reed: the department of defense enters into this in support of the state department and the state department has, for many years, as you know, executed the siv program. the addition of u.s. military support to that program was new and generated by guidance to try to accelerate and help the process due to the time delays inherent with getting them through. we were asked by the state department to provide support to their operation. that is not a suggestion that is when siv's became a priority for the government, that has been many years. it's just the contribution the defense department could make it, using our installations in the united states where we could do this in a very orderly setting, free of distractions, without them coming individually or scattering to multiple locations. we could centralize the resources and contribute our resources, our logistics and military personnel. fort lee, virginia is the center of excellence for military logistics. it was an example of how we could use our resources to support a program we all wanted to see continue and accelerate and help as many folks

vanherck: i would do for you to the department of state for that. that is their area of expertise. we are prepared to continue the support until we get through this process in support of the state department. reporter: somebody feels the screening process but is already on a u.s. military facility? gen. vanherck: they have gone through the screening process before putting feet in the continental u.s. from a security perspective. when they are through customs, they are paroled into the united states of america. if they have relatives, theoretically they can go with their relatives. we are helping them get through the screening process. we provide all the governmental organizations to support that, the medical process, etc.. we are not doing the security screening and support of state department. this is part of the application for special immigrant status. i hope that clarifies it. press sec. kirby: tony? reporter: do you have a breakdown by gender, roughly how may women, girls, boys, men have been processed by dod. are they in separate facilities? -- local kitchens -- gen. vanherck:

i think our department of state will work that hard in the days ahead. >> one clarification. where there any evacuees left at the airport when the last military flight left? gen. mckenzie: there were no evacuees left at the airport. >> on the taliban, you have talked about their pragmatic ways of operating with u.s. military here. do you see a role for the u.s. military to have open conversations with the taliban, potential coordination going forward? in particular with this growing and now accentuated threat from isis? gen. mckenzie: my dealing with the taliban and the dealings of my commanders on the ground with the taliban revolved around our determination to execute this operation. the flat statement we made to them is that if you challenge us, we are going to hurt you. i think they recognized that. this is something they wanted to have happen, too. i can't foresee the way future coordination between us would go. i would leave that for some future date. i would say they wanted us out, we wanted to get out with our people, and with our friends and partners, so for that sho

the department of state will take the lead on that. reporter: how many people were on the final c-17 flight, can you tell us where is headed, and can you give us a sense of what role the taliban plays from a security perspective to allow the u.s. to safely depart kabul? >> i'm not good to be able to -- going to be able to answer the first two questions because the operations are still concluding as to where the aircraft are going into the exact disposition of our forces on the aircraft. i can tell you about what the taliban has done. they established a firm perimeter outside of the airfield to prevent people from coming on the airfield during our departure. we worked that with them for a number of days and they did not have direct knowledge of our time of departure. we chose to keep that information restricted. there were actually very useful to us as we closed down operations. >> i'm going to go to the phones. reporter: general, can you give us some detail on what the last day look like in terms of number of flights, number of people

i believe our department of state is going to work very hard to allow any american citizens who were left, and we think the citizens that were not brought out number in the very low hundreds. i believe we will be able to get those people out and i think we will also negotiate very hard and aggressively to get our other afghan partners out. the military phase is over, but our desire to bring these people out remains as intense as it was before. the weapons have shifted from the military realm to the diplomatic realm, and the department of state will now take over. >> can you tell us how many people were on that final c-17 flight? you mentioned general donahue talked with essentially his taliban counterpart. can you give us a sense of what role the taliban plays from a security perspective to allow americans to depart kabul? >> those operations are still concluding but i can tell you this about what the taliban has done. that established a firm perimeter outside of the airfield to prevent people from coming on the airfield during our departure. we worked on that with them for a number

