but any hope mr ghani looks _ to return to afghanistan. but any hope mr ghani looks slim.operation that's under way. with the vast operation that's under wa . , with the vast operation that's under wa . y ., , , way. currently, the military is focused on — way. currently, the military is focused on the _ way. currently, the military is focused on the specific i way. currently, the military is. focused on the specific mission way. currently, the military is i focused on the specific mission of conducting a noncombatant evacuation operation from afghanistan. this is likely to be probably the second largest conducted by the united states. ., ., ., , . states. that operation very much focuses on _ states. that operation very much focuses on kabul _ states. that operation very much focuses on kabul airport. - states. that operation very much focuses on kabul airport. we i focuses on kabul airport. we continue to see desperate scenes. thousands of people continue to try to get into the airport and onto a flight, but as the americans acknowledge while they control the airport, th

dr abdullah, mr karzai and many other politicians who belong to the regime, the republic that mr ghani stay in kabul, and so they became a bridge between afghan political constituencies, society, different ethnic and social groups, and the taliban. and this discussion has been going on for over a week now. it started out about safety and security. now it is getting into politics. so it is going to be interesting to see what the taliban have to put on the table and how the others will react it. is it going to be broad—based enough? is it going to be inclusive enough? and will it be acceptable and embrace all of society? or is it going to be a two—stage approach where, on one hand, you have a transition system, and on the other hand you work with others toward a new political order. all of this is been discussed right now and the hope is that afghanistan — that the taliban realize that today's afghanistan is a difference afghanistan — so they claim but words only go so far, they have to show it in action and deeds. quite but the message seems fairly clear that the likes of dr abdullah ab

posting on facebook, mr ghani said...aliban entered the presidential palace. mr ghani also added the taliban are now responsible for protecting the country's honour, wealth and self—esteem. he did not disclose details on his new, current location. fawaz gerges is professor of international relations at the london school of economics. hejoins me now from london. hello, thank you forjoining us. just give us your assessment really of how this has happened at such speed. of how this has happened at such seed. ~ .,, of how this has happened at such seed. ~ u,, ., of how this has happened at such seed. ~ ., , , ., , speed. well, most of us seem to be sur-rised, speed. well, most of us seem to be surprised. with _ speed. well, most of us seem to be surprised, with what _ speed. well, most of us seem to be surprised, with what we _ speed. well, most of us seem to be surprised, with what we are - speed. well, most of us seem to be surprised, with what we are seeing. surprised, with what we are seeing today. the afghan war had been

first of all, do you think mr. ghani should resign and do you think it is possible for him to re-mobilize afghanistan's defense forces? guest: i don't want to say whether i think ashraf ghani should resign or not. i think the problem all along has been american voices, american politicians, and the military telling other countries who they should elect to be there leaders. i will say this. i feel that mr. ghani has been an ineffectual leader. i think he, broadcasting the sort of confidence he could immobilize the defense forces, that he is bringing in outside partners to embolden that process, you know, i think these words are basically empty. so, you know, i don't want to pick or choose who should stay or who should go, but he has been overseeing a very, very corrupt government over the last decade. he has won an election that many felt were not credible and fraudulent. i am going to leave it at that, but when you look at 20 years of him -- not all 20 years, because his predecessor was also there for many years, but he

mr. ghani insisted the afghan forces would fight. but obviously he was wrong.o i am left again to ask of those who argue that we should stay, how many more generations of america's daughters and sons would you have me send to fight afghanistan's civil war? when afghan troops will not? how many more lives, american lives, is it worth? how many endless rows of headstones at arlington national cemetery? i am clear on my answer. i will not repeat the mistakes we have made in the past. the mistake of staying and fighting indefinitely when the conflict is not in the national interest of the united states. of doubling down on a civil war in a foreign country, of attempting to remake a country through the endless deployment of u.s. military forces. those are the mistakes we cannot continue to repeat, because we have significant vital interest in the world that we cannot afford to ignore. i also want to acknowledge how painful this is to so many of us. the scenes we are seeing in afghanistan, they are gut wrenching, particularly for our veterans, diplomats, humanitarian

