you and hamid karzai and abdullah abdullah all say, "we must engage. a national dialogue. "we hope to achieve a new political settlement "in which there is a sharing of power." well, you tell me, after two weeks, do you get any indication from the taliban at all that they are willing to share power? first of all, what is the alternative that we have? do we have to engage in war again, another cycle of violence, or should we give a chance to talking to them? and particularly, when you hear words of assurances that we need to hold them to, let's say hold them to their words so that they're delivered upon. so it's not a stooge thing. it's a responsible thing which we are doing. and secondly...secondly, it's only been two weeks that kabul just as unexpectedly and suddenly fell and it was a shock to us. it's been a pleasant shock to the taliban as well. they did not expect that. they were not ready for that. we are ready to give them days so that they discuss things amongst themselves. we just saw a statement by the taliban spokesperson that the past three

securing and entrance to the hamid karzai international airport as the extremist taliban took hold of their country. staff sergeant hoover was killed by an isis case suicide attack that targetedha him, his teammates, and the surrounding innocentng civilian. staff sergeant hoover like all marines learned the marine corps' values at boot camp. those are honor and courage and commitment. he was told that being a marine and living these values does not begin or and with training or service as an active duty marine these forever guide marine decisions with their service and their entire life staff sergeant hoover lived to these values throughout his entire life he always did what he said he would do he was honest and respectful and caring and compassionate and dedicated his life to the service of others in and out of uniform. he wanted to be the best and to provide the very best for others and always willing to work hard to make that happen. his friends and family knew him as a loving and thoughtful hard-working man. he loved and dedicated to serving those around him his family and country

on august 206th on his first deployment, he stood guard at the hamid karzai airport in afghanistan. he protected the airport as the allies escaped to safety. his mission savedet thousands of lives. while riley was protecting others, he was killed by a terrorist bomb. riley had just been married in february. his wife was expecting their first child and he was excited to become a father. this child will never know riley but his child will always know that her father was a hero. on friday i stood side-by-side. the casket was brought home for his very last trip to wyoming. and today i got a text from gg with this magnificent picture the text came within the last hour or so they were able to do a picture as the navy hospital welcomed baby girl levi rose 8 pounds 10 ounces september 13, today at 2 a.m. there's the baby and there is the cutout of her father, riley mccollum. madam president, people all across america have shown their love and respect and appreciation and admiration for riley and his family. people have already donated close to a million dollarsam to help gg and the baby and

state could coordinate contractor security support, and also to assist turkey to maintain the hamid karzai international airport and to transition the u.s. mission to over the horizon counterterrorism sport and security force systems. it is clear, it is obvious to all of us, that the war in afghanistan did not end on the terms that we wanted. with the taliban now in power in kabul. although the neo was unprecedented and is the largest air evacuation in history, it was a tactical, operational, and logistical success evacuating 124,000 people, the war was a strategic failure. it came also at an incredible cost in the end, with 11 marines, one soldier, and a navy corpsman. these 13 gave their lives so that people they never met could have an opportunity to live in freedom. and we must remember that the taliban was and remains a terrorist organization. and they still have not broken with al qaeda. i have no allusions as to who we are dealing with. it remains to be seen whether or not the taliban can consolidate power, or whether the country will further fracture into civil war. but we must con

quote hamid karzai's fraudulent reelection worsened a delusion of corruption that involved afghanistann 2009 and 2010. dark money cascaded over the country, money launderers loved suitcases loaded with a million dollars or more on flights leaving kabul so crooked businessmen and politicians could stash their ale gotten fortunes offshore. >> now house republican leaders take questions on democrat's efforts to raise the debt ceiling and continue funding the federal government past the fiscal year. they also discuss democratic spending proposals. the leaders are joined by budget committee ranking member jason smith and appropriations chair kay granger.