the department of state in the department of home lincoln security will processing that oversees transitforms in prepare for onward movement for all of those transported by the department of defense. thank you. >> okay. we will get to questions. >> a question for general taylor . >> okay. >> general, has the u.s. military conducted any airstrikes today or over the last 24 hours or so and also there have been reports of afghan pilots flying they're aircraft to other countries. is that happening in is the u.s taking sorts sort of steps to try to prevent another from falling in the hands of the delavan pretty get the first question, no, no strikes have been conducted in the last 24 hours, but the commander on the ground continues to maintain that capability if required to do so. the commander has the assets that are available, and in support from other areas of the region. i don't have information on the second part of the question, but . >> so there's no u.s. actions being taken to prevent equipmen from falling into the hands of the tele- band by destroying it. >> i don't have an answer to

department of state subsequently activated the afghanistan coordination task force and requested the department of defense provide temporary support for up to 3,500 afghan special immigrant applicants. on august 15th, the department of state requested and the secretary of defense approved additional support for afghan special immigrant visa applicants and other afghans. the u.s. northern command is providing temporary housing, medical screening, transportation and other services for both afghan special immigrant visa applicants and at risk afterghans. the secretary of defense authorized three additional military installations to provide support inside the united states for afghan special immigrant visa applapplicants, r family and other at-risk individuals. while not atask force, u.s. northern command is supporting operation allies refuge with services and additional forces including assisting with managing the flow of evacuees at dulles airport and in pennsylvania. that airport is opening up today. here is a snapshot of some of numbers that you'll see at the task force. task force ea

the department of state and the department of homeland security will facilitate processing at overseas transit point. thank you. >> okay. we'll get to questions. bob, want to go? >> thanks. question for general taylor. general, has the u.s. military conducted any airstrikes today or in the last 24 hours or so? and also there have been some reports of afghan pilots flying the aircraft into other countries. is that happening and is the u.s. taking any sort of steps to prevent the aircraft or other military equipment from falling into the hands of the taliban? >> first off, the first question on the strikes. no strikes have been conducted in the last 24 hours. but the commander on the ground continues to maintain that capability if required to do so. the commander has the assets that are available and in support from other areas of the region. i don't have information on your second part of the question. but we'll get back to that. >> there's no u.s. actions being taken to prevent equipment from falling into the hands of taliban by destroying it or anything else? >> i don't have the answe

it involves the department of homeland security, department state, department of defense. it is a matter of transporting people from kabul to doha, a matter of having facilities like the one in doha, like the one in rammstein, like the ones elsewhere. there's a dhs component to this. indo hot, there is immigration processing, biometric assisting taking place. there are a number of steps that individuals go through before they transit from doha. >> will people just get off of one plane and get on another. price: our goal is to make these intermediate stops come up like the one indo hot, as brief as possible. our goal is to have people reach their destination, whether that is the united states, another third country that has generously agreed to open its borders to those at risk, needing refuge. >> it is important to have these agreements, it is also important people of access to the airport. it continues to be the case that many afghans and many americans is have not been able to get through. are you denying -- is the administration denying that that is the case? price: i t

but at the policy level i see the department of state not talking to the department of defense.a lot of frustration that's taking place. and then you look at who's responsible for the area of operations. we've got a commander who needs to raise a hand and say i got this, this is a terrible tragedy, and i haven't really heard that level of frustration or anger or a sense of how we are going to accomplish this and acknowledgment that that individual owns this, i would say, evacuation that hasn't gone exceptionally well at that operational level. >> julia, we keep hearing about over the horizon intelligence efforts by the biden administration. which means from not within the country itself. will counterterrorism efforts be harder without a u.s. presence in afghanistan? >> yes. we can't deny that. over the horizon capabilities are good. they are essentially drone and airstrikes or covert operations. but they are different. and so i think the question that remains, and some people are exaggerating the threat, others are saying we're going to be able to counter this the same way. neit

