan. we achieved those fundamental objectives. the idea that we would sign up for

. >> reporter: anthony blinken insisting the us won't abandon those still in afghanistan. >> the welfare of americans is most vital and enduring mission. they want us safer knowing to week or month or a year they reach out and say i changed my mind, we will help them leave. our commitment to them has no deadline. >> reporter: as us troops moved out heavily on taliban moved in to inspect what was left, the white house dodging a question on whether the administration turned down an offer to secure couple. >> the taliban offered to stay out of couple unless united states forces told them about the airport? is that accurate? >> i've not seen this report. i would have to look at it. >> reporter: hundreds of pieces military equipment left behind, the military insisting it hasn't and sure they will ever be used again. neil: president biden set to address the nation 24 hours after troops left afghanistan as members of congress fear the us is at risk ahead of the 9/11 anniversary. >> reporter: this afternoon president biden will explain why he did not extend the end of america's longest war, he d