mr ghani said he had to leave afghanistan to prevent bloodshed. the british government's handling of the crisis has faced severe criticism in parliament. but the prime minister, borisjohnson, said there was no appetite among nato allies to keep troops in afghanistan without us support. the prosecution has made its opening statements at the trial of the american r&b singer r kelly at a us federal court. the prosecutor said the musician had targeted and exploited young girls and boys. r kelly denies any wrongdoing. hello, and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are grace blakeley, political commentator and columnist, and sam lister, deputy political editor of the daily express. we start our look at the pictures with, surprised me, the suspense is killing me. let's start with the metro — the prime minister and the foreign secretary come under attack from mps on all sides over their handling of the crisis in afghanistan during an emergency debate in the house of commons. the guardian says that the prime m

posting on facebook, mr ghani said...e said he left the country in order to avoid bloodshed, as the taliban entered the presidential palace. mr ghani also added the taliban are now responsible for protecting the country's honour, wealth and self—esteem. he did not disclose details on his new, current location. so who are taliban, or the islamic emirate of afghanistan as they call themselves? formed around a core of afghan mujahideen veterans from the soviet invasion, they were joined by young men from pakistani madrassas or religious schools. while primarily recruited from the pashtun ethnic group, the taliban was made up of volunteers of numerous afghan ethnicities. after the us—led coalition�*s offensive resulted in the regime's collapse in 2001, many taliban leaders took refuge in pakistan and continued to direct attacks from there. the un says there are an estimated 58,000 to 100,000 taliban fighters led by hebah toollah akhundzada, the ultimate authority on religious and military affairs. one of his deputies, now hea

he has resigned, still, to his left, but all we know is that calling —— according to mr abdullah, mr ghaniis according to mr abdullah, mr ghani has left the country.— has left the country. it is only the one day since _ has left the country. it is only the one day since ashraf— has left the country. it is only the one day since ashraf ghani - has left the country. it is only the one day since ashraf ghani told . has left the country. it is only the i one day since ashraf ghani told the people of afghanistan where we will ensure your security, my priority is to re—mobilise the military to mobilise the country and defend the country because it had a this will be shocking for the people afghanistan, even the people of kabul, because there were chaotic scenes where people were worried about their future, scenes where people were worried about theirfuture, in scenes where people were worried about their future, in the reports of taliban on the outskirts, that led to people rushing to the airport, rushing to passport offices, rushing even to stop at food and worried about the safety and security

mr. ghani insisted the afghan forces would fight. but, obviously, he was wrong. >> reporter: president biden took little responsibility for his administration's miscalculation of how the war would end. only briefly mentioning today's chaotic scenes at the kabul airport. >> scenes were seen in afghanistan. they're gut-wrenching, particularly for our veterans. >> reporter: it was an outcome far different than what he predicted last month. >> likelihood there's going to be the taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is unlikely. >> reporter: republicans accused the president of leaving hastily without a plan especially amid warnings from pentagon leaders that terrorists could regroup sooner than expected. >> we're less safe as a nation. the likelihood of an attack coming from afghanistan now is through the roof. >> reporter: democrats meanwhile demanded answers about the administration's plan to get afghans who helped the u.s. military out of the country. >> the question here is whether this is going to be saigon or

mr ghani said he had to leave afghanistan to prevent bloodshed.r, borisjohnson, said there was no appetite among nato allies to keep troops in afghanistan without us support. five days after haiti's devastating earthquake, followed by a tropical storm, aid in many places has yet to arrive. nearly 2,000 people are now known to have died. much of the response effort has yet to reach rural areas.

mr ghani said he had to leave afghanistan to prevent bloodshed.rime minister, borisjohnson, said there was no appetite among nato allies to keep troops in afghanistan without us support. the prosecution has made its opening statements at the trial of the american r&b singer r kelly at a us federal court. the prosecutor said the musician had targeted and exploited young girls and boys. r kelly denies any wrongdoing.

