let's go back to nick paton walsh. nick, to reset what we know and when we learned about. 9:45 eastern time this morning, the pentagon confirmed the first explosion outside of the kabul airport. then at about 11:00 a.m., confirmation from the pentagon of a second explosion had occurred. where we are right now, do you have any assessment, any information about if the threat is past? >> you have to assume that it is not. because it's been there for sort of 20 years in various forms, but with isis over the past four or five years, they're always the group who have been behind the attacks that leave you breathless in terms of how savage they are, talking large processions of shiuates, particularly minorities in kabul. things that make your blood chill and normally have their hallmark attached to them. they have been a confusing phenomenon at times . many analysts have thought they're blamed for things which are possibly carried out by other groups who don't want to put their name to it. during isis heyday in iraq and syria,

let's bring back nick paton walsh and phil mudd. we also want to bring in former cnn and nbc kabul bureau chief atia abawi. great to have you here. phil, i want to start with you because it worries me, but i don't know if it worries you that ned price and no one can really give specific numbers. if they don't know the specific demographics of who they're flying out of there, exactly how many americans, exactly how many special immigrant visa afghans, how do they know how many are left behind? how do they know when the mission is complete? >> boy, you are a little more polite than i would be. that was unacceptable. i'm not interested in hearing a u.s. government spokesperson talk about how unprecedented this is with other u.s. presidents and how other presidents didn't have to deal with this. i'm interesting in understanding why we did only 2,000 people in 24 hours, how we increase that pace over the next 24 hours, what the total number it is that we want to get out and how long that's going to take. that was pathetic! explaining how

nick paton walsh is in doha, qatar, with an update. d oren liebermann is at the pentagon with a diplomatic cable that warned before the withdrawal. let's go to the nick paton walsh in qatar. nick, bring us up to speed with va va evacuations. there was a pause yesterday, but back on today? >> reporter: yeah, we don't have the numbers just now, we expect to get them when stateside opens up around noon, and currently there were 14,000 people on that airport, trying to get off. now that is an extraordinary number. 4,000 more than the 10,000 charissa was told by marines yesterday. i should say the numbers do fluctuate. some may be taken off, they may be processed but it is a staggering process ahead. i've will be told by a source, for a number of days, sort of a builtation process that the military there has, the state department has laxed a little. more humanitarian, let people on who are in need. that appears to be changing drastically and much more paperwork during this time. and now it seems that the bottleneck that we're hearing about w

international security editor nick paton walsh is live for us in doha. you've been reporting for days on the isis-k threat. we're hearing this is still an imminent threat here. >> reporter: obviously they have proven with devastating effects that they can get to the most sensitive parts of the u.s. remaining presence in afghanistan which is the gates of the airport at abbey gate. there have been a consistent threat against frankly any target they can find to fit their agenda for years. so given the success devastating as it has been, it is likely that they will try something again if they have the opportunity. so this presents an enormous challenge for the u.s. evacuation operation moving forward. not least because of the desperate need to keep american service people safe there despite the extraordinary high risk activities fwhaecthey have undertaking literally standing face-to-face with huge afghan crowds on a daily basis, but because it also limits the number of afghans that could potentially get on the base. we learned yesterday from centcom a bit mo

. >> we go back to nick paton walsh, shhe's, again, in qatar this morning.? >> reporter: the closing hours of the u.s. presence in the longest war. the five rockets fired, it seems at the direction of hamid karzai international may have been entre intercepted by the airport defenses the u.s. had in place. it points the finger toward isis-k. responsible for thursday's suicide blast that killed over 170 afghans and 13 american personnel and, also, it seems for yesterday's -- were the target of yesterday's drone strike by the united states, which they, appears to have an interrupted an imminent threat to the airport. we're learning about the strike and the time initially the united states said they had hit what they referred to as a vehicle which caused a secondary explosion they said it was proof they hit the correct target. that the time, they thought they were not dealing with any reports of civilian casualties. at this stage, though, yesterday they were released another statement suggesting that the secondary explosion, quote, may have caused additional cas

our cnn national security editor nick paton walsh is in doha, qatar.h lieberman at the pentagon. oren, what do we know first of all about this u.s. drone strike? >> the strike was carried out by a drone that came in probably from a base in the gulf. the initial information was there was a secondary source of ex-sieves, meaning on board that car that triggered a larger explosion which is part of the reason that led the u.s. to believe they hit their target. it is unclear according to defense officials we've spoken with, whether it was a car bomb or whether there were one or more suicide bombers on board that car ready to carry out what u.s. central command called an imminent threat to the airport. that information is still being assessed. defense officials are sure they hit a valid target because of the explosives on board. we're looking for more information on that, as well as assessing civilian casualties as a result of the strike. it was only about 15 hours ago that the u.s. embassy in kabul said they had a credible threat and warned u.s. citizens to

