we are only as strong as our partners and alliances as the strength of our partners and alliances. we are facing global challenges including covid,, limit change -- climate change, risks of terrorism and we need partners to be able to confront those challenges. the u.s. remains the partner of choice in the region and with their partners, we are looking to reinforce the rules-based international order. china does not provide that kind of security so we will continue to look to build partnerships in the middle east to make sure we can respond to these global challenges with our partners and allies. >> thank you, one of the places where we have seen a proxy war playing out is in syria step i very much appreciate your leadership as cochair of the serious study group as someone who worked on that legislation. i was hopeful that the recommendations the group came up with could make a difference in syria. can you talk about if any of those recommended nations -- have been implemented and what you see going forward to address syria? ms. stroll: thank you for that question. first of all, on

helping americans, ourforeign partners americans, our foreign partners who americans, ourforeign partnersen by our side for 20 years and afghans at risk at this critical moment was more thanjust a high—stakes than just a high—stakes assignment for our team. thanjust a high—stakes assignment for our team. it was assignment for our team. it was a sacred duty. and the world saw how our diplomats rose to the challenge with determination and heart. us service members did heroic work. securing the airport, protecting civilians of many nationalities including tens of thousands of afghans and airlifting them out. they are also providing vital support right now, caring for afghans on the military bases in the middle east and here in the united states. we've seen pictures of us service members in the kabul airport cradling babies, comforting families. that's the kind of compassion and courage are men and women in uniform exemplify. they carried out this mission under the constant threat of terrorist violence. and four days ago marines, one navy medic and one navy soldier was killed by a suicide bom

we have to be very clear with partners in the region and elsewhere we are looking to partner together to take on these global challenges. hopefully, over time, as the withdrawal concludes, those efforts and resources will be saved so we can focus our energy on regional and global challenges that we really do face. i will close it there, by look forward to everybody's questions. >> thank you, katie. we will turn now to aaron. but i misspoke earlier when i urged you to use the chat function. you should use the q&a function if you are on zoom. will factor them into the conversation when our presentations are concluded. aaron? aaron: thanks for everybody who watching and listening. what is the current state of play in relation to the jihadi movement. in particular, i am going to cover the status of the party in afghanistan. it is the lifeblood of this movement. what are the reactions on the number of different groups, in particular al qaeda, the islamic state, as well as the one in syria, and what they are saying. these are known unknowns, meeting things that we might know that happen but

we can say that our partners, like-minded partners can say that. when the rest of the world says that, it does send a very important message. yes, this is critically important. this is what the state department does. this is what any number context help to moderate the behavior of governments, regime forces the rest of the world over. it's about more than recognition. it's about more than legitimacy. it is a matter of support. it's a matter of character and assistance. it's a party of accountability. it is making clear to a group like the taliban that they will be held accountable in meaningful and profound ways. should they not do so. i won't belabor the point, the european union all of their ministers of foreign affairs saying they call on all parties in afghanistan to respect all commitment and political solutions. the canadians have been outspoken on this, prime minster trudeau i'm sure you seen what he said. nato secretary-general said their effort to establish some inclusive government, many national actors called for that. we will not give a

the basic norms spelled out by our allies and partners. that may well be a government we could work with. conversely, a government that does not do those things is almost certainly a government we cannot work with. again, we can have these conversations with the taliban at this moment in time while government formation is taking place but the only thing that matters is what any future government looks like and how any future government behaves and how any future government behaves visibly the rights of its people-- vis-a-vis the rights of its people and counterterrorism commitments and the confidence and vulnerability we would have be able to operate any sort of maddox of death -- diplomatic facility safely and securely because there is nothing more important to us when we think about diplomatic presence then amassing your question, whether we are comfortable in the conditions and confident our people can operate safely and securey on the ground. reporter i have two questions:. we have spoken to several afghan refugees that have arrived in

partners who were able to - partners who were able to rapidly combined — partners who were able to rapidlyons. as— many under such difficult conditions. as such, - many under such difficult conditions. as such, i- many under such difficult . conditions. as such, i think many under such difficult - conditions. as such, i think is important _ conditions. as such, i think is important to _ conditions. as such, i think is important to provide - conditions. as such, i think is important to provide you - conditions. as such, i think is important to provide you with conditions. as such, i think is- important to provide you with what i hope will _ important to provide you with what i hope will be — important to provide you with what i hope will be some _ important to provide you with what i hope will be some viable _ important to provide you with what i hope will be some viable context. i hope will be some viable context. when _ hope will be some viable context. when the — hope will be some viable context. when the president _ hope will be some viable context. when the president directed - hope wi