mr ghani did not disclose details on his new, current location.he led the us troops as commander to fight against the taliban in 2007 and also engaged them in peace talks later. thank you forjoining us. just first of all, your reaction to these very fast speed developments we've seen in the last 24—48 hours. first fast speed developments we've seen in the last 24-48 hours.— in the last 24-48 hours. first of all, in the last 24-48 hours. first of all. thank _ in the last 24-48 hours. first of all. thank you — in the last 24-48 hours. first of all, thank you very _ in the last 24-48 hours. first of all, thank you very much - in the last 24-48 hours. first of all, thank you very much for i in the last 24-48 hours. first of. all, thank you very much for having me. i've got a personal reaction and then a policy reaction. my personal reaction, look, it is very upsetting and disappointing. i've got afghan friends who i am messaging back and forth, we are concerned about their safety, their personal safety. they tell me about the unfolding humanitarian cr

so mr. ghani, and therefore for the ask and military the way that when the taliban takes these regional capitals on the other side away from cobble away from the regional capital, you've got african government forces in effect, then cut off and they can't be re supplied by the opposite numbers in cobble that has been one of the biggest problems for the security forces is that as they slowly lost rural areas, they slowly lost the roads and then they were unable to resupply by rose, i talked to one person in the high up in security forces here who said we've got full playing and that's how we're trying to reach the class security forces. and it's incredibly difficult when you've got so many different offences and so many different provinces trying to get the menu nation money, basics supplies. it's really been a hamstring for them and they've been relying on special horses and sending them in these elite units to try to secure cities. but now they just have so many cities and they don't have enough special forces to spread around. charlotte understood, stay close, we'll talk to you later.

in a statement, mr ghani said he had left to prevent what he described as a flood of blood.that is it. thank you for watching. cloud features quite prominently in our forecast for this weekend with the grey skies comes a relatively cool conditions for the time of year. north—westerly winds bringing all that cloudy and cool air particularly at the start of the week but will often, if not always, be it dry. just a bit of light and patchy rain here and there. this is the earlier satellite picture. we have got low pressure up to the north—east. weak frontal systems which are bringing in cloud and some showery rain. quite a lot of low cloud waiting up to the west and this is the set up the west of the week. high pressure to the west, low to the east and that is driving the north—westerly wind. quite brisk first thing especially on monday we will see some sunshine, north and east of scotland. whereas further west we will keep on the way the cloud and perhaps spots of light rain and drizzle at times. slightly heavier rain approaching north—west scotland and northern ireland heavier

what mr. ghani has been saying, just as soon as we can, when we find out the provenance of that, clearly he was inside the presidential palace. there, i suspect it was the presidential policy hasn't been moved to another safe location . he wasn't on one of those helicopters flying through the skies of cobble. let's go live now to washington and our correspondent, heidi joe castro. heidi, what are they saying there about what's going on in afghanistan? peter apparent, chaotic change in the plan that the u. s. embassy and called the when we saw those images of helicopter, after helicopter. * filled with passengers evacuating american civilian and diplomatic staff from the embassy. of course, the original plan was to have a core groups remain within the embassy for possibly the final days of the, of the afghan government. but now that core group has been moved to the international airport and they will remain there for an unspecified amount of time . this coming after president biden deployed an additional $1000.00 us troops to facilitate this evacuation that brings up the total number of a

mr ghani said that the �*remobilization of armed forces�* was his top priority.d he was consulting with international partners to prevent further violence. heavy fighting has broken out in the afghan city of mazar—i—sharif, as taliban militants tighten their stranglehold around kabul. american troops have flown into the afghan capital to help evacuate embassy personnel in kabul. britain and several other western nations are also sending troops as resistance from afghan government forces crumbles. the taliban also claims to have captured territory in two other provinces overnight. let's here more about what the afghan president had to say. translation: our dear country afghanistan is in serious danger| of instability due to the war imposed upon us. i am aware of the situation here. i offer my condolences to the martyrs of the security forces and civilians and wish the injured people a speedy recovery. our effort is to take care of our compatriots who have been displaced due to the situation. i appreciate the courage of the afghan security and defence forces who ha

we encircle it, and we just sit there waiting for mr. ghani to do what they want him to do because they wanted him to go to be gone for a long time. now. they have, i mean i've talked to some taliban contacts who have say that she that is exec strategy that we do initially it was will take rule areas and see how we go with the, the negotiating table. then they didn't get much traction. and in the us started it strikes and they said, okay, we'll move into the provincial capitals and we'll pressure the cities then we'll see how we go. they still didn't get any traction. neither h in closer to cobble. and now we're starting to see the government really pay attention and start to realize that we really need to come to some type of political settlement because they're losing leverage every day. i mean, we said 21 provincial capital. they actually have one more to add to that we just and just before we came on ear, god in the provincial capital of pack to you, we understand that fell also another one ferry of the province. that we understand the telephone, a broken, a prison in the provincial