nick paton walsh in afghanistan. we want to begin with arlette.e do know about the air strike, but what do we know about how it happened about the warning in kabul is likely? do they anticipate this other attack could also be from isis-k? >> reporter: well, this air strike ordered by president biden is just the latest sign that he is intent on finding and tracking down those perpetrators of that terrorist attack that killed 13 u.s. service members and dozens more afghans. now, the details regarding the strike are very limited. it was ordered by president biden, and a spokesperson for central command said it targeted an isis-k planner. it was conducted over the horizon and unmanned air strike. that suggests that it was done outside the country and it was done via a drone. we are still waiting to hear more details about the planning that went into this air strike. but it all comes as the president has been warned by his national security team that another terror threat in kabul, around kabul, is likely, in the waning days before the u.s. troops draw

but this is reality. >> so back with nick paton walsh. ck, our washington team did just get confirmation from a u.s. official 10,400 people flown out of the airport in kabul over the last 24 hours. 10,400. that's a very big number. they'll have to keep it that high for several days because of the other breaking news. it is a very big number. to evacuate that many people in one day. the new problem, though, nick, is the taliban just put out a statement a few minutes ago saying they don't -- they're not in favor at all of extending the august 31st deadline. they see august 31st as the date when u.s. troops need to leave. how does that complicate things? >> reporter: yeah. i mean, look, i would be very surprised at this stage if the u.s., given how precarious that situation is decided to roll the dice and stay past the 31st of august. joe biden, president joe biden always wanted to be out. the problem, too, is the united states will now be the victims of their own success because that 10,000 figure is extraordinary. i mean, it is also possibl

let's begin with nick paton walsh on the ground in kabul, afghanistan. nick, you tried to make your way to the kabul airport today. what did you see? >> reporter: i got to the first entry point, the main entrance which was under taliban control. the streets outside of it. and bizarrely that one patch remaining in afghanistan after 20 years is under american control, well there were taliban in fact trying to stop those crowds from getting towards the airport. crowd control essentiallyo ofte done with the humvees and they've taken off the afghan forces that they have moved into the capital kicked out of here. just to let you know. you mentioned the flights resuming. i heard a plane and we saw flares and a minutes worth of what could have been tracer rounds, possibly may suggest gunfire but clearly activities, but certainly the road to the airport as we saw today was an extraordinary sight. possibly not as crazy crowded as it has been in previous hours but densely packed. people walking in that direction carrying what they could because for many here who hav

nick paton walsh joining us live from quatar. what is the status of the evacuation effort this morning? we're talking about over 117,000 people so far. where do things stand? >> reporter: yeah, last numbers suggested that the last 12-hour period which have been, at some point, i think on saturday heading into sunday saw about 900 people being taken off of the part evacuation reported by u.s. officials. it shows an enormous tampering off. we're in the end of the evacuation phase and the u.s. have been clear they'll take people until the last minute, if they could. that window is exceptionally small now. it i think it's being felt the u.s. didn't want to dice too much with the 31st of august deadline. that's the day they said they would be out by. it's not clear if it's the ending or beginning that has been agreed with the taliban at this stage. i think we're in the closing hours. there's a few c-17s coming in and out around the airport. it's unclear what status there is on the ground with remaining troops there. this is the most f

nick paton walsh in doha. arlette saenz at the white house. arlette, to you. what is the president doing with a situation that is so fluid this moment. >> reporter: it really is so fluid. and president biden is meeting to receive the latest update on afghanistan. as for the air strike, it's simply president biden making good on that promise to retaliate for that terror attack out of the kabul airport which killed at least 13 u.s. service members and dozens more afghans. we have very few details about what this air strike entails. around 9:30 last night, the first reports of that air strike came in, with central command, saying it was an over-the-horizon strike against an isis-k planner. it was also an unmanned strike suggesting it was done by drone. and the over-the-horizon point suggests it was done from out of the country. but really, this is just the latest step from the president as he is trying to identify and find those perpetrators of the attack and hold them responsible. and this all comes as there's a very precarious situation that the administration

nick paton walsh is in qatar with the breaking news. nick, you're breaking this.hat have you learned? >> reporter: yeah. 36 hours left of the evacuation operation, according to a source familiar with the situation. now, that shouldn't come an enormous surprise we have known at some point they have to stop and the military takeover with the job of getting themselves out. but i've also learned that there's a key number involved here. the priority for this evacuation operation has always been american citizen. as of 8:00 a.m. this morning, there were still kabul time there were still 150 americans still they needed to get on to the airport. the evacuation of them is moving at a clip. i understand aftered my night and 8:00 a.m., 200 americans actually left the base. so it is possible. now we're looking at late afternoon in kabul, but if that pace was kept up e most of the americans which the united states is aware need assistance to get to the airport have got there and have perhaps left. i'm speculating, though. you may say, john, hang on, didn't secretary of state a