hamid karzai would reach out to different factions, and they might be able to come to the internationalmunity and say, we have a government that stands for afghanistan. where does this leave the country and taliban? >> it's very old-school, isn't it? it is as if they start and go back where they left off 20 years ago as if nothing has changed, as if they have no further developments and have not considered what happened in the last 20 years. it is as if they go back as if nothing happens. the internal cohesion is something that concerns them. they brought back the old guys from those years in the late 90's. internal power struggles are happening in the taliban. i agree we are seeing a taliban that would rather keep internal struggles under control then to get the country going. host: people were closely monitoring whether the taliban would have a shia ?hazara in the government. that also did not happen. do we think this is something that could strain relations with iran? >> i'm not concerned about iran. iran wants security, safety in the country, and the discipline the taliban has shown

army lieutenant colonel inside the wall at hamid karzai international airport and we're trying to getitizens, green cardholders and sivs, people hold a special immigrant visa. they worked with us over the 20 years. and it is right outside. the lieutenant colonel says if i could reach through this gate i can touch the bus they're on. mike and i were on the phone. he called the white house. mike got the white house general counsel i talked to the president. it will be open. five minutes later there is one of these phony calls that there is going to be an imminent attack, everybody spread out, get away from the gates. that kind of thing happened dozens of time. it wasn't the real attack. in fact the real attack that killed last 13 americans killed in this long war, had no warning coming for it. that is the kind of thing happened repeatedly throughout this. they wanted accountability, the families, gold star families all of them deserve accountability. maria: absolutely. they sure do. they're in our prayers every day. what about, what about these flights going out of afghanistan? it was s

as you know, at no time were our forces really away from hamid karzai international airport. there was nobody there on the ground to play that role. you can see from the graphic that the position of the strike was three or four kilometers to the west, so there was nobody, either us or a proxy of ours, that was involved in this. >> that includes special operation forces? general mckenzie: exclusively. >> can you talk about the challenges of conducting these drone strikes without or since on the ground? general mckenzie: we had conducted strikes two days earlier at the kandahar province. i think it had a significant effect on dislocating and suppressing isis-k's ability to attack us during this time. we actually had success with that. this one, we did not have success with, and we have been very about owning up to our responsibility in this regard. john: we've got time for just a couple more. >> thank you. since there are no more u.s. forces on the ground, how would the payments be provided to surviving family members, if they are provided? and then i know you walked us through

she also secured nbc's first interview with president hamid karzai. our next panelist work for the baltimore sun. it is current role with npr, tom has traveled to iraq and made dozens of trips to afghanistan. he embedded with united states marines. in 2010, congress gave him the edward r. murrow award for his coverage of a roadside bombing. next is kathy bannon. she serves as the director of afghanistan for the associated press. she's been a bureau chief since 1988. in the weeks before the 2001 u.s. f guinness and bruce offensive. she was the only western journalists allowed in kabul by the taliban. she was seriously wounded when an afghan police officer opened fire on the afghan convoy she was riding in. she is also the author of the book i is for infidel. finally, we are joined by the chairman and ceo of the mobi group, afghanistan's largest private media group, and the first 24/7 media network. it owns the news network and continues to report and broadcast since the taliban's retaking of control. he has been recognized by time magazine among its on

after hamid karzai _ telephone's again. . correct. after hamid karzai was _ telephone's again. .amid karzai was put in _ telephone's again. . correct. after hamid karzai was put in because l telephone's again. . correct. after hamid karzai was put in because i | hamid karzai was put in because i was not only very pro—british and pro—american but he was very faux indian. he had been to school in indian. he had been to school in india and spoke very good hindi and when we had him at the jaipur literature festival he spoke to the audience perfectly and started singing bollywood songs at the audience and he has that charm and ability and this is certainly being seenin ability and this is certainly being seen in pakistan as a victory for the intelligence services and the long—term run of the country which now has pakistan in a massive debt chap which is china and china's yesterday allowed stitches giving free vaccines to taliban afghanistan. —— yesterday announced. never manger minerals being announced and the opening copper mines and whatever this new government does and they acknowl

you won't see a former senior afghan politician like hamid karzai or dr.ullah abdullah, who had been negotiating with the taliban. you won't see them in a leadership position. you might see one of the former conservative politicians, actually a former prime minister in the country back in the mid-'90s, somebody who is perhaps slightly more ideologically aligned with the taliban. he could be a non-taliban member in that government. but also what's being spoken about here and in pakistan at least is the possibility of a family member of somebody like hamid karzai or dr. abdullah abdullah or son, something like that, being in the government. but the reality is unless they get a strong influential position in the government, it's not going to look particularly inclusive to the west. you know, as the g7 nations hold so much power over the imf and the imf having frozen afghanistan's assets, that's going to be a tough -- you know, a tough point of call for the international community. mullah baradar expected to take a leadership position, the commander of the fai