you have the government, you've got mr. ghani, the good guys, and you got the people of afghanistan. i mean, how keen of both those different sides of this violent debate to go down the road of peace, lasting peace. particularly if we talk about the, the prism of cobble city, not the province, the city because it's not just the people of cobble city, is it, there are disparate groups in that city. there are people who would want to make trouble, and that might play towards an even worse situation than we've seen so far. meant to pick up your last comment. it is as 55000000 people. it's a few city compared to other places we took over and they were able to secure the city and avoid losing that. never had that not that did not happen always. there were some places. so there were some disorderly transfer, but major cities were pretty much done. i'm about to come to her and her compatibility cobble is huge. it's just logistically, it's going to be difficult to secure. and there are a lot more people who may want to exclude the situation. in cobble, when you got your 1st point, that is ab

mr. ghani is trying to run the troops to defend the city of missouri sharif, the biggest in northern afghanistan. the interior minister has told this channel. afghan forces are also trying to secure the main highways. the big cities and border crossings too slow the taliban, lightening advance. charlotte bellis has this exclusive report. 5 weeks ago, general abdel sat, her mirth quelled, stepped into the roll of f gonna stones, interior minister in all he commands a force of 130000 people. today he is driving toward deck a province west of cobble, much of the provinces controlled by the taliban. government personnel travelling by road is rear and requires an escort official forsooth. in the last 3 months the taliban has more than doubled its territory. and in the last week started to take provincial capitals. what's going through your head at the moment about those provinces? how? how worried you and how do you stop in the room? look, you got to cool. we are working in 3 phases. the 1st is to stop the defeat. second, the regather, our forces, security rings around the city and all th

given that does mr. ghani, have a plan that he wants to stick to a plan that can work because the plan to date clearly is not working. i think it's all at this point. it should be all about making the transition to a trudy that can negotiate on behalf of the anti taliban camp. credibly can he's not that person with regard to what his plan is working. he hasn't describe his plan to anyone. he always says, i have a 6 month plan or 2 months plan and it's good. i'm going to change the situation. but if the on the tuition has only turn to for the worst, his reason address as your correspondent explained, didn't clarify anything. he didn't really say anything actually out of confusion because there were hope that he would come out and talk about a possible transition resignation and hope there were people who well hoping that that would also mean the fire. that would also mean breathing room for a political deal to be put in place. because as you pointed out, the movement of is such that the time is not on the side of the government. the leverage off the government side, the liberal anti pal

mr. ghani insisted the afghan forces would fight but obviously he was wrong. reporter: mr. at the white house a few weeks ago and he's fled afghanistan to parts unknown and many afghans are hurrying to do the same 640 people piled on to a c-17 transport plane that is reportedly as many as ever on that kind of aircraft as the president says, he would do it all again. >> this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated and the buck stops with me. i'm deeply saddened by the facts we now face, but i do not regret my decision. reporter: and in those remarks president biden also said that human rights must be at the center of u.s. foreign policy. so this is what human rights at the center of u.s. foreign policy looks like. back to you. steve: peter, we just heard joe biden say that everything unraveled faster than they anticipated. the white house was really caught flat footed and over the weekend, you know, we last saw him friday, i think, and then, all they had were a couple of photos, because clearly, this went south fast, and that's why they had to bring him back, because

mr ghani said that the �*remobilization of armed forces�* was his top priority.he was consulting with international partners to prevent further violence. heavy fighting has broken out in the afghan city of mazar—i—sharif, as taliban militants tighten their stranglehold around kabul. american troops have flown into the afghan capital to help evacuate embassy personnel and other civilians stranded in kabul. britain and several other western nations are also sending troops as resistance from afghan government forces crumbles. the taliban also claims to have captured territory in two other provinces overnight. as the taliban military advances, reports out of washington suggest the taliban may take control of kabul in the next 90 days. other predictions are offering it to happen even sooner than that. here's our asia editor anbarasan ethirajan, with more on that estimate. these assessments they keep changing, especially those coming out of the us, initially, they're expecting it to be six months to a year. but what happened in the past one week has been staggering and