. >> let's get more on the fast-moving developments in afghanistan and get straight to cnn's nick paton walsh, who joins us live from kabul. nick, there werer the. there was an intelligence assessment a few days ago that said this would take place in 30 to 90 days. u.s. intelligence didn't anticipate this would happen merely within hours. bring us up to speed with what you're seeing. >> reporter: yeah, it's important to have a sort of slight pause on where we feel we are in terms of kabul's security. from what we can see, we are not seeing the taliban entering the city from multiple points as some of the reports have suggested. in fact, a source in the presidential palace, who, obviously, have skin in the game here to fashion the narrative in a certain way, facts suggest that some of the panic was caused by a clash at a bank which we heard from other sources. we heard sounds of occasional cracks of gunfire. not abnormal in kabul. what is abnormal is the scale of american helicopters circulating around the area of the embassy. i have not seen anything like there in 20 years in terms of the vol

nick paton walsh is following this for us.ended into violence, and there are even fears that kabul, the nation's capital, could also fall. of course, this is coming very close to the 20th anniversary of 9/11. give us the latest. >> yeah, it's been a bad 72 hours for afghanistan. for its government there. nothing like it in the last 20 years, jim. make no mistake. certainly kunduz is the largest city to fall to the taliban. temporarily, the insurgency have twice in the last six years moved in and been kicked out by african security forces. there's fighting still going on now but it's not happened to the backdrop to the kinds of things in the last few days. friday the taliban took their first provincial capital, a kind of city hub of some of the regions in afghanistan. that was on the border with iran, and then they since have taken two, possibly three other provincial capitals over the last 72 hours. it's that sense of momentum that has many deeply concerned, i think, because the insurgency have always had sway in the rural are

cnn's nick paton walsh is joining us from qatar. barbara starr, you saw her asking questions, and she'll join us from the pentagon. military analyst, retired general wesley clark, the former nato supreme allied commander. and counterterrorism analyst phil mudd is with us, as well. let me go to nick paton walsh, joining us first. let me get your thoughts on what we just heard, specifically starting with this u.s. drone strike that killed these two isis-k, what they call planners and facilitators. >> reporter: despite there being more information about the strike, it is still limited. a planner and a facilitator and somebody else wounded, as well. clearly, they felt they had the right intelligence, that they hit the right target, and it will have an impact on isis operations. as barbara has been reporting before, they don't believe this to be a senior operative, but certainly this is the response that president joe biden said would be carried out. i'm sure, frankly, we will see more in the forthcoming future. other interesting points,

cnn's nick paton walsh joins us live from kabul. this morning already, nick, as urgent, and as stunning. help us understand what's going on there right now. >> reporter: hard to really emphasize how extraordinary it is after 20 years of war, if indeed there are taliban officials in the presidential palace in kabul talking to the government there. now, there have been talks elsewhere before, and i have various sources in the palace denying this to be the case, but it's quite clear we have strong evidence to suggest this is happening. it is extraordinary. utterly kpla. this is essentially it seems to create a transitional government of sorts. names are being floated around. no transitional government can come in a peaceful way unless president ashraf ghani agrees to step aside. this is essentially i think where the crux point lies here. it's evident that the city is to some degree surrounded. we have not seen evidence of the taliban moving in. earlier panic appeared to be a clash around bank where people were trying to get money out.

oren, let's turn to nick paton walsh.he taliban, nick, is now saying that foreign nationals are allowed to leave the airport but they're not allowing afghans to leave. as i said at the top, they're telling them to go home and there will be no reprisals. i mean what does this mean for those thousands of afghans who are outside the gates of the airport trying to push their way in? >> reporter: well, that's important to point out who got on to the airport or not has kind of been defined a lot of the time bichir chaos and strength of will frankly or often who you knew inside of it. we had reports of taliban check points turning people away, we have seen it ourselves, the taliban always on the main road towards the airport and they tightened security, too, sending in better trained units around it, too. this is the first time they've actually laid out what, quote, their policy is, which is afghans should not be going out of the country unless it is necessary. that will certainly strike a chill in the tens of thousands of siv a

i want to bring back now nick paton walsh, also cnn global affairs analyst kimberly.ick, let me start with you, with the breaking news from kylie and i want you to reconcile that with what we heard from admiral kirby there when he says that kabul right now is not in imminent threat environment. however, the embassy staff is being told to destroy sensitive material. is there direct contra distraction there? >> yes, john kirby, a communication professional has long been able to square the sad reality off and on the ground with the message that the u.s. government want to give out. we saw a bit of that today as well. while we gave us the news that we have seen, apparently, or we know now that the first marines have landed, he also went on to remind everybody of the strength of the afghan security forces, their numbers of 300,000, the resources they have, the fact that he says they're doing more air strikes than the americans are at the moment and that's probably true, given the reduction in u.s. air power so still pushing a message that essentially there's something in t

let's begin with nick paton walsh in doha. we see now a confirmed attack. >> -- only the families of the u.s. serve men concerned about who may have been on the airport at the time and also for the many afghans waiting outside. we don't know the reason behind this at this stage. it is an explosion. we haven't clarified precisely there are many things moving in that area. could be crowded areas so other reasons why there could have been a blast but it will play directly into fears of a possible attack. let me just tell you a little bit about where we think this might have occurred. in the out skirts of hamid karzai airport. no precise location. but there are many afghans waiting at key gates. there is one called abby gate and northeast gate and northern gates as well. people crowd to them. they're often huge metal doors essentially, i've heard people banging on them. it is an extraordinary noise of desperation and that is where we've seen the stand-off between afghan and u.s. marines and the crowds down below. the traffic is of