an international flight operated by qatar airways that took off from hamid karzai airport has landed, and on board were 112 passengers including americans. joining us on the phone from doha is foreign correspondent ralph sanchez and with me is washington post editor david ig ignatius. and so ralph, you had to move around and tell us about what you know about the passengers on board? >> yes, geoff, this is extraordinary, because we watched the tired but happy people coming down the steps here in doha. they have had a heck of a day if you think about it. they started off in kabul, and passed through the airport controlled by the taliban, that is threatened still by this day by isis-k, and the same airport where they carried out the suicide bombing, and ending it this evening in the relative safety of doha, qatar, and we caught up with some of the people passing through immigration. just because they are physically safe, their journeys are far from over, and the people did not know what was in store next for them. we spoke to a canadian father there with his 6-year-old daughter, but his

>> you know, i dealt with hamid karzai in afghanistan and he is despicable. he is a significant part of the reason why there was no american public support for this war. i also think that when we have an 18th century notion of diplomacy in the public dialogue right now. we already recognize the taliban and we're dealing with them in do happen. general don hugh in the military dealt with them day after day and we need to get an interest section back. and the haqqanis are terrorists more than jihadists and that's who they are. if we want to work deliberately on getting hundreds of thousands of afghans out who identify with democracy, freedom, individual rights and women's rights then we have to get on the ground. and courtney, you were just as we approach this 20th anniversary this weekend, you were just at fort drum in new york state with the tenth mountain division. they were first in and last out. you talked to some of those soldiers. share that with us. >> that's right. so specifically, this was the 4th battalion 34th infantry regiment known as the polar be

they've been holding meetings with senior political figures, like former president, hamid karzai, bute willing to really share power. their elusive leader, mullah hibatullah, may well be declared leader of an islamic emirate. these, new pictures of some of the final us troops to be withdrawn from afghanistan, the focus now is on what they've left behind. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. for more on how inclusive the new government in afghanistan is likely to be, here's our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. well, there is this magical word of inclusive that is being used by afghanistan as neighbours to put pressure on the taliban to try and share some of the powers so they don't have absolute control. a look at it in pure political terms. the taliban of come to power much more quickly than even they expected. they now control more territory in afghanistan than they were in power in the 1990s. so, they feel they have an overwhelming mandate to pursue their overriding objective and that is to use words like government cabinet, their objective is to establish an islamic sy

they have been in talks with hamid karzai and other leaders of various minority groups but the extentthose groups will be included in very high level positions within the government, what they called for example the power ministry, the security services et cetera, seems doubtful at this point. i think there was hope early on in this discussion given the taliban gush and about inclusivity —— discussions. i am about inclusivity —— discussions. iam much about inclusivity —— discussions. i am much more sceptical now. the taliban faced the challenge between trying to be inclusive and trying to be inclusive and trying to be inclusive and trying to bring other groups into the fold so they do not have challenges from them while maintaining internal cohesion and that they have many, many hardliners internal to the organisation who have taken to the victor go the spoils mentality. the victor go the spoils mentality-— the victor go the spoils mentality. the victor go the spoils mentali . ., ., mentality. thank you for your inut mentality. thank you for your input and _ mentality. thank you for y

they have been in talks with hamid karzai, other leaders of various minority groups, but the extent toom those groups would be included in very high level positions within the government, what they call for example, the power ministries, the foreign ministry, the security services et cetera, seems doubtful at this point. i think there was hope early on in this discussion, given the taliban statements about inclusivity, that we might see some of those individuals in high—level positions. i'm much more sceptical that we're going to see that now. if only because the taliban face the challenge between trying to be inclusive and trying to bring other groups into the fold so that they don't have challenges from them while also maintaining their internal cohesion and they have many, many hardliners, internal to the organisation, who have taken a to the victor go the spoils type mentality. drjonathan schroden there. an expert on the taliban and works at the cna as an analyst. let's get some of the day's other news. a former roman catholic cardinal has gone on trial in the united states on char