mr ghani said he had to leave afghanistan to prevent bloodshed. the british government's handling of the crisis has faced severe criticism in parliament. but the prime minister, borisjohnson, said there was no appetite among nato allies to keep troops in afghanistan without us support. five days after haiti's devastating earthquake, followed by a tropical storm, aid in many places has yet to arrive. nearly 2,000 people are now known to have died. much of the response effort has yet to reach rural areas. hello, and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are grace blakeley, political commentator and columnist, and sam lister, deputy political editor of the daily express. tomorrow's front pages. let's start with the metro — the prime minister and the foreign secretary come under attack from mps on all sides over their handling of the crisis in afghanistan during an emergency debate in the house of commons. the guardian says that the prime minister faced a "wall of fury" from the conservative party, with mor

but instead, mr. ghani told his detail he wanted to fly. so the ministry of defense was waiting, the army chief of staff was waiting, the helicopters changed directions and they were heading toward the i'm in karzai international airport. i think once the effect was revealed, the entire government in kabul kabul in no time, just like it crumbled across many of afghanistan's provinces. i think it is a taliban strategy as well as fighting on the battlefield for the last many months that they offered the surrender deal. i think this was the workup months, if not years. so it was surreal in many ways because i had started my career in 2001 when the americans were bombing the taliban. i saw the fall of the taliban. it was unbelievable to see how the tables turned, how there was panic and fear. my family this me was here. i am a father to a new baby girl. i was not exempted from the panic and fear of what the taliban would do. a vacuum created, some looting and somearassment the citizens of afghanistan. i would say for me it was almost like in no

mr. ghani insisted afghan forces would fight. obviously, he was ehe's angry sense but does the buck stop with him if he blamed so many others and didn't have the right intelligence?reality of this, of all the images, the president is doubling down, tripling down on ending the u.s. involvement in a 20-plus year war. >> i stand scarily behind my decision. i do not regret my decision to end america's war fighting in afghanistan. i cannot and will not ask our troops to fight on endlessly. >> the way this went down is shocking. the images we've seen in the past day give any human being a visceral and sick reaction. sickening images show a disastrous exit out of afghanistan, not in any way how the most powerful country in the world gets out or thought about it. no, this is hastingly leaving a security situation deteriorating by the hour. some of the images, right? this was the scene at the airport in kabul. this is a u.s. air force plane. hundreds of people, thousands maybe when you look out there but, you know, look at them. they're t

but any hope mr ghani has of returning to powerl mr ghani has of returning to power looked slim.ond largest operation conducted by the united states. �* . operation conducted by the united states. . ., ., ., operation conducted by the united states. ., ., ., , states. and that operation continues to focus on kabul— states. and that operation continues to focus on kabul airport. _ states. and that operation continues to focus on kabul airport. we - to focus on kabul airport. we continue to see desperate scenes, thousands of people continue to try to get into the airport and onto a flight. but as the americans acknowledge, while they controlled the airport, they no longer control the airport, they no longer control the entire process. the the airport, they no longer control the entire process.— the airport, they no longer control the entire process. the taliban have informed us — the entire process. the taliban have informed us that _ the entire process. the taliban have informed us that they _ the entire process. the taliban have informed us that they are _ the entire process. the

mr. ghani insisted the afghan forces would fight, but obviously he was wrong. so i'm left again to ask of those who argue that we should stay. how many more generations of america's daughters and sons would you have me send to fight afghanistan's civil war when afghan troops will not? how many more lives, american lives, is it worth, how many endless rows of headstones at arlington national cemetery? i'm clear in my answer. i will not repeat the mistakes we've made in the past. the mistake of staying and fighting indefinitely in a conflict that is not in the national interest of the united states, of doubling down on a civil war in a foreign country, of attempting to remake a country through the endless military deployments of u.s. forces? those are the mistakes we cannot continue to repeat because we have significant vital interest in the world that we can not afford to ignore. i also want to acknowledge how painful this is to so many of us. the scenes that we're seeing in afghanistan, they're gut-wrenching, particularly for our veterans, our diplomats, humani