cnn's nick paton walsh is in kabul. describe what you're seeing as the taliban enters that capital city. >> reporter: well, again, after hearing the noise of helicopters in the sky during the afternoon. we're hearing them again now in the dark of night, a sign that there's continued activity by the u.s. to move their personnel around in this unprecedented collapse, frankly, of the government of afghanistan. the most startling piece of news i've heard in about ten days of repeated shock aftershock here is the unannounced of president ashraf ghani, the man who went on television in the last 24 hours to say he wished to stay in power, push forward, look for a political solution. he disappeared without telling anybody. we had to find out through officials in his government and other diplomatic sources of his departure. it may be to that jik stan. the hope had been that he might do that, actually he had been pressured to get out of the way for quite some time, leaving behind a transitional government that could potentially b

. >> nick paton walsh is covering the story for us and he is live in doha. nick, 36 hours left. what more can you tell us about what appear appears to be the f stage of the evacuations. >> reporter: urgency for days but now clear according to a source familiar with the situation that this ends in 36 hours, friday essentially. and that will of course spark some elements of panic amongst those trying to get into the airport, but i have to say it is not a huge surprise in terms of a deadline. we've always known that the back end of the window before the 31st of august was going to have to be used by the military and their allies to get themselves out. i understand british forces may well be leaving tonight from that airport as well. we also here that yesterday others have also begun their departure. about this 36 hour window is key. i think that there is increased difficulty for schliv applicanto get on to the base at this stage. i understand the degate in all of this, abby gate, which some people have got through in a small number, has been fully closed and the area around it clea

nick paton walsh joins us. nick, the situation may be more dire than we previously thought.ou've done reporting on that. what can you tell us? >> reporter: a source familiar with the situation says the number of people on the planes is now at 14,000. now, i should point out, they have pretty good information. but, obviously, these numbers are changing a lot at the time. so clarissa heard from somebody there, a marine, looking at 10,000, but that has swollen, which is entirely with the sheer volume outside, 14,000 with extremely bad math, 400 per plane, about 30 plane loads of individuals that have to get off, just to start letting more people on. an afghan i spoke to at the base is spoke to the marine, saying to get into the airport right now, it's a trash-filled dumpster. it's just so overloaded. the question is, of course, how to get to that situation. a source i spoke to it came from a number of days. you might call it the filtration process the americans have there. working out, who are you? what documents do you have? are you eligible for a visa program? et cetera, et c

nick paton walsh, thank you to and the rest of your group on the ground to bring this to us. >>> joining me now, is leon panetta. grateful to see you on this important day. nick was just describing the situation on the ground. afghanistan has fallen to the taliban. president of the united states was silent this weekend as this all played out. he will address the american people and the world in a few hours. what must he say? >> well, i think it's very important, considering that this is, obviously, a sad and tragic day and particularly those over the last 20 years who served in afghanistan and sacrificed to make sure that what has happened today would not happen. so i think the president has to take responsibility. he is president of the united states. he is going to have to take responsibility. he is going to have to admit the mistakes that were made and, at the same time, i think as commander in chief, he is going to have to make very clear to the world that the united states is going to go after terrorism no matter where it's located and that we will not stand for al qaeda or isis to

n nick paton walsh is live in doha. was an attempted suicide bombing yesterday. you had this rocket attack. of course, we had the deadly attack on marines and afghans a couple of days ago now, a few days ago now. this is a sign of the danger that isis-k poses. >> yeah. certainly, the rocket attack today, initial reports are blaming that on isis-k, pictures of the scenes that may be launched out of the back of the car, and the direction of the international airport. seemed to have dealt with those rockets, isis subsequently claiming responsibility for it, seeking to fire katoush rockets. that particular device was loaded and ready to go. they appeared their strike as defensive. although it does appear to have killed a number of civilians on the ground as well, according to a cnn rorpt on the ground. clearly fraught, clearly aware of the isis threat whirling around it, and the possibility, too, that we've seen a large amount of u.s. air traffic in and out of that airport over the last few hours or so and the clock very mu

let's begin with nick paton walsh with kabul with the situation at the airport. what we just saw was complete chaos. anything but an orderly draw down. >> reporter: yeah, i have to tell you, hamid karzai international airport is the symbol of the american presence, how to ferry in and out u.s. diplomats over this 20 year presence and to see people clamoring desperate to jump on to cargo aircraft, startling scenes and the rattle of gunfire in the distance. a reminder of the panic being felt by u.s. troops trying to secure the area. and essentially so many afghans left because of this unconditional withdrawal and left with no choice but to try to get civilian flights out, they've been canceled. flights temporarily suspended because of the chaotic scenes. i got as far as the last entry checkpoint, the way into the airport compound this afternoon and it -- the taliban were essentially in control of that roundabout that leads into the airport. remarkable that the united states' 20 year enemy is simply up against them, they weren't talking or appeared to be in confront