they've been holding meetings with senior political figures, like former president, hamid karzai, butthey're willing to really share power. their elusive leader, mullah hibatullah, may well be declared leader of an islamic emirate. these, new pictures of some of the final us troops to be withdrawn from afghanistan, the focus now is on what they've left behind. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. for more on how inclusive the new government in afghanistan is likely to be, here's our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. well, there is this magical word of inclusive that is being used by afghanistan as neighbours to put pressure on the taliban to try and share some of the powers so they don't have absolute control. a look at it in pure political terms. the taliban of come to power much more quickly than even they expected. they now control more territory in afghanistan than they were in power in the 1990s. so, they feel they have an overwhelming mandate to pursue their overriding objective and that is to use words like government cabinet, their objective is to establish an isla

they've been holding meetings with senior political figures, like former president, hamid karzai, butt whether they're willing to really share power. their elusive leader, mullah hibatullah, may well be declared leader of an islamic emirate. these, new pictures of some of the final us troops to be withdrawn from afghanistan, the focus now is on what they've left behind. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. live to kabul and our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. the taliban and talk about an inclusive government, how inclusive will that be in your view?— will that be in your view? there is the magical _ will that be in your view? there is the magical word _ will that be in your view? there is the magical word of— will that be in your view? there is the magical word of inclusive, - will that be in your view? there is the magical word of inclusive, it l will that be in your view? there is| the magicalword of inclusive, it is the magical word of inclusive, it is being used by afghanistan's neighbours to put pressure on the taliban, to share some of the power so they don't have

they've been holding meetings with senior political figures, like former president, hamid karzai, but're willing to really share power. their elusive leader, mullah hibatullah, may well be declared leader of an islamic emirate. these, new pictures of some of the final us troops to be withdrawn from afghanistan, the focus now is on what they've left behind. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. ibraheem bahiss is a consultant with crisis group's asia programme. he assesses peace and conflict developments in afghanistan, and joins me now from melbourne. your thoughts on the new government, who might be in it and their priorities?— and their priorities? thank ou. and their priorities? thank yom the _ and their priorities? thank you. the information - and their priorities? thank you. the information that| and their priorities? thank. you. the information that is coming out on the side of the taliban still remains murky. we haven't really got a full picture of what this new political order or dispensation is going to look like. information seems to be getting funnelled in a careful way but wh

quote: hamid karzai's fraudulent re-election worsened a deluge of corruption that engulfed afghanistan dark money cascaded over the country. money launderers left suitcases loaded with a million dollars or more on flights leaving kabul so crooked businessmen and politicians could stash their ill-gotten fortunes offhere, unquote. we asked mr. whitlock to expand on this and other stories from his book, "the afghanistan papers." >> washington post investigative reporter craig whitlock on this week's episode of "book notes plus." you can listen to all of our podcasts on our new c-span now app. ♪

they've been holding meetings with senior political figures, like former president, hamid karzai, butthey're willing to really share power. their elusive leader, mullah hibatullah, may well be declared leader of an islamic emirate. these, new pictures of some of the final us troops to be withdrawn from afghanistan, the focus now is on what they've left behind. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. drjonathan schroden is the director of cna corporation's countering threats and challenges program, which supports the us government in countering state and non—state threats. hejoins me now from washington dc. thank you forjoining us. do you think the taliban has changed its spots? i don't think there _ changed its spots? i don't think there is _ changed its spots? i don't think there is evidence . changed its spots? i don't think there is evidence of| changed its spots? i don't - think there is evidence of that just yet. i mean, they are a changed organisation in some ways. they have different personnel in some places and some positions now than they did when they were in power backin did whe

hopes -- ron klain says he hopes the qataris are able the get the flights off the ground at the hamid karzai airport, but hope is not a strategy. the taliban promised they would be allowed to leave. we are talking about a hostage crisis today. but this hostage crisis started three weeks ago when it became obvious the taliban was taking over the country and the administration was going to stick to that august 31 deadline before they were able to get everybody out. that woman was 14 steps from the airport. she turn around and left for the taliban to take care of and negotiate with. that's a hostage crisis. you can't tell me the taliban is going to be disciplined here. we should pray this doesn't get much, much worse. i'm concerned about one of these guys who is a member of the taliban having a lack of discipline and getting angry. god forbid that happens. but the idea that hope is a strategy for the qataris to handle getting these people out is an abysmal failure of leadership and highlights the weakness of our position. reporter: it certainly does. joey, president biden and press secretary je