insisted afghan forces would fight obviously, he was wrong. >> have mr. ghaniknown" many afghans to do the same 640 people piled intoi c-17 transport plane this photo reportedly as many people on plane like that as ever the president said he would do it again. >> this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated the buck stops with me. i am deeply saddeneded by facts we now face, but do i not regret my decision. >> center of u.s. foreign policy -- this is what human rights center of u.s. foreign policy looks like in this administration. cheryl: before you go you mentioned ashraf ghani we are seeing reports going to be involved in the new formation of new government with taliban, how possible that is when he fled afghanistan? >> sorry look likes loss had the poort doocy steve forbes i can probably answer same question i am not sure how ghani president ghani is supposed to be involved in new government when he is out. steve: planeloads of cash that is not going to happen this whole thing of a taliban saying oh, we're going to bring in others rooildz after worl

the news broke as mr ghani arrived in the city of mazar i shariff, a fiercely anti—taliban strongholdin the most important urban centres, but that control looks more and more fragile. while the president attempted to rally his loyal troops in mazar—i—sharif, militants have been circling. our afghanistan correspondent, secunder kermani, has been given rare access to those areas around the the city now captured by the taliban. his report was filmed by cameraman fred scott. a warning — you may some of the images upsetting. new territory. new weapons. all captured in this unprecedented taliban advance. caught in the middle, afghan families right across the country. how can you justify all this fighting, when it's causing the deaths of thousands of afghans, thousands of ordinary muslims? you're the ones who started the fighting here, though. shortly after the interview ends, the sound of helicopters. the taliban are still vulnerable to government air strikes. this is balkh, a town with ancient roots — thought to be the birthplace of one of islam's best—known mystic poets, rumi. now it's un

in a nine minute broadcast mr ghani said he had been forced to leave afghanistan at the weekend to avoided and that claims he made off with $169 million were "baseless."(biv inside afghanistan the work continues to evacuate afghan allies most at risk, though it proving increasingly difficult to get people who are eligibile to leave to the airport. the german foreign ministry confirmed today that their first evacuation flight left with just seven people on board it. the taliban have surrounded the airport, and although they are promising safe passage few are prepared to take the risk. as our chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports. come and help, help, help. a girl at the gate screaming. "the taliban are coming, they are coming for me," pleading with western soldiers at kabul airport to let her in. this is the front line of fear in a capital turned inside out. the people who have had to run the gauntlet of new taliban check posts along the main road to the airport. many afghans say they are trapped, they are sending sos messages to the world. these are just some sent to me.

mr ghani insisted the afghan forces would fight but obviously he was wrong.ask of those who argued we should stay, how many more generations of america's daughters and sons would you have me sent to fight afghanistan's civil war when fight afg hanistan's civil war when afghan fight afghanistan's civil war when afghan troops will not? how many more american lives is it worth? how many endless rows of headstones in arlington national cemetery? i'm clear in my answer. i will not repeat the mistakes we've made in the past. the mistake of staying and fighting indefinitely in a conflict thatis fighting indefinitely in a conflict that is not in the national interest of the united states, of doubling down on a civil war in a foreign country, of attempting to remake a country, of attempting to remake a country through the endless military deployment of us forces, those are the mistakes we cannot continue to repeat. because we have significant vital interests in the world that we cannot afford to ignore. i also want to acknowledge how painful this is to acknowledge how

first of all, do you think mr. ghaniuld resign and do you think it is possible for him to re-mobilize afghanistan's defense forces? guest: i don't want to say whether i think ashraf ghani should resign or not. i think the problem all along has been american voices, american politicians, and the military telling other countries who they should elect to be there leaders. i will say this. i feel that mr. ghani has been an ineffectual leader. i think he, broadcasting the sort of confidence he could immobilize the defense forces, that he is bringing in outside partners to embolden that process, you know, i think these words are basically empty. so, you know, i don't want to pick or choose who should stay or who should go, but he has been overseeing a very, very corrupt government over the last decade. he has won an election that many felt were not credible and fraudulent. i am going to leave it at that, but when you look at 20 years of him -- not all 20 years, because his predecessor was also there for many years, but he has