cnn's nick paton walsh joins us from doha. nick, i understand the situation may be even more dire in terms of numbers than we might have previously thought. you have got some new reporting on this. what can you tell us? >> i have to say, the numbers have been hard to follow since the start of all of this. who's been taking off, who is ready to go, who is trying to get on. i have heard from a source familiar with the situation on the airport that there are currently 14,000 people on the airport trying to get out on the planes. that is utterly startling. and 4,000 higher than the number 10,000 clarissa heard yesterday from marines on the ground. how do they get to this situation? well, the source said essentially for a number of days, you might call it the filtration process. the -- the need for the u.s. marines, for the afghan security forces on the gates to show that people have proper paperwork before they permitted them onto the base that sort of collapsed in a bit of humanitarian emergency. and people just piled in. now, the

nick paton walsh. thank you for your excellent reporting in kabul. let's bring in now former nato supreme ally commander, military analyst, general wesley clark. general, we knew this withdrawal was coming. we've known for months. we knew before joe biden entered office. when it was finally implemented, why did it go haywire? what could have been done differently? >> well, i think it started many years ago with the corruption from the u.s. influence in there. we were unable to control corruption. and the corruption undercut all the efforts at governance in there. money was changing hands. and it was the same old afghan game. this time with the americans rather than the russians. and we were never able to really establish the kind of civic culture that was required here, and then starting in 2014, we withdraw from combat operations. now, one country that hasn't been mentioned is pakistan. and yet, pakistan is the country that maintained and supported and to some extent, directed the taliban for many, many years. i wonder why it's not being mentioned r

nick paton walsh is joining us. future of afghanistan is at stake here. >> reporter: >> reporter: yeah, make no mistake, we are seeing the worst weeks certainly in afghanistan's history in the war for the security forces and government. the news just continues to get worse all the time. confirmation to cnn that the sixth provincial capital has fallen yesterday. aydak. and another city, farrar seems to have taliban pushing in as well. they are limited in their scope and sophisticated commando level to have to tackle. and we've heard from the president this kabul a declaration that they want to bring under the umbrella of security forces all the different pro government militia that are out there in afghanistan. afghanistan has an uncomfortable history with warlords. but it appears in this moment desperation, possibly they want to use armed forces loyal to warlords, local leaders to assist in pushing back the taliban. this could be effective certainly, it could lead to fracturing in the country and a loosening of the

cnn's nick paton walsh is monitoring the situation. >> reporter: it was the day that felt like the beginning of the end. u.s. troops and australians, italians, canadians and turkish had started leaving. in the morning a thousand evacuees on the base. but by afternoon, ten, said the pentagon, the pace of departures apparently are a little slow in the morning. but a stunning 19,000 taken off in the last 24-hour period, capping a remarkable three days. a source said siv applicants were struggling to get in. and this appalling scene showed the impossible task of picking one from the crowd. outside the airport, taliban blocked some. beating this man. so it is a horrific gauntlet through the taliban, then on to the gates and walls and onto the airfield where the task is soon to rapidly turn from evacuation to withdrawal. some of the last troops to leave america's longest war. and circumstances the president said were, quote, inevitable. yet must surely have been a little, at least, avoidable. now, listening to a source familiar with the situation, it is very tough for those trying to execute this

some on the ground in kabul, and all following what has unfolded today, so let's start with nick paton walsh who is live for us in kabul. nick, let's start with what's happened at the airport. what is the status of those desperate crowds we saw there? >> reporter: i think it's fair to say they've probably diminished to some degree. they were telling people to move back, difficult task, though, essentially, because at any given gate, any given opportunity, people were simply trying to rush in wherever they could. i saw one man trying to climb over one of the walls into the airport too. absolute chaos and the streets full of people who had chosen to try to walk, to get near the airport. but startling to see the u.s.'s enemy for 20 years simply doing the crowd control to stop people from getting into that particular airport. some might say because they considered these people disloyal to what's happening here in kabul and maybe had worked for the previous government, but remarkable still that they were sort of providing that perimeter security, almost, for the american evacuations. still, thoug

nick paton walsh, thank you very much.mart hertling, the general for europe and the seventh army. general, thanks for sharing part of the day with us. i appreciate the time. i want to get your reaction to the taliban taking control of five cities since just friday. that does that prove that afghan forces simply weren't ready to protect their government? >> to be honest with you, boris about a month ago, myself and ot others suggested that it action would be faster than many in the government expected. it is been even faster than i expected to be honest with you. the taliban offensive on the afghan cities is just been contrary to what they agreed on doing in the peace talks in dough har which many of us knew they would not adhere to and it is challenging to the afghan force. remember when secretary austin and talking about this withdrawal, they said that hopefully the afghan government would be able to withdraw some of their forces from the rural area and protect some of the major cities in the provinces. they have not done