of the u.s. government the opportunity to relocate to the united states. the department of state subsequently activated the afghanistan coordination task force and requested the department of defense provide temporary support for up to 3,500 afghan special immigrant applicants. on august 15th, the department of state requested and the secretary of defense approved additional support for afghan special immigrant visa applicants and other vulnerable afghans. in response to this request, the u.s. northern command we're providing temporary housing, medical screening, transportation, and other services for both afghan special immigrant visa applicants and at risk afghans. u.s. northern command has been tasked to build capacities to support up to 50,000 afghans to do that, the department of defense under u.s. northern command establishes task forces at for the lee in virginia, ft. bliss in texas, ft. mccoy in texas and mcguire dix in new jersey. on august 25th, the secretary of defense authorized three additional military installations to provide support inside the united stat

so the, the number of 700 that i gave earlier was the number reported by the department of state in the, the commander on the ground. so the question, as we continue to go forward, that is one of the more important task that we will do is as department of state continues to provide names of those that will depart, the military will continue to ensure we have the aircraft, whether it's military or civilian aircraft to get them out and continue to report forward. data is like millions question. what is the determining factor? is it august 31st, or is it the completion of the mission to evacuate? diplomats, us citizens, vulnerable as its mission is to evacuate. our embassy personnel, american citizens, as well as afghans who we can help. that's the mission, said, the timeframe that we're on right now is to is to, is to do that complete that mission by august 31st. and if we're at 5000, and i've seen some estimates that go north of 5000 a day depending on how many sources you can fly. and obviously that's dependent on a lot of factors, including whether we believe that there with that capac

the department of state will use whatever leverage it has left. not necessarily military leverage but leverage in terms of the world community. they will use that leverage to get any americans that are left that want to leave out and any afghan allies threatened by the taliban, they will work tirelessly to do that. >> greg has a comment here. >> one of the things about my enemy of the enemy being my friend that can be reverse. if isis hates us why not join taliban. that's the problem. >> exactly. >> i know this may of been answered over the weekend. you know were there any taliban killed in the suicide bombing. i don't know. >> the taliban say yes. >> yes. >> it's reasonable to assume. >> really. >> 120 kills. that's a big blast. >> i haven't heard it that's. announcer: >> jen, i have a question about the interpreters and other helpers. there have been private efforts going onto try to help them get out. a lot have been turned away. paperwork issues or whatever it may of been, couldn't get to the airport. a lot from our reporting and what we hear i

of state. evacuate personnel with state department designated special immigrant visits and evacuate any other evacueesstate department designates. the president of the united states made a decision to withdraw u.s. forces from afghanistan on april 14. since that date, we conducted a deliberate and responsible drawdown of u.s. rces to less than 1000 with the specific task of securing the u.s. embassy and our diplomatic presence in afghanistan. since then, the security situation rapidly degraded. today, the situation is still very dangerous, very dynamic, and very fluid. all of us can be proud for the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines executing this mission. they are currently in harms way needs to be our focus. there will be plenty of time. right now, our mission is to secure and defend that airfield and evacuate all of those who have been faithful to us. there will be many postmortems on this topic. right now is not that time. right now there are troops at risk. we fully intend to successfully evacuate all american citizens who want to get out of afghanistan. all american citizens who want to get

and i believe our department of state _ begin. and i believe our department of state will — begin. in the low or very low i hundreds. i believe we are going number in the low or very low - hundreds. i believe we are going to -et hundreds. i believe we are going to get people — hundreds. i believe we are going to get people out— hundreds. i believe we are going to get people out and _ hundreds. i believe we are going to get people out and will— hundreds. i believe we are going to get people out and will negotiate . get people out and will negotiate very hard — get people out and will negotiate very hard and _ get people out and will negotiate very hard and aggressively - get people out and will negotiate very hard and aggressively to - get people out and will negotiate very hard and aggressively to get our other— very hard and aggressively to get our otherafghan_ very hard and aggressively to get our other afghan partners - very hard and aggressively to get our other afghan partners out. i very hard and aggressively to get i our other afghan partners out. the military— our other afg