finally, i want to thank our allies and partners. this operation was a global endeavor in every way. many countries stepped up with robust contributions for the airlift, including working by our side at the airport. some are now serving in transit countries, allowing evacuees to be processed on the way to their final destination. others have agreed to resettle afghan refugees permanently and we hope more will do so in the days and weeks ahead. we are truly grateful for their support. now u.s. military flights had ended and our troops have departed afghanistan and a new chapter of america's engagement with afghanistan has begun. it is one in which we will lead with diplomacy. the military mission is over. a new diplomatic mission has begun. here is the plan for the weeks ahead. first, we build a new team to help lead this mission. as of today, we have suspended our diplomatic presence in kabul and transferred our operations to qatar. which will soon be formally notified to congress. given the uncertain environment in afghanistan, it w

as well as the many brave afghans who partnered with the u.s. government over the course of some 20 years. in many instances putting themselves or their families at risk. the so-called siv program is a program this admission has prioritized from day one and we have made very clear that we are committed to doing all we can for these brave afghans and their families. when it comes to american citizens, when it comes to our locally employed staff, and when it comes to a certain segment of the siv population, that is to say, those siv applicants who have completed stages of their security vetting process, we have reached out to them and we have instructed them to consider traveling to the airport. each one of these universes -- numbers are, precise numbers can be difficult to can -- to discern. we know in the siv population that there are a number of afghans who have completed what is called the chief of mission stage and have completed part or all of the security vetting stage. those are the siv applicants we have reached out to. when it comes to,

it's not like it's the partners money even if there's a little bit of partners money in it reads like a partnership as the primary or the hands funding vehicle. and they do want to repeat as we and i don't think that the empire structure -- entire should be the brown brothers torture. you don't want a partnership that's aware for the balance of the ratio is in a world which it could become unbalanced and lionizes the risk that is so focused as opposed to stride is for sustainable balance on foreign capital. if there's any lesson to conclude from brown brothers its sustainable capital has to beware of the entire lattice of society and every huge gain is usually counterparty huge risk in a huge lost and every construction is potential destruction. brown brothers sports a more supportable model. >> i would like to add one point about the book. there is no biography of him because he covers him and such rich detail in his book it's almost like a biography. i want to thank our friends the cabela's school and particularly zach refer phenomenal and engaging hour. >> every saturday, american

partnering with provider as cross the city. pediatric health clinics so they can support primary care access for vaccines and a hospital clinic setting moving forward. next slide, please. thank you for taking the -- allowing me the tame to present. you have a lot of cool swag here. these are our buttons an stickers. there's some links. i want to thank everyone for their time. i'm happy to take any questions. >> i want to thank you and the dph team for this incredible work. it's a remarkable testament to the outcomes you have here which is unlike any in the county. you can make us feel very confident that this pandemic will eventually end and we'll be able to go back to life the way we all wish we had it and knew it. thank you for you and the entire team for your leadership. the analysis you've done. thank you. we'll ask for public comment. >> no one on the line. no public comment. >> we'll entertain questions or comments from commissioners. >> thank you. thank you so much, i want to add my cob congratulations for the very very

lemonis: and you guys are partners in the business. lilia: we are partners., were you guys ever a couple? thomas: we met on a dating app, but quickly realized that was not...our fate. lilia: he stood me up the first date. he ghosted me. he didn't text me. he didn't call me. thomas: i was, you know, i was toe-dipping. lemonis: you were toe-dipping. which toe was it? -thomas: the big toe. -lilia: his big toe. lemonis: i would say just own it at this point. lilia: so anyway, long story short, we were both going through a divorce. he told me about his pizza shop. he told me that he has kids up in oregon that he hasn't seen and he wants to get there. thomas: i moved up to oregon because my now ex-wife number two -- lemonis: you've had two ex-wives? that's alright. i'm on one. thomas: if you want a date in the pizza business, they become your wives. lilia: except me. i'm out. lemonis: alright, let's get to pizza. how big is this building? thomas: about 2,400 square feet. lemonis: 2,400. and do you own it? thomas: unfortunately, no. in 1999, we secured this location