mr. ghani, now a fixture for the last several years, has presided over this quick takeover by the taliban. it is in part his and so his other civilian advisors, who are being blamed now for the lack of a clear security strategy to counter the taliban, even starting weeks ago if not months. but again, we are just in an amazing place right now given that the taliban has virtually no provincial capitals -- the taliban had virtually no provincial capitals just days ago. host: what is the prospect of a power-sharing agreement? guest: you know, that is a central question and i don't know the answer. i think the taliban -- again, the last several days in particular, if not months, suggest the taliban has the upper hand and i don't know if they are going to agree to anything certainly with the ghani government. there may be some intermediary, intermediate leaders who could form a transition government. the taliban does have some interest in maintaining international influence and recognition, and, you

mr ghani has left afghanistan, but at yesterday's news conference, the taliban made a number of assurances government would be safe. we shall see. here's a former advisor to the us special representative for afghanistan. it made me just once again be - impressed by how strategic they are, how media savvy they are. | i would very much like to wish and i hope that there has been a change in their policies, but what i ami seeing on the ground, what i'm hearing from women and journalists| and others who have been so critical to the rights agenda - of afghanistan is as soon as they take over territory, . they are going to their doors. they're targeting them. they are creating a climate of intimidation and fear, i which is exactly what i they did in the 19905. meanwhile, western countries have continued evacuating nationals and afghans who worked for them. that comes after the taliban gave assurances that people looking to leave the country would be safe. but there have been scenes of chaos at kabul airport and reports that afghans have been beaten by taliban guards on their way to the airport.

this advice was flatly refused mr. ghani insisted that the afghan forces would fight.o ask of those who argue that we should stay -- how many more generations of america's daughters and sons would you have me send to fight afghanistan's civil war when afghan troops will not how many more lives, american lives, is it worth how many endless roads of headstones and arlington national cemetery? i'm clear in my answer i will not repeat the mistakes we have made in the past the mistake of staying and fighting indefinitely in a conflict that is not in the national interests of the united states, of doubling down on a civil war in a foreign country, of attempting to re-make a country through the endless military deployments of u.s. forces those are the mistakes we cannot continue to repeat we have significant vital interests in the world that we cannot afford to ignore. i also want to acknowledge how painful this is to so many of us the scenes we're seeing in afghanistan, they're gut-wrenching, particularly for our veterans, our diplomats, humanitarian workers, for minute who

mr. ghaninow a fixture for the last several years, has presided over this quick takeover by the taliban. it is in part his and so his other civilian advisors, who are being blamed now for the lack of a clear security strategy to counter the taliban, even starting weeks ago if not months. but again, we are just in an amazing place right now given that the taliban has virtually no provincial capitals -- the taliban had virtually no provincial capitals just days ago. host: what is the prospect of a power-sharing agreement? guest: you know, that is a central question and i don't know the answer. i think the taliban -- again, the last several days in particular, if not months, suggest the taliban has the upper hand and i don't know if they are going to agree to anything certainly with the ghani government. there may be some intermediary, intermediate leaders who could form a transition government. the taliban does have some interest in maintaining international influence and recognition, and, you kn

mr. ghani insisted that the afghan forces would fight. but obviously he was wrong. so i'm left again to ask of those who argue that we should stay, how many more generations of america's daughters and sons would you have me send to fight afghanistan's civil war? when afghan troops will not. how many more lives, american lives is it worth? how many endless rows of headstones at arlington national cemetery? i'm clear on my answer. i will not repeat the mistakes we've made in the past. the mistake of staying and fighting indefinitely in a conflict that is not in the national interest of the united states. of doubling down on a civil war in a foreign country. of attempting to remake a country through the endless military deployments of u.s. forces. those are the mistakes we cannot continue to repeat because we have significant vital interests in the world that we cannot afford to ignore. i also want to acknowledge how painful this is to so many of us. the scenes we're seeing in afghanistan, they're gut-wrenching. particularly for our veterans, our diplomats, humanitaria

addressing a special session, mr ghani insisted that the situation would be brought under control withinrliament expressed their firm support to the afghan republic and its constitution. later the new zealand weightlifter laurel hubbard will make history by becoming the first openly transgender athlete to compete in an olympics. her participation in the event has sparked a sports transgender debate —— but laurel hubbard says �*she's not here to change the world.�* she went on... it's not really myjob to change what they think, what they feel and what they believe. ijust hope they look at the bigger picture, rather than just trusting whatever their gut may have told them. let's talk to nicola williams. thank you forjoining me. in your review, is laurel hubbard cheating? laurel hubbard is complying _ is laurel hubbard cheating? laurel hubbard is complying with - is laurel hubbard cheating? laurel hubbard is complying with the - is laurel hubbard cheating? lalezi hubbard is complying with the rules but the rules are wrong. the ioc has opened up the female category to include people who are