>> later. >> i defer you to the department of state for that. that's their area of expertise. we're prepared to continue this support until we get through this process in support of the state department. >> if somebody failed the screening process and is already on a u.s. facility. >> they have already gone the screening before putting their feet on u.s. soil. when they are through customed, they're paroled into the united states of america. if they have relatives, theoretically they can go with those relatives what we're doing is helping them get through the screening process. we provide all of the governmental organizations to support the medical process, et cetera. so we are not doing security screenings in support of state department. this is nor special immigrant status. i hope that clarifies it. >> tony with bloomberg news. do you have a break down by gender roughly how many women, boys, girls and men have processed by dod? second question about culturally appropriate food. are we talking about mres or local kitchens being hired to cook? >> thanks, tony. so we're seeing a

the department of state will take the lead on that. >> can you clarify a couple things? can you tell how many people were only the final c-17 flight? can you tell us where the flight is headed in and you mentioned that the general talked to the taliban, his counterpart. can you give us a sense of what role the taliban plays from a security perspective to allow the u.s. to safely depart kabul? >> yes. i'm not going to be able to answer the first two questions. the operations are still in the process and there's forces on the aircraft. i can tell you what the the taliban has done. they established a firm perimeter outside of the air field to prevent people from coming on the air field during our departure. we worked that with them for a number of days. they didn't have knowledge of our time of departure. we chose to keep that information restricted. they were actually helpful and useful to us as we closed down operations. >> i'm going to go to the phones. dan? >> thanks for calling. general, can you give us a deeper level of detail on what the last day looked like in terms

the department of defense is working with the department of state around the clock to relocate as many eligible individuals as we can. reporter: you don't want to give a number at this time? mr. price: we are not in a position at this time. it is a fluid situation, dependent on the security situation on the ground. the guiding principle will be the safety and security of our people, as long as we deem that our public servants are safe and secure, we will be engaged in an ambitious and aggressive, around-the-clock effort to relocate as many as we can. reporter: how many u.s. citizens and possible dual citizens are in afghanistan? there is a number floating around about 10,000 or so. the u.s. state department is committed to taking care of u.s. citizens, but if things go sideways, is the government willing to not transport any afghan citizens, any citizens who are working for ngo's or the united nations, and focus solely on getting americans out? should people be getting their hopes up -- i guess is what i am asking. mr. price: on the question of how many citizens may be in afghanistan,

of your afghan alliance. >> the department department of defense enters into this in support of the state department in the state department has for many years, as you know, executed the sab program. the addition of the u.s. military support to that progra is new in it was generated by guidance to try to accelerate i help the process due to the timed delays inherent within getting them through. so we were asked by the state department to provide support t their operation. bird that's not a suggestion, that is when they became a priority for the government. that has been for many years, the contributions that the defense department could make using our installations in the united states as an example where we could do this in a ver orderly setting, free of distractions without them comin individually or as scattering t multiple locations we could centralize the resources and contribute our resources, our logistics, or medical personnel for lee, virginia is the hunter of excellence for army intelligence. it was a good example of how we could use our resources to support a program that we all wanted to see con

let me start with an update on of ghana's department of state is working around-the-clock to facilitate -- afghanistan. the department of state is working this of -- facilitate the departure of vulnerable afghans and americans. we remain committed to flights for siv's and other vulnerable afghans as quickly as possible. the security of government employees and u.s. citizens overseas is our top priority as well. the department of defense has secured the airport so that military and commercial flights can resume. our staff on the ground is communicating with american citizens in kabul who are not at the airport with instructions on when and how to get there. we have communicated to the first tranche of american citizens who have requested an evacuation assistance. our team is working hand in glove with military college to load planes safely and as fast as possible. we have completed our drawdown to the core double medic presents we need and at this time, we will no longer -- at this time, we no longer need to facilitate departures for embassy personnel. all remaining staff will assist dep