and partners and our allies, but also the taliban. all of our interests would be served with a functioning airport. commercial flights are one thing. charter flights are another. there are, as you have seen when it comes to charter flights now, they have been able to remove and bring to safety thousands upon thousands of individuals. look, we don't want to get ahead of things. right now, we are focused on the evacuation operation the united states government is running, and the u.s. government will be running for as long as we are in a position to do so. our point, however is that the taliban have made certain commitments, they have made statements, the rest of the world has sent those same, clear messages to the taliban. there would seem to be a confluence of interests here. it is certainly something that would be in our interest, in many ways in the interest of the taliban, who have indicated that as well, and certainly in the interest of the afghan people to see that the field. reporter: with all due respect, how can this governmen

based upon the initial assumption that the afghan security forces would be a willing partner in kabul. depending -- defending the capitol for weeks or a few days. within 24 hours, they collapsed completely. opening kabul up to the taliban advance. on august 15, in a meeting with senior taliban leadership, i delivered a message on behalf of the president that our mission was to evacuate americans and our partners. we would not tolerate interference and that we would forcefully defend our forces and the evacuees if necessary. the taliban's response was in line with what they have said publicly. while they stated there intent to enter and occupy kabul, they offered to work with us on a deconfliction method to prevent this calculation while we operated at close quarters. they finally promised not to interfere with the withdrawal. is important to understand that within 48 hours of this order, the facts on the ground change significant leap. we went from cooperating on security to initiating a pragmatic relationship of necessity with a longtime enemy. to that environment, we deployed and em

that's something we need to work with our international partners on. as we have more updates you want, we will update you on it. certainly the president's commitment to make those who are responsible for yesterday's attack. pay is the present committed, and even after american troops leave afghanistan, he would be willing to that in american troops even more to complete that mission, to kill. those are responsible. i'm not going to get into details from here on what going hunting down and, and going after the terrorist who killed 13 service members will entail or detail. and i don't think the department of defense will either, but that will. he, that commitment will remain until it's done by the potential exists for troops to go back. even after that, again, i'm not going to get into the detail of what that would require, but his commitment remains until it's done in terms of the commitment just so it's clear for americans right now. just 4 plus days away from the august 31st deadline is the white house. this commitment still at this point that all ame

are there military partners? we were a team on the ground? as i closed my remarks, i would like to offer my personal appreciation to the more than 800000 service members and 25000 civilians who have served in afghanistan. and particularly to the families of those whose loved ones have been lost or wanted your service as well as that of your comrades and family members will never be forgotten. my heart is broken over the losses we sustained 3 days ago. as a poem by lawrence binion goes, we will remember them the last 18 days and challenging americans can be proud of men or women of the armed forces who met these challenges held on. i'm now ready to take your questions. thank you. general will start with the leader a p. o to ask you to because we're limited on time to please limit your follow up so that more people can get questions asked. go ahead, leave general. thanks for doing this. it's leader with a can you give us a sense of whether or not there were any american citizens or other civilians for taken out on any of those last couple of c.

these are our partners, our allies who stood by our side for the last 20 years. that is why we are so focused on ensuring we have a means and mechanism of having double mass on the ground, continuing to process applicants and facilitate the passage of others who want to leave afghanistan. >> on the hurricane, louisiana is showing reports of no water, no power. what is the plan to get the people who may not have cell phone service or may only have access to the internet, who are stuck in their homes, giving them access to the what they need echo -- me? sec. psaki: where working with companies to get the power back on. that could take weeks. we just don't know. we also primitively set up a range of resources, food, water, and other resources that we can get to people on the ground. we have people deployed across government entities and resources, whether it is from the health and human services to the coast guard, to get people what they need. >> last one. >> two quick ones. the washington post reports the taliban should stay out of kabul . we told them that willie

we will also negotiate very aggressively to get our other afghan partners out. our desire to bring these people out remains as intense as it was before, the weapons have just shifted from the military realm to the diplomatic realm. the department of state will take the lead on that. reporter: how many people were on the final c-17 flight, can you tell us where is headed, and can you give us a sense of what role the taliban plays from a security perspective to allow the u.s. to safely depart kabul? >> i'm not good to be able to answer the first two questions because the operations are still concluding as to where the aircraft are going into the exact disposition of our forces on the aircraft. i can tell you about what the taliban has done. they established a firm perimeter outside of the airfield to prevent people from coming on the airfield during our departure. we worked that with them for a number of days and they did not have direct knowledge of our time of departure. we chose to keep that information restricted. there were actually very useful to us as we cl