he said they had received 60 different intelligence reports of an imminent attack on hamid karzai internationala u.s. official earlier told us they had been monitoring intelligence from an isis safe house. the drone strike came just days before when the isis suicide bomber took 170 service members and afghans. and they went about the daily routine believing he was load explosives into the car when he in fact was lifting containers of water into the vehicle. when he pulled into the family compound a u.s. official with knowledge of the operation told cnn that drone operators watched the car for 45 minutes before taking the shot. they then realized there were three children in the compounds. we have now learned with further analysis, the u.s. admits there were even more children in the vicinity of the drone strike. a total seven children were killed. general mckenzie said there will be a review of policies and procedures that led to the strike that took the lives-ten innocent civilians and that they are looking for compensation for the family. christi, boris. >> anna coren, thank you for reporting

vote, hamid karzai's fraudulent reelections worsened a deluge of corruption that engulfed afghanistan 2010. dark money cascaded over the country. money launderers lugged suit cases loaded with a million dollars or more so crooked businessmen and politicians to stage ill gotten gains off shore, and we asked mr. whit lock to expand on this and other stories from his book, the afghanistan papers. >> washington post investigative reporter craig whit lock on this week's episode of book notes plus. you can listen to all of our podcasts on our new c-span app. >> c.d.c. director rochelle walensky talks about the covid-19 vaccine booster shot and the decision to approve pfizer's boosters for certain americans. she spoke at an event hosted by the atlantic. >> so, providing accurate helpl

and also to assist turkey to maintain the hamid karzai international airport and transition the u.s. mission to over the horizon counterterrorism support and security force systems. it is clear, it is obvious to all of us the war in afghanistan did not end on the terms that we wanted. with the taliban now in power in kabul. although the neo was unprecedent asked is largest air evacuation in history, it was a tactical operational and logistical success evacuating 124,000 people. the war was a strategic failure. it came also at an incredible cost in the end, with 11 marines, one soldier and a navy corpsman. these 13 gave their lives so that people they never met would have an opportunity to live in freedom. and we have to remember the taliban was and remains a terrorist organization and still have not broken with al qaeda. i have no illusions who we are dealing with. it remains to be seen whether or not the taliban can consolidate power or if the country will further fraction into civil war. but we must continue to protect the united states of america and its people from terrorist atta

see happen what we believe to be a very real, a very specific and a very imminent threat to the hamid karzai army major general william taylor cited a secondary explosion to claim that the car contained explosives and posed an imminent threat. >> we know that as i said earlier, there was a secondary explosion and that assessed that what was there was going to be used in a high-profile attack. >> that claim was repeated multiple times in the days ahead and not just by the pentagon. >> we are investigating and assessing even today to try to learn more about the aftereffects of the secondary explosions from when that vehicle was hit, and we know there were secondary explosions of a significant size. >> the white house also. >> i will note that in kentsome's statement just two nights ago, they made clear that their assessment was that there was the vehicle that was the target also had explosives in it and those explosives may have also led to an impact on the ground. >> we also heard about the secondary explosions again later this thank week in a claim by general mark milley who stood by the nee

mountains surround hamid karzai international airport and the valley is prone to bad weather. terror threat from isis-k. in this environment, the lieutenant colonel had a mission, the end of the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. instead of folks on the danger, what the operators do you focus on the mission at hand, individual tasks, you focus on success and you focus on doing your part of the mission as well as you possibly can. >> reporter: pelbath was the mission commander of the final five flights. he snapped this picture of ♪ c-17 taking on afghan evacuees. in the background the cars and hangars left behind. >> a couple months later after i graduated september 11th happened. my entire career has been spent with a conflict in afghanistan and to see it come to an end, that does make a mark i think. >> reporter: pelbath knew time was precious. every second on the tarmac was added risk and the final troops loading up the danger at its pick. major donahue the last soldier to step off afghan soil. pelpath snapped this picture. he gave the order, clam shell, close the cargo doors