if we go back, the department of defense began supporting the state department with movement of siv'st the end of july. the cumulative number of people moved out of afghanistan is somewhere near 12,000. the number includes american citizens, embassy personnel, individuals designated by the state department as siv applicants, and other evacuees in coordination with the state department. we are ready to increase throughput and have scheduled departures accordingly. we intend to maximize each plane 's capacity. we are prioritizing people above all else, august 1 doing this as safely as possible, with absolute urgency. we have not experienced any security incidents ignore interference since my last date. we continued to recognize the inherent danger of operating in this environment, that our service members in kabul remain agile, professional and are postured to continue mission and respond if required. as we look at the last 24 hours, the f-18's from the ronald rick -- from the ronald reagan carrier group flew over kabul to ensure enhanced security and we maintain a watchful eye and are

of the 2002 aumf. madam secretary, i assume the state department was part of that process? the state supports repeal? > yes, we do. >> was the defense department part of the process for the policy and does the defense department support repeal? >> yes, we were part of the process. >> does the department support repeal? >> there are no objections. >> it is my understanding there are no ongoing military operations for which it is necessary as a domestic legal authority, is that the case? >> yes, it is. >> i understand the 1991 in 2002 aumf's are not necessary as the domestic legal basis for any detention activities at guantanamo bay? >> that is correct. >> neither 1991 over the 2002 aumf is necessary for the detention of isis members abroad? >> correct. >> the administration has not cited the 2002 aumf for actions against iranian-backed militias in february and july. is it accurate the administration believes it has sufficient authority under article two to defend u.s. interests and personnel against iranian-backed militias and does not need the 2002 aumf to do so? >> correct. >> if there was a need for

mira resnick in the bureau of political military affairs at the state department. she previously served as a senior affectional staff member covering the middle east and south africa for the house foreign affairs committee and works at the state department bureau of near eastern affairs and we have testifying today, miss dana stroll, she was a fellow at the washington institute in a single -- senior professional staff member. i don't know which order you want to do this in but the floor is yours. >> good morning, mr. chairman, and distinguished members of the subcommittee, it's an honor to appear before you to discuss u.s. security assistance to the middle east. i ask that my full statement be placed in the record. let me start by saying that the state department is fully committed to partnering with congress on these issues and we welcome the opportunity to engage. at a time when strategic competition with the people's republic of china is our foremost foreign policy challenge and in an era with so many problems we face are global in scope, our engagement in the mi

now you're about to see a grilling of the state department. what is going on at this airport in terms of what they're telling americans, can they get out safely as the scramble continues to get thousands of americans who still live in afghanistan out now that the taliban have taken control most hastily than anybody at the white house our intelligence agencies seemed to think would happen. meantime, let's look at this individual. he was a gitmo prisoner that was freed. one of the five. you remember this story. in exchange for bowe bergdahl. there was a lot of discussion in 2014 under president obama about whether or not this deal would put americans in danger. would these individuals return to the battlefield after they were set free from guantanamo bay. here's the answer. there he is on the left in moscow. he was sitting there with americans and our main negotiator as they negotiated the final terms of the american draw down in afghanistan. that was just before the taliban retook the entire country and established it as an islamic state. he's v

and i have no doubt that the department of state will fully exercise that leverage. you have any confidence in their ability to secure the city right now. the taliban. i think they're going to be challenged to secure the city. i do know this just speaking purely practically as a professional. they helped us secure the airfield. not perfectly, but they gave it a very good effort. and it was actually significantly, significantly helpful to us, particularly here at the end. last question for today, meghan, i us started making myers a military times. are there any you as aircraft still doing over flights of afghanistan, either cobble or otherwise, looking out for potential threats. so as we have said for quite a while, we always reserve the opportunity to go after, in the c t around the counterterrorism, around ok. the and isis when those targets prevent present themselves. so we will always retain the ability to do that. okay, that's what all time we have general and any concluding thought you might want to add john, it's been, it's been a long day and much longer actua

