host: how was your report received by the pentagon? guest: the pentagon of course was not happy that the information was leaked to me. yesterday john kirby, the pentagon spokesperson, he condemned what he called the unlawful leak of classified information at such a sensitive time as the operations are wrapping up. of course, politico is aware of this activity and there was certainly information that we withheld, knowing we didn't want to put any troops in harm's way and didn't want to jeopardize the operation either. i think that while the pentagon was not happy, politico and myself, we handled it as responsible journalists should. host: thanks for being with us this morning. guest: thank you so much. host: opening caller: good morning, this is the first time calling. i think the legacy of afghanistan is american ignorance. first of all, they should've learned the lesson to dwight eisenhower and harry s truman, who said that korea was a mistake. an endless war. we go through vietnam, kennedy said, in a press conference in 1962. i do no

on hearing from the pentagon. this was a complex attack that resulted and in these casualties already. are you concerned that we may see more today or in the coming days? yeah, i mean there's a lot of nightmare concerns here. i mean, one of the problems is that, you know, you're dealing with a large number of desperate people who do not behave as rational people. you know, they don't know when you know what the next plan a lift off is the last plane. and so if you're a soldier where you want to say, ok everybody spaced out, let's look at you. they're not going to follow that. they're going to come rushing . because for them, it's literally a matter of life or death. and the problem is the soldiers when they see people coming at them, now that there's been a suicide bomb, they don't know if these people are suicide bombers as well. so it's very, very hard for soldiers. you know, there's, there's the possibility. ready of shooting people, you don't want to shoot. there's possibility of unfriendly engagements. there'

there is supposed to be a pentagon briefing at 10:30. as with everything on the ground has changed and what is going on with the administration right now has changed. let's get over to kylie atwood at the state department. what are you hearing from there? >> reporter: two bits of new news in the tweet from spokesperson john kirby. first of all, this is a complex, in his words, attack. that demonstrates this wasn't just a one-off but many multiple parts to it. and saying there were two at least two explosions. there could have been more. this is clearly an unfolding situation. we're talking to the sources closely monitoring it but it is significant to note that the state department put out an alert to all american citizens saying there was an explosion and saying there were reports of gunfire. so clearly this isn't just the explosions but there are gunfire happening. also, important spokesperson said that one of the explosions happening at the abbey gate. it is significant because that is one of the main gates, the main artery into the ai

one of the questions we're waiting to hear from the pentagon is an update on what pentagon press secretary said ellier today. a number of u.s. and civilian casualties, the extent of those injuries and, of course, the number. that's the key update we're waiting for. other decisions how this effects the operation need to be figured out. the pentagon planned for a number of different possibilities and we've known there was an ongoing threat from isis-k and known the tactics they try to use. suicide bombings as well as vehicle born improvised explosive devices. now that this has gone from a chaos outside the airport to a catastrophe outside the airport, there are difficult decisions to make, but decisions crucial ones that will effect how the next 100 hours plays out from a u.s. perspective. >> trying to figure out how to extricate the remaining americans at the very least who want to leave, that's a complicated task now. >> comply cayed, i would say, is an understatement here. if it's unsafe to move them on the ground, be it by simply having them walk or simply by having them take a car, you

we know from pentagon sources and anybody on the hill is getting their information from here at the pentagon it was a coordinated attack. any time you have two explosions, a suicide bombing and ongoing fire fight and second explosions at a nearby hotel that's a coordinated terrorist attack. the question is who carried it out. there is no way of nothing right now and right now the military is trying to get those evacuees off the tarmac and out of harm's way. >> harris: the part new coming from chad pergram on capitol hill. congressional sources are telling fox news that -- i can only imagine how hard it is. congress is out of session nou. it says it is hard to brief members unless they can get to a single, local, secured location and why information is so fragmented right now. they're unable to get the information. you are learning more than what some of those members are able to get because they can't get to the secure locations. it is a whole lot of information we're bringing our virus. well -- viewers. founder and director of the security institute is in focus now. we've been able to get i

the pentagon briefing was pushed back about an hour.will bring you that briefing when it happens and keep you updated on any headlines. this is bloomberg. ♪ ritika: this is "european close." you are looking at a live shot of the principal room. coming up, mary barra, chairman and ceo of general motors. that is at 12:00 in new york, 5:00 in london. this is bloomberg. let's chicken in the first word news. vice president kamala harris says she raised human rights concerns with vietnamese officials after being criticized by activist groups. in hanoi harris as she pointed out the issue of dissidents being held but did not explain how vietnam's's human rights record is different from china. japan has halted use of 1.6 million doses of moderna's covid vaccine. foreign particles were found in the vaccine. there been no safety concerns tied to the vials. the british market regulator says it is not capable of supervising finance operations in the u.k.. that led to the finance authorities to crack down on the cryptocurrency trading firm. the fda s

pentagon officials say a number of u.s.ce members were killed in these attacks in kabul, at least one blast was the result of a suicide bomber near the main gate of the city's airport where this evacuation effort has been going on for several days now. the other blast was at or near a nearby hotel. >> let's bring in our analysts. we have general wesley clark, a cnn military analyst and former nato supreme allied commander. david sanger, political and national security analyst and white house and correspondent for "the new york times." and we also have with us cnn international diplomatic editor nic robertson. thank you for being here. bob baer, i want to start with you because of your expertise in intelligence and security because we had the intelligence. it was last night that the u.s. embassy in kabul did put out the intelligence there was a likely -- there was a credible terror threat and told americans to stay away from the airport, but still we couldn't completely protect our troops. so what do you see that's happened

barbara starr is at the pentagon. is there any new information about what happened here, specifically about casualties. >> reporter: i think what don said is the operative word at the moment. somebody may well know but here at the pentagon they are not publicly saying anything about the possible of casualties. and i think it is very important to sort of take a deep breathe here and remember that there are u.s. military families who know their loved ones are serving at airport who are watching every minute of this and they want to get word about what has happened and if any of their loved ones are in jeopardy. just like the afghans who are at the airport. they're families are going to want to know if their loved ones have been hurt, wounded or even killed in this attack. a lot of people, the world's eyes focused on this airport and a lot of family members on all sides wanting to know what