more on the chaotic situation tonight from cnn's nick paton walsh. don, at the end of america's longest war, the real final about that they have to pull off here involved getting so many thousands of people onto the last part of afghanistan america controls and to do that, they have to ask many americans, many afghans loyal to america, to run a horrifying gauntlet through kabul out to the airport. what should be the easiest drive in kabul is the reason the city is on edge. head up the main airport road since monday when i drove it and you run into the taliban. then, they were beating people back perhaps to clear the civilian runway crowded with desperate people then. by wednesday, it had gotten worse when they were clearly stopping people from using their escape to america. and accosting cnn. taliban controlled that road, the entrance at the end of it, and the road to the left. now, many are trying to get in from the north road but that's led to devastating scenes at the north gate. when i was there, the crush was dangerous. but the numbers have just

let's get to nick paton walsh who is in qatar for us. nick, you left afghanistan. one of the big questions is what is the state of play as we are days into this. we see the pictures, chaos there. you hear gunfire and afghans saying that many of them are hassled at the taliban check points on the way to the airport. in the pictures from around afghanistan, occasional protests. people marching with the afghan flag, the old one, protesting against the taliban, and some reports of recriminations by the taliban even though they promised there would be no such thing. >> yeah. certainly the situation in central kabul is worsening. we've seen the crackdown against protests of people carrying the old afghan national flag, still the afghan national flag. we've also heard that the family member of somebody working for the german news agency was, in fact, killed by the taliban. that news agency themselves reported. isolated ens dense. possibly the initial weeks worth, we saw from the taliban, they're desire to look like they were calm and control and not vengeful may be frayin

all right, thanks so much, nick paton walsh. and jasmine wright is in washington with the latest on the white house response. jasmine, let's pick up on what we just heard from nick. president biden vowing friday's air strike won't be the last. obviously they won't telegraph when the next one might be. but what more can you tell us about his threats of retaliation? >> reporter: it is a two part strategy. president biden is attempting to message that the u.s. will defend itself and its troops on the ground in afghanistan but also it is part of a prevention strategy trying to disrupt and prevent any potential attacks on troops as they head towards this august 31 deadline. and we know that that mission is difficult given the nature of suicide bombing attacks. and the president warning of another highly likely attack on the kabul airport in the next 24 to 36 hours makes the circumstances even more dire. so today pentagon spokesman john kirby wouldn't detail any specifics of what we can expect from that threat of more strikes, but he d

nick paton walsh is live for us in kabul, afghanistan. nick, what is it like on the streets this morning as the capital city tries to adjust to this new normal, if you will? >> reporter: yeah, it is still calm in the capital. strange sense of order frankly. less so it seems around the airport where last night we did hear noises of gunfire in that general direction. it is of course the focus point of the remnants of the u.s. presence here where yesterday the pentagon were clear that they will try to get 22,000 afghans who at some point have worked for them or they feel they have a debt to into the airport and out of the country. i have to say when we even heard of that project when the afghan government was in position here that are friendly to the united states or were, that seemed like a far fetch idea knowing the chaos that often envelopes bur roke cr bureaucracy here in this country. and now the idea that 22,000 will go through taliban positions, checkpoints, the idea that they will somehow make their way to the airports, knock on the d

. >> and cnn's international security editor nick paton walsh is following all the developments and is joining me now from qatar. nick, what is the latest from there? >> reporter: well, this is the scene from which about half of that extraordinary advantagee airlift we've seen over the last week came. but also the site really from where the end of the united states longest war ended up. a huge stretch of desert frankly where your shoes melt on the tarmac, incredibly hard place to put refugees. and i think they admit the initial challenge was immense as tens of thousands of people poured out of the sky on these extraordinary c-17 aircraft, they have been repeatedly moving one after another. and clearly here one of the last aircraft out of afghanistan landed. so it is a very fraught moment i think for many here to feel the emotions of this coming to an end. there have been 55,000 advantageadvantage y advantagee evacuees who have come through. the ultimate question is how many are siv applicants, that will be an important question for the biden administration moving forward. so that they

cnn's nick paton walsh has reported from inside afghanistan for many years, and he joins us now from od to see you, nick. what is the latest on these taliban advances and of course the implications for the afghan government and troops? >> reporter: we are now at a total of six provincial capitals that have fallen to the taliban since friday. the town of abak is now quiet. it appears the insurgency has moved in. ghazni, a key city that it seems was greatly under threat yesterday by another taliban offensive, that is quieter according to a witness inside that city this morning, suggesting security forces are at least holding their positions. but it is extraordinary how the urban map of afghanistan has changed over the weekend and also i have to say extraordinary how the u.s. is responding to this crisis. yes, they said yesterday that there would be a use of drones and ac-130 gunships over the country. that is consistent with their desire to continue using air power to assist the afghan security forces at least for the next three weeks. but diplomatically dispatched the special envoy bac

cnn national security editor nick paton walsh joins me now from doha, qatar, let's start, nick, witht strike. what more can you tell us? >> reporter: a limit statement from afghanistan and middle east as well, saying there was an unmanned drone strike that hit nangarhar, a province in the east of afghanistan. where the u.s. has had say presence in the past and enduring as well. an initial report says it hits a isis planner, not the isis planner. where we've seen the u.s. strike back against isis in afghanistan. the broader thing to remember, though, sort of targets like this of opportunity could probably have been on the u.s. target list in the past years or so. but the tempo has changed about how often they're willing to deploy a force against the terrorist groups. it seems now, though, that the operation is struggling, i think it's fair to say, because of that security situation, the u.s. embassy warning citizens to stay away. the state department indicated yesterday there might be as many as 500 whose situation they're still trying to track down who might be in need of evacuation.