of but u.s. state department said still 500 u.s. zens they're working to evacuate. >> it's a really dicey situation, getting closer to 31st there's a lot of room for bad things to highway patrol. >> state department bad things to happen. >> state department declined to say how many estimated to be left in afghanistan. a former interpreter for u.s. marine corps is one of the lucky ones who got out. >> a of a harrowing escape at the airport past taliban checkpoints. zack and his family are now safe in an american army base in qatar we've been following his story for two weeks as his friend and former colleague thomas schumacher worked feverishly to help him escape. >> the two in 2010 when zack then 19 was acting as major shoeman's interpreter. >> there's amygdala bushes . >> there's ambushes and casualties, you name it, zack was there. >> when afghanistan fell to the taliban both men felt a renewed sense of urgency, zack feared the taliban would kill him know the work he did for american troops. >> the taliban knows the numbers. they s

present and alerting the right categories of people at the right time that is something that the department of state has been doing for several days now. the airlift capacity is another element of this. dod has spoken to their ability to increase that capacity over the past several days. then the transit sites. as you know, many of these individuals we've been able to relocate, have been going to dohar qatar as of late. we're gratified that we have a number of countries, many of which i just mentioned that have offered to host, whether it is american citizens that are transiting back to the united states, whether it is third country nash names and system of them have been very generous and offered to host at-risk afghans. i can confirm that we have begun to transfer people from dohar. the first flights have arrived in germany. we expect to have other locations coming online in the coming days, which will allow us to make sure that we can maximize that flow. again, what we want to do in all of this, the metric and the only metric that we care about is how many people we are able to relocate, to bring

but i will give kudos to members of the state department. one of the things that impressed me in my travels was with things like the american corner and different ideas that state department employees have used to attract students who don't have computers, don't have access to the internet, and make it possible for them to be able to come into a place in ethiopia where it's packed, because they now can join the rest of the nations of the world by using capabilities that are there in the american corner. i would love to see us emulate that here in the united states where we go into some areas that are less fortunate than others and may not have access to the -- i know people say, everywhere in the world has internet. that's not true. not even here in the u.s. we can do a better job of getting our kids in less developed parts of the country informed and then engaged and inspired to do the stuff to be a buzz or a mike or neil or ellen. >> i would just add -- [ applause ] i would just add, i traveled a lot around the world when i was at nasa. wha

of state. evacuate personnel with state department designated special immigrant visas. evacuate any other evacuees that the state department designates. the president of the united states made a decision the withdraw u.s. forces from afghanistan on april 14. since that date we conducted a deliberate and responsible draw down of u.s. forces to less than 1,000 with a specific task of securing the u.s. embassy and our diplomatic presence in afghanistan. since then the security situation rapidly degraded. today the situation is still very dangerous, very dynamic and very fluid. all of us can be proud for the soldiers, sailors and air men in this mission. they're currently in harm's way. that's our focus. there's plenty of time to do aars. right now our mission is to secure that air field, defend that air field and evacuate all of those that have been faithful to us. there's many postmortems on this topic. right now is not that time. right now there's troops at risk. we are the united states military and we fully intend to successfully evacuate all american citizens that want

narrowly focused, temporary mission to facilitate safe and orderly departure of civilian personnel from the state department, and help the state department colleagues accelerate the processing of siv applicants. we are not classifying this as a ne-yo at this time -- neo at this time. reporter: their drawdown was for 2500 troops and you are sending in 3000 to get out civilians superquick and on top of that, another 3000 took away. isn't this ironic that in order to get out the 2500 you have to ramp up significantly? mr. kirby: no. i don't share your view of the irony. this is a very temporary mission for a specific purpose. that is a big difference than saying you are deploying for 8, 9, 12 months, forces to stabilize and secure afghanistan. which we have been doing for the last 20 years. this is a narrow, temporary mission. reporter: when this narrowly defined mission is over, there are only going to be 600 troops to protect airport and embassy staff? mr. kirby: once this mission is over, i want to into specific numbers here, but we anticipate having less than 1000 u.s. troops on the ground to support the d