does the president feel he had a willing partner in president ghani? mr. sullivan: look, the president was reporting the facts as they unfolded. i am not going to characterize anything about president ghani who is no longer a factor in afghanistan and i don't think there is much merit in me weighing in more deeply on him. reporter: mr. sullivan, sorry to labor the point here, but we are speaking to people who supported the mission in afghanistan who are now terrified for their lives. can you confirm when it gets to august 31 and your troops leave, will you abandon them or stay and save them? mr. sullivan: our plan is to safely evacuate the people who worked with the united states who are eligible for special immigrant visas, a generous program set up on a bipartisan basis. we have identified those individuals and families. we are making provisions to get them out of the country. that is what we will do between now and the end of the month. reporter: one question, going back to president ghani. have any top officials of the afghani government, former afghani

mr. ghani insisted the afghan forces would fight but obviously he was wrong.t: president biden yesterday from the white house. he mentioned china in that portion of his comments. this story from the new york post, china saying yesterday beijing is ready to deepen friendly and cooperative relations with afghanistan the day after the taliban toppled the government. the foreign minister of china not answering explicitly when asked whether beijing will recognize the taliban but said china would respect the choice of the afghan people. that story from the new york post. two minutes left getting your reaction to president biden's comments yesterday. this is lewis in new jersey, republican. good morning. caller: good morning. for the record, i am not a big fan of the president but this is not his fall. the people who should be blamed is the congress for the last 20 years to exploit not only our soldiers but the people of afghanistan and they made billions of dollars. that is who should be blamed. host: jim in fort lauderdale, florida, republican. good morning. caller

does the president find a willing partner in president ghani? mr. sullivan: he is reporting the facts as they unfolded. i will not characterize anything about president ghani at this point. he was no longer a factor in afghanistan and there is no point in me weighing in. >> speaking to afghan citizens who supported the american mission in afghanistan, who are now terrified for their lives, can you confirm that when it gets to august 31, will you abandon them or stay and save them? mr. sullivan: our plan is to safely evacuate the people who worked with the u.s., who are eligible for special immigrant visas, which is a generous program set up on a bipartisan basis by our congress. we have identified those individuals and families. we are making provision for them to come to the airport and out of the country. that is what we're going to do between now and the end of the month. yes. >> one question, going back to president ghani, have any top officials in the afghani government, the former afghani government, made requests for asylum in the united state

mr biden also criticised the former afghanistan president ashraf ghani, who of course has gone into exiled the former president had promised him at a meeting at the white house, afghan forces would fight. mr biden said that was clearly not the case. he also blamed the trump administration for this agreement to withdraw forces from afghanistan this year. he said that left his administration with really no choice but to either go along with that or face the prospect of another civil war on the ground with the taliban. i think a lot of americans who have felt this is a good thing to do will, i think, be a little bit shocked by the pictures, in some cases, very shocked. recent polls show most are in favour of the withdrawal. whether they will still be is anybody�*s guess. for more reaction to president biden�*s speech, i've been speaking to kamran bokhari, director of analytical development at the newlines institute in washington. i began by asking him whether he thinks the president will regret his actions. if we look back at what happened in iraq, we pulled forces out when president biden w

ghani saturday. we read out that call. reporter: did the secretary have any heads up he was about to flee the country? mr. price: it was a fluid situation. the security situation was evolving click the. the political situation was fleeing quickly. we will leave it to president ghani to characterize what he said to the secretary. there has not been a formal transfer of power. reporter: who does the united states recognize as the leader of afghanistan now? mr. price: this is something we are working with the international community. you saw in this statement from the u.n., a clear consensus emerge that a political settlement will be in everyone's interest. a political settlement will be best position to achieve what is in our collective interest. i mean the united states, that of our allies and partners, and most importantly, the interests of the people of afghanistan. a political settlement is what we are still pushing for. we are not doing this alone. we are working in close collaboration with the international community throughout this process, together with the u.n. and international partners. we have be