he said they had received 60 different intelligence reports of an imminent attack on hamid karzai international airport, they had monitoring intelligence from an isis safehouse. the attack came days after an attack on the airport when a suicide bomber killed 13 service members and 170 afghans. based on what was said was a good lead they followed his car as he went about his daily routine believing he was loading explosives into the car, when he in fact was lifting containers of water into his vehicle. when he pulled into his family compound, a u.s. official with knowledge of the operation told cnn that the drone operators watched the car for four to five minutes before taking the shot. then they realized there were three children in the compound. we have now learned that with further analysis, the u.s. admits there were even more children in the vicinity of drone strike. a total of seven children were killed, three were toddlers. general mckenzie says there will be a review of policies and procedures that led to the strike that took the lives of ten innocent civilians and they are looking at co

you look at someone like hamid karzai that we all dealt with. he was seen as quite dirty. working both sides of the fence. for all of us, everyone on this panel, there is a lot of memories or heart ache, a lot of if you could done it over again, what would you have done. and again, i keep thinking of my friend claudia here and her three kids are here with her, wonderful kids. they are playing soccer and going to school. i think for all of us, it is just a really tough time. lisa: i want to be able to ask and get a full response from each of you on my final question, but before i ask the final question, let me take a moment to thank the organizers of today's event. our headliner's team leader donna and lori russo they do a fantastic job every day. our club membership director, coexecutive director, and today's headliner event coordinator who was really on top of this and encouraged us to put this panel together. so thanks to everyone involved, and of course the team at our broadcast operations center with whom i cannot do this without. i would also like to tell you about ou

meetings, they are still having meetings with political leaders, including the former president, hamid karzaire courtesies. the taliban it will be in charge. are courtesies. the taliban it will be in charge-— are courtesies. the taliban it will be in charae. ., ~ i. , . in the past two weeks we've run many reports on the desperate attempts of afghans trying to leave the country. but imagine this — a couple who had to leave their baby behind because they didn't have the right paperwotk for her. gulrena is being looked after by her grandparents back in afghanistan. our special correspondent lucy manning has been speaking to gulrena's father, a british national, about how he pleaded for the seven month old baby to be put on an evacuation flight. too young to know what has happened, too small to comprehend, she is stuck in kabul without her parents. gulrena, one of the youngest britons left behind. we are missing her a lot. you know how people feel when their child is outside the country, and you know the country where there is a war and you don't know what is going to happen next. her parents, t

and here is the man who the west was pinning hopes of leading afghanistan, he was hamid karzai. >> here kandahar surrounded by tribal elders and leaders and in about a week's time you will take the helm of the new afghanistan government, what is going through your head right now? >> it is an exciting time. it is a new beginning for afghanistan. if the world does not fit into afghanistan, if it leaves it weak, and basically a country in which one can interfere, all of these bad people will come again. >> but what truly sparked the beginning of the end of the right kind of american and other attention on afghanistan was the bush administration's determination to expand what was a legitimate response to an act of war to a global war on terror. only this time, neither allies or adversaries it turns out like putin supported an expansion of this war. and on the eve of the iraq war, that would be march of 2003, i sat down with the french president, who explained why, and who in all of these years later, has been proven right and prophetic. >> we just feel that there is another option. another

through a press conference saying that the taliban is not allowing charter flights to department hamid karzaiport in kabul. >> as of now the taliban are not committing the charter flights to depart. they claim that some of the passengers do not have the required documentation. while there are limits to what we can do without personnel on the ground, without an airport with normal security procedures in place, we are working to do everything within our power to support those flights and to get them off the ground. >> brian: at another time, why we don't have anyone on the ground and any control of anyone's airport but that is for another show, what antony blinken didn't say is those flights include american citizens. though it is not clear how many over the weekend, white house chief of staff ron klain said that there were approximately 100 american citizens left in afghanistan. a week ago blinken said it was anywhere from 100 to 200. they likely don't include green card holders considering the administration doesn't have a clear number of how many of them are actually in afghanistan. what bli

and then they offered to hamid karzai, the u.s.'nistan, that as long as mullah or could live in some kind of house arrest, basically not be killed, not be put up on trial, they were prepared to entertain negotiations for what their role might be in a post-taliban afghanistan, basically, a political settlement at that point. karzai, for all his flaws that the united states would both contribute to and then criticize him for over the coming years, nevertheless knew afghan history and recognized that unless there was some kind of political future for the taliban, the taliban would opt for a violent future. and they had a proven capacity not just to wage an insurgency, but to triumph in one. and karzai took the deal. it was the bush administration, the united states, that said such a deal was unacceptable, not to the afghans, t unacceptable to the united states, that now took it on itself, as it has so often throughout its history in so many parts of the world, to tell afghans the way their country was about to be. and everything that h