admiral has a spate of other duties he has to attend to come up to include liaison with the state department, our allies and partners on the ground in kabul, the turkish support element. there's a lot of things to do. we felt like this division of labor made the most sense, given the urgency of time. >> just to make sure. 82nd in command at the airport, and the general is the one talking to the taliban? >> i'm not going to talk about specific conversations, who is having what. our commanders -- admiral basey has been there for this thing. i do not know when general donahue is getting there. suffice to say that our commanders are at the airport are charged with securing the airport and keeping it secure. and to doing what is required to keep it secure and get operations back up and running, to be sustained. they will and should have whatever interactions they believe are necessary to accomplish that mission. i'm not in a position and will not begin to get into one where i am detailing every conversation, or what the details are. as i said, the best judge of how we are doing is how we are doin

the attorney general of mexico as well as north of the border, here in the united states, in a government effort working in taskforces within the department of homeland security, and with our partners in the federal bureau of investigation, in the drug enforcement administration, and other law enforcement agencies across the federal enterprise. we are prepared to do more as the situation warrants. it is critical that migrants understand clearly that they will be turned back if they enter the united states illegally, and do not have a basis for relief under our laws. we are also at the same time developing and implementing foundational changes to the system, addressing problems that have existed for many years but have never been solved. in the coming days, our department will announce that we are making changes and improvements to how we process asylum claims. we continue to rebuild our immigration system to ensure fairness and promote equity. we are expanding the virtual platform that we use so successfully to assist the migrants from intolerable conditions. we are using that platform where migrants can register using their phones, and w

the airfield into kabul and that process there, i would really have to push that over to the department of statebecause our mission right now is that securing of the airfield to allow those that come onto the airfield to quickly be put on aircraft and evacuated. >> general, back to the numbers of afghans and others trying to get out. if you look at the siv people, special immigrant visa, and their family, the estimates are 77,000 to 78,000. and you estimate another group, and it may be hundreds if not thousands beyond that. so all told, the total universe we are talking about is probably 100,000 people trying to get out of afghanistan. are you confident with your planning that, by the 31st, you can get all those people out, or is that uncertain? gen. taylor: what we are confident in his that we will maximize capacity to the degree that we can, and that at max capacity, as the general said, given what could be more than two dozen sorties per day, you could get to 5000 to 9000 people out per day. our focus is on, again, making sure the environment, the conditions are set to be able to do that. as

outside of the airfield and through kabul, that process, i would have to push that over to the department of state because our mission right now is securing of the airfield to allow those that come onto the airfield to quickly be put on aircraft and evacuated. >> back to the numbers of afghans and others trying to get out, the siv people and their families, there are estimates of 70,000 to 88,000. and then p2 people, and hundreds of not thousands beyond that. all told, the total universe is probably 100,000 people trying to get out of afghanistan. are you confident with your planning that by the 31st you can get all of those people out? >> we are confident we are going to maximize capacity to the degree that we can. at max capacity, as the general said, given what could be more than two dozen sorties per day, you could get 9000 out per day. our focus is on making sure the environment, the conditions are set to do that. as i said, airlift is not a limiting factor but will also require my and has required constant liaison with state department colleagues who are obviously in charge of administering

of state gave an updated number this morning. i would remind you that the u.s. military is overseeing the evacuation of individuals out of afghanistan and the state department oversees the waitza processing, hence the update was provided by the secretary of state. during the briefing he just gave he noted that he would work to provide additional numbers of a gains, but i would note that since we've provided a detailed number of americans and we have also provided on a day-to-day basis twice a day the numbers of people come out, the vast majority of those are afghans by numbers. go ahead. >> there was specificity on what the president said is an achieved mission pertaining to americans. do you have a specific number or threshold when it comes to afghans about what would definet 31st. >> we've never put a cap on the number of special immigrant visa applications or the number of individuals who can apply for our variety of programs that are overseen by the state department. i'm not going to put a cap on that today. i would also note that as the secretary of state said we will continue and we are continuing to look at a range of options to provide support and to provide