. >> international security editor nick paton walsh joining us live. so what do you think the new plan means and what is the signal -- and i have to ask, what do you think the u.s. m miscalculated here? >> reporter: the u.s. high school calculation has been clear and i think many officials were fully aware of decade long deceit. that they were up to the job of holding back the insurgency. that fallacy has collapsed. not that brave soldiers are sacrificing themselves daily, but they are not the number that joe biden talked about, and i think history will reflect upon that as one of the key tenants of how afghanistan was lost by the united states. this deployment does two things. i think temporarily 3,000 marines into kabul airport with the air cover that will doubtless come with brings a slight security blanket to parts of the capital. they will of course be near the embassy as well and that encompasses a fair bit of the capital which at this stage is still very much in government hands. i have to tell you atmosphere of panic is palpable even here in lo

. >> cnn's nick paton walsh is in the capital of qatar. the state department is meeting with some taliban officials and where some afghans could soon seek refuge. what's the status? >> they're hoping to try to increase capacity to possibly their goal of 5,000 to 9,000 people a day. they've managed to get 2000 out in the last 24 hours. there was one thing that made me feel the process is not really under control. when asked how many american citizens were left to evacuate, they didn't know. if you're prioritizing the removal of a specific number of people that you cannot quantity tie, you're dealing with basically an indefinite process. you don't know how long you need the resources or when you're done. the major thing that seemed to be not really grasped by the pentagon during this press conference was how messy it is outside that airport. the real chaos on the road outside. i saw it myself. it's terrifying. and it means that the gates are mostly shut because you can't let one person in or everyone tries to pour through that route. >> we s

nick paton walsh was in kabul and joins me live from doha. a lot can still go wrong with these evacuations. what have we learned about the situation at the airport? the president was just saying that they have extended this safe zone around the airport and that that is going to essentially break some of this logjam that we're seeing there. and improve the security situation. does that match what you're hearing from people on the ground or perhaps do we need to let this develop and see does all this pan out? >> to be honest, the numbers of those on the airport remain as high as they were this morning. despite the remarkable numbers we heard of 11,000 people being taken out in the last 36 hours. and that's extraordinary if indeed they've managed to pull that off. has the safe zone been extended? there are suggestions possibly there may be better control of some of the crowds around the base but in terms of a new perimeter being pushed out, i haven't heard reports of that. very critic in terms of working out how or explaining how americans or al

nick paton walsh joining me from london. this is unraveling at such a rapid pace.to keep track of it, to some degree. the two key things to know about today are the trouble that kandahar is now seeing, that is the second biggest city in afghanistan. kind of a birthplace of the taliban really. and there appear to be groups of fighters that are now getting into parts of the city center. there was also a ear normous prison break in the city yesterday which appeared to have released a thousand criminals. that is going to be causing significant problem for already stretched afghan security forces there. so not good news in kandahar. if it does fall, that would be a seismic moment in the 20-year history of the u.s.-backed government in afghanistan. very much important to watch that. the second thing is garsy, the second major city to fall. the other eight are not as significant. key on the road down in fact to kandahar, a very important economic hub. been under pressure for a long time and the way in which it fell is important, too. because it's governor was arrested by

. >> nick paton walsh is joining us. after 20 years of the u.s.tary campaign in afghanistan, major cities there continue to fall, ten in under a week. do you think this represents a defeat in that part of the world? >> reporter: yeah, i mean, look, when president biden said that they would be leaving unconditionally, it is likely that there would be a taliban resurgence or significant grab of territory. but i don't think that anybody really thought that we'd see this much movement in under a week and we've learned this morning that the second really major city to fall to the taliban, ghazni, has happened. and increasingly imperils the capital of kabul. yes, ten provincial capitals now, two of them significant cities, many other cities significantly under threat particularly in the south, this the second largest city of afghanistan kandahar experiencing a jail break yesterday in which a thousand criminals were supposedly released. and now of course eyes turning to kabul unthinkable for many as little as a month ago that we would be talking this sum

in high level diplomatic talks with the taliban in the neutral setting of doha, where we find nick paton walsh. good morning, the taliban starting a violent crackdown, we've all seen the images. obviously the situation at the airport remains chaotic and tense. who knows where this goes. what are you seeing on the ground and what do you think happens once the western media starts to leave? >> reporter: that is of course the major question. we've seen initially taliban that have come to power possibly a little shocked about how easy this was, possibly internally still trying to work out who is going to be their boss. that is possibly why there is a little bit of a vacuum here, a little bit of positive, a goodwill that is looking to for international recognition to come forward. so that moment is on pause. but seeing around the edges, there are some it seems taliban elements cracking down on protests in various cities, other reports of people concerned about their own safety too. now this new government is in place. and the taliban also clearly blocking access for many afghans, the main arterial