mountains surround hamid karzai international airport and the valley is prone to bad weather.housands of afghans on the field and thousands more desperately trying to get in. nearby, a terror threat from isis-k. in this environment, lieutenant colonel alex pelbath had a mission, the end of u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. >> instead of focusing on danger, focus on the mission at hand. focus on individual tasks. focus on success. you focus on doing your part of the mission as well as you possibly can. >> reporter: pelbath was mission commander of the final five flights out of kabul. he snapped this picture of another c-17 taking on afghan evacuees. in the background the cars and baggage at hangars about to be left behind. >> i graduated air force academy in 201. a couple of months later, september 11th happened. my entire career has been spent with a conflict in afghanistan. to see it come to an end -- it does make a mark, i think. >> reporter: pelbath knew time was precious. every second on the tarmac was added risk. with the final troops loading up, the danger was at its pea

mountains surround hamid karzai international airport and the valley's prone to bad weather.rately trying to get in. nearby, a terror threat from isis-k. in this environment lieutenant colonel alex pelbath had a mission. the end of the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. >> instead of focusing on the danger, what all the operators do is you focus on the mission you've got at hand. you focus on your individual tasks. you focus on success. and you focus on doing your part of the mission as well as you possibly can. >> reporter: pelbath was the mission commander of the final five flights out of kabul. he snapped this picture. of another c-17 taking on afghan evacuees. in the background the cars and baggage and hangars about to be left behind. >> i granted the air force academy in 2001 and a couple months later september 11th happened. so my entire career has been spent with the conflict in afghanistan. and to see it come to an end, that does make a mark i think. >> reporter: pelbath knew time was precious. every second on the tarmac was added risk. and with the final troops loadin

mountains that surround hamid karzai international airport and the valleys prone to bad weather. terror threat from isis-k. in this environment lieutenant colonel had a mission the end of the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. >> instead of folks in danger, what the operators do is focus on the individual tasks at hand. you focus on success, and you focus on doing your part of the mission as well as you possibly can. >> reporter: this was the mission commander of the final five nights out of kabul. he snapped this picture of another c-17 taking on afghan evacuees. in the background the cars and baggage and hangars about to be left behind. >> i graduated the air force academy in 2001, and a couple months later september 11th happened so my entire career has been spent with -- with a conflict in afghanistan, and to see it come to an end, it does make a mark. >> he knew time was precious. every second on the tarmac was added risk and with the final troops loading up the danger was at its peak. >> major general chris donahue, the commander of the 82nd airborne was the last soldier to

loss of ryan kanass, who represented the best of all of us in the august 26th suicide bombing at hamid karzai international international airport. we made the ultimate sacrifice. how did we get here and to what has been a complete let down to most tennesseans. i have a few questions, these are yes-or-no questions. quick answers are appreciated. general milley, were options given for keeping american troops in afghanistan rather than the unconditional chaotic withdrawal? >> yes. >> you presented options and those options were declined? >> there were options presented and debated. >> yes or no? >> decision was made. >> yes or no, did you grate options for keeping bagram open beyond july 2? >> yes. >> did you provide options for keeping bagram open directly to the president? >> yes. >> had bagram stayed open, would our support to the afghan air force been more effective in your review? >> if bagram had stayed open, would our support to the afghan air force have been more effective in your view? yes or no? >> frankly, not sure on that one, most afghan air force was different base specifically at

and taliban with the qataris being instrumental getting hamid karzai international airport up and runningrst international passenger flight to take off from there since u.s. forces left in the middle of the night back on august 30th. a few minutes ago, chuck, we were on the runway at the airport in doha. we watched some very tired but very relieved people walking down the stairs of that boeing 777, into the safety and security of doha, after a day that began in taliban controlled kabul, passing through an airport, controlled by the taliban. the same airport that isis-k carried out the suicide bombing at a couple weeks ago. people are extremely happy to be here. they're happy to be out of afghanistan, but nothing about this is straightforward, chuck. we just spoke to a man, a canadian citizen. he was here with his six-year-old daughter. his wife remains back in afghanistan. she was not able to get on the flight with them. she is going to try to go through pakistan and the hope is at some point through this unbelievable international bureaucracy, this family is going to be reunited. for the