, nato partner, the ritz.but it doesn't seem to fall under article two, response authority, other than maybe invoking some other multilateral agreement like nato charter or some un security council resolution. i'm trying to get a sense of what the administration believes its authorities are in terms of military response in a strike like this, a close u.s. friend. >> subject to my colleagues views, this would be a situation where we would talk about the facts and circumstances, such factors of attribution before i would even want to venture an opinion as to whether or not there was the article two basis and obviously we would look to the department of justice and also legal counsel. nobody has asked me whether this is covered by article two as of yet, if that is helpful. >> mr. chairman, do you want to make any closing remarks? >> there is obviously a robust interest, as is evidenced by the fact that an overwhelming majority of the members on both sides of the aisle have attended this hearing at one point or an

i think our international partners will also be engaged going forward. >> two more. >> thanks, general. i'm kind of curious just how american citizens are going to be expected to get to the airport and what the continuing terror threat will be in the coming days and what the evacuation picture will look like for them? gen. mckenzie: i think the terror threat is going to be very high. i don't want to minimize that. i think what we will do is work with the taliban, work with the next government of afghanistan, whatever its characterization is going to be, in order to ensure our citizens are protected and they have an opportunity to leave. we still hold a variety of significant leverage over whatever future government exists in kabul and i have no doubt the department of state will fully exercise that leverage. >> you have any confidence in their ability to secure the city right now? gen. mckenzie: i think they will be challenged to secure the city. speaking purely practically as a professional, they helped us securely airfield. they gave a very good effort and it was actually significant

thank you. >> our focus right now is on getting our citizens and partners, afghan partners, third country partners who have been working in afghanistan with us, out of the country and to safety. for that purpose, first, the taliban, whether we like it or not, it is in control of a country, certainly in control of the city of kabul. and it's been important to work with them to facilitate and insure the departure of all those who want to leave. and that has actually been something that we have been focused on from the beginning of this operation. as a practical matter, it advances our interests. second, we have been engaged with the taliban for some time to blow medically, going back years -- diplomatically, going back years, to advance the peaceful settlement of afghanistan to but there are still conversations underway, even now, between the taliban and former members of the afghan government, with regard for example to a transfer of power. and some inclusivity in a future government. i think it is in our interest, where possible, to support those efforts. going forward, we will judge our

the flights, the impact from coalition partners. does it restrict the bandwidth you've thought you'd have in the next five days? fewer americans than afghan allies that can get out. >> secretary psaki: is a good question and one of the reasons we put out the number is because we want you all to have an understanding of how many people were able to get out. i would note that more than 7,000 people were evacuated over the last 12 hours. if those include members of coalition partners and we are working now one of the peace that the president's been focused on is getting as many people out and onto the plains as possible even as we are working to address the security threats on the ground. i do not want to give your prediction because the u.s. military is incredible and they are working even while they are facing the security threats to continue the evacuation mission. >> reporter: can americans and should americans go, are they getting through the taliban checkpoint to the airport and? are you discouraging them from doing that? what's

we look forward to partnering to connect residents with this housing. i also want to thank our acquisition and bridge lenders. from the local industry to support corporation, we have cindy woo. we also benefited from the state's housing program and finally from our local housing accelerate fund. i also want to thank at some point, this was considered an inclusionary housing development. and, finally, i want to introduce and thank charmine curtis or curtis development. she's our partner who's been with us from the beginning. she pulled out all the stops last year. she and i were working hard, hustling to secure the state funding that brought us to this point in time. thanks to her efforts, we can finally see that this building will be built and in two years, we will welcome residents to their new homes. i'd like to introduce charmine curtis. >> good morning everybody. it's so great to see everybody here and thank you so much for those kind words. we have worked so long and worked so hard to get to this moment. and i'm here to tell you how sweet it is. it