cnn international security editor nick paton walsh is live with us. get updates on the evacuation. the u.s., as i understand it, the embassy warned that u.s. -- or americans trying to evacuate to avoid the kabul airport because of the terror threats. where are they supposed to go? what do we know about the tactic? >> reporter: obviously it's increasingly fraught and difficult to get people on to the airport. the warning was specific about certain gates on the airport, as well. so it is hard to see in that current security environment with that kind of warning how the pace of evacuation can be maintained. we're seeing it dropping off substantially. the last numbers for the there's a 12 hour period with 1400 evacuees with 600 allies. it's dropping off dramatically and did so over friday night. yes, i think there may be individuals brought in possibly, if they are american citizens trying to get out. i heard from a source familiar with the situation miraculously people were being brought through the gates, even though they're closed in that single number

. >> cnn international security editor nick paton walsh recently spent time in afghanistan at that very airport. he's live for us now in doha, qatar. good to see you, nick. what more are you learning about whaped and importantly what might be yet to come? >> reporter: yeah. obviously the threats continues and you can see today in some of the images posted on social media, there appear to be a lot of people outside abbey gate again despite the explosion yesterday. that shows you really the desperation of those trying to be evacuated. trying to work out how this happened is vital for u.s. marines trying to secure those gates and possibly see if they can think about getting anybody else in, although i have to say that in itself would seem like an exceptionally fraught task given the size of those crowds and what happened yesterday. there appear to have been two explosions, the first a suicide bomber who isis have said was from the logar province of afghanistan. he seems to have got close to marines who were doing the vetting of people allowed into abbey gates. that's one of the fuggates ne

nick paton walsh, cnn, kabul, afghanistan. >>> the u.s. air force is investigating the discovery of human remains found in the wheel well of the c-17 aircraft that took off from kabul. dozens of afghans desperately clung to the outside of the plane on monday in an attempt to escape the region, some later falling from the plane in midair. crews found the remains after landing in qatar. the c-17 is currently impounded pending an inspection. >>> one of the images that is driving home the reality in afghanistan is this one, 640 people packed on to an american c-17, a different flight from the one we just mentioned, with the situation at kabul's airport so unstable, the crew of this plane made the quick decision to take off. and when you hear the air dr traffic controller side of the conversation, you see there was no time to count just how many were on board. they just knew a lot of people needed help. >> how many people do you think are on your jet? 800 people on your jet? holy cow. >> the senior pentagon reporter for defense one broke the st

nick paton walsh joining us live from doha. many thanks. the ensuing chaos in afghanistan have roiled u.s. politics. republicans are criticizing president biden for the withdrawal although it was initiated by his presented predecessor donald trump. but adam schiff and others say they don't believe the situation was the result of intelligence failure. and right now many u.s. lawmakers are pessimistic about the goal of getting all americans and allies out of afghanistan by the end of the month. this is what the first afghan american woman elected to office in the u.s. had to say about the situation. >> we need to come together as americans and understand what the objective is right now in this moment, which is basically we need to focus on how we can support our allies and how we can heavily lean into humanitarian aid and diplomacy now that president biden has made the difficult decision to withdraw. these are reasonable critiques that we are hearing but this withdrawal was negotiated with the previous president and president biden is taking

let's begin with nick paton walsh, in kabul. tell us what you're seeing there. is the taliban now in control of kabul, how are the people reacting? >> reporter: yeah. it is a very bizarre scene after years of being here to see the taliban, who were always the hidden fighters in the forest somewhere, in the hills, openly walking on the streets, carrying their weapons, in often government vehicles, controlling the checkpoints of government facilities. you mentioned the airport there, jim. i just have come back from traveling up towards it. we got up to the main entry checkpoint of that particular airport facility, essentially the last piece of afghanistan that the united states has control over. fascinatingly, the taliban are the ones at that entry checkpoint, doing crowd control, to be honest. we saw them essentially telling people to get back. a lot surging toward that particular entrance and any entrance they could find, often rushing at those checkpoints being pushed back. one man who had gone up one of those enormous concrete walls you see surrounding the air

cnn international security editor, nick paton walsh, recently spent time in afghanistan. he is with us live this hour from doha in qatar. arlette saenz has reaction for us from the white house. and natasha bertrand is covering the u.s. state department. nick, let's go to you, first. what more do we know about what happened? why? and how? >> yeah. i mean, it's important to slowly piece together the details of this because according to the pentagon, this was what they call a complex attack. many different elements to it. now, it seems as though probably the first explosion was a suicide bomber. he's been identified by isis as possibly coming from the logar province. they have released a picture of him. now, he appears to have managed to get himself into a position near the abbey gate. often, very carefully selected. that's one of the main entry points for them onto the airport, if not the only remaining one yesterday. he appears to have got himself into a position near a significant number of u.s. marines. now, i'm not entirely sure where that would have been. i have seen p