reports indicate the hamid karzai international airport could be operation ral for international air in couple days. this with intense negotiations between taliban, qatar and turkey. sours say the major issue is security. the taliban doesn't want any foreign security at the airport. there are major obstacles to have the taliban in control of entry points in the terminals. according to "wall street journal" americans stuck in the northern city of mazar-i-sharif were told to come to the afghan capital of kabul. unclear how many people made the journey to the flight that ended up in doha. protests continue in cities out of afghanistan. out of kabul, disturbing images of taliban fighters hitting journalists and women who were simply trying to protest. gives you a sense of what the demonstrators and civilians are dealing with on the ground with the taliban in control. liz? elizabeth: trey yingst, thank you so much for joining us tonight. it is good to see you. joining us is senator marsha blackburn of senate armed services. senator, those are disturbing images. they are really graphic, st

reports indicate the hamid karzai international airport could be operational for international flights. this comes after tense negotiations behind the scenes between the taliban, qatar and turkey. there are major obstacles to having the taliban in control of entry points and the terminals. according to "the wall street journal," americans who are stuck in the northern city of mazar-e-sharif were told to come to the afghan capital of kabul today. it's unclear though how many people made that journey to this flight that ended up in doha. protests continue in cities across afghanistan. out of kabul yesterday, disturbing images of taliban fighters hitting journalists and womenur who were simply trying o protest. it gives you a sense of what the demonstrators and civilians are now dealing with on the ground with the taliban in control. liz? elizabeth: trey yingst, thank you so much. joining us now, senator marsha a blackburn, senate armed services. those images are really graphic streaming out on the internet. the president's approval ratings have collapsed to 39%, that's according to an ec

intelligence there was explosive material inside the car that was to be used in an imminent attack on hamid karzaiirport by isis-k. just days before, an isis-k suicide bomber had blown himself up at abbey gate. 13 u.s. service members and more than 170 afghans were killed. but for the past two weeks cnn has been investigating the u.s. military's claims about the drone strike. interviewing more than two dozen people, family members, neighbors, ngo staff and multiple bomb experts that paint a very different version of events. we've also been given access to the cctv hard drive of the ngo office that day and reviewed all the footage. for 15 years zamarai worked as a technical engineer for nutrition education international, a u.s.-based ngo that introduced soybeans to afghanistan in 2003 to help feed the poor and reduce malnutrition. >> he is always caring for the people who are in need. and he has a compassionate heart. >> reporter: the organization's founder says the toyota corolla zamarai was driving belonged to the ngo and he was responsible for picking up colleagues, distributing soybeans to afgh

information for the passengers that, quote, goes above and beyond what was required for travel out of hamid karzai international airport just one day earlier. today blinken acknowledged the complexity of the situation but said every effort is going into getting the flights off the ground. >> while there are limits to what we can do without personnel on the ground, without an airport with normal security and procedures in place, we are working to do everything in our power to support those flights and to get them off the ground. >> reporter: still, there remain members of congress and private individuals who think the department is not doing enough. in recent days congressman mullin helped get a texas mother and her three children out of the country using an overland route. he accused the state department of trying to take credit for the effort. >> for them to say they facilitated it, that's a lie. we had to go through over 20 checkpoints which every one of those checkpoints you have to pay money to get through. >> reporter: and, jake, we've just learned from the department of homeland security tha

mountains surround hamid karzai international airport and the valley is prone to bad weather. to get in. nearby, a terror threat from isis-k. in this environment he had a mission. the end of the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. >> instead of focus on the danger what all the operators do, focus on your individual tasks, you focus on success, and you focus on doing your part of the mission as well as you possibly can. >> reporter: he was the mission commander of the final five flights out of kabul. he snapped this picture of another c-17 taking on afghan evacuees. in the background the cars and baggage and haj g hangars about to be left behind. >> i graduated the cair force academy in 2001 and a couple years later september 11th happened. my entire career has been spent with a conflict in afghanistan. to see it come to an end, that does make a mark, i think. >> reporter: pell bath knew time was precious. every second on the tarmac was added risk and with the final troops loading up the danger was at its peak. major general chris donahue, commander of the 82nd airborne, the last