we have met with border patrol agents, our volunteer force, our other agency partners. the secretary and the rest of the leadership were able to meet with our sheriff's and state partners as well as our elected officials from county and local governments all the way from del rio to the rio grande valley. we recognize here in south texas we are responsible for about 60% of the illegal migration traffic along the southwest border. it is incumbent upon us to ensure we have the necessary resources to combat illegal migration as well as those other threats we are experiencing on a daily basis. secretary, i am grateful you have allowed me to lead the men and women. i will be the 25th chief of the border patrol, and i take that responsibly with tremendous pride. as well as to be able to advocate for those resources that are needed here in south texas and across the 2000 miles, as well as our northern n border. the impacts of these border communities, we are continuing to add as much capacity as we can. we have moved more agents into south texas, and we will continue to shift r

in the future and partners in the future? will they be able to trust the united states of america? there is a lot at stake, i'm just going to turn it over to my dear friend. before that, i want to also announce we have the cast and crew from the united states of al. normally i would say all. but it's all. the situation comedy about an interpreter from afghanistan, but it also has a deep underlying tone about it. and they are here today to stand up for our afghan partners, our interpreters. and i want to thank the cast and crew of the united states of all for being here. because we have a voice in congress, but we also need other voices, and you are giving us your voice. with that, i want to turn it over to my dear friend on the foreign affairs committee, andy kim from pennsylvania. why did they put pennsylvania? jersey. he's from pennsylvania. yeah, whatever. i'm from texas so that's another -- anyway. i am really proud of andy, not only for his work in the committee, we operate in a very bipartisan way. this gathering is bip

it is a similar commitment we heard from our allies and partners. one important piece to this are these commitments on the part of the taliban to safe passage. another piece, another important piece is this business of the airport. and our interests, the interests of the international community, but also the professed self interest on the part of the taliban to have a civil -- a civilian airport that is open that, is functioning, that can be provide opportunity for afghan who's may wish to leave the country. that is important to us. that is why we're so focused on this and these questions right now. knowing that our commitment will not end and knowing the shear vast quantity of the number of afghans who may seek to depart the country. >> for those who have not for any number of reasons not been able to get on to the airport campus and to know that at some point the next 24 to 48 hours that they will be on a plane, what guarantee can the u.s. government give to them at this point? they're very concerned that their targets, that the families are targe

number two, what a message to the partners around _ two, what a message to the partners around the _ world who have criticised not the withdrawal but the conduct of that _ not the withdrawal but the conduct of that withdrawal and question america's credibility of the world stage? _ america's credibility of the world stage? i— america's credibility of the world sta . e? ., , ., america's credibility of the world staie? ., , ., , ., ., stage? i have seen no question of our credibility _ stage? i have seen no question of our credibility of _ stage? i have seen no question of our credibility of our _ stage? i have seen no question of our credibility of our allies - stage? i have seen no question of our credibility of our allies around j our credibility of our allies around the world. i've spoken with our allies, we have spoken with nato allies, we have spoken with nato allies in the secretary of state, our national security adviser within the context with the counterparts around the world and our allies. as had

we are united with our closest partners to execute the mission at hand.e have also discussed the need to work with the international community, to provide humanitarian assistance, such as food aid and medical care for refugees that have crossed into neighboring countries to escape the taliban. and to bring international pressure on the taliban with respect to the treatment of afghan people over all, including afghans, particularly women and girls. the past week has been heartbreaking. we have seen got wrenching images of panic people acting out of sheer desperation. it is completely understandable. they are frightened. they are sad. uncertain about what happens next. i don't think anyone of us can see these pictures and not feel that pain on a human level. now, we have a mission to complete in afghanistan. it is an incredibly difficult and dangerous operation for our military. we have almost 6000 of america's finest men and women at the kabul airport, putting their lives on the line, in a dangerous place, to save other americans, afghan allies, citizens o

as it pertains to the land domain, most of the partners, the potential partners, and you need the partnershipo be able to prevail against a threat like china, most of those partners live on land. most partner nations, their largest component of their security apparatus is land forces. to build relationships with those land forces matters because we do not want to do that in a crisis or in a conflict. it takes time to do that. that is where the army, with the security force assistance brigades, and their exercises, can build upon those relationships that will allow us to retrieve -- achieve access, temporary episodic presence, but also influence on the development of their military forces, making them better than they were before and increasing opportunities not only for the opportunity to deter, but also for our partners in the joint force to posture capability dynamically in those countries we continue to build relationship with. the land domain matters in the army is at the center of the building multinational partnerships there. we believe we are a valid component of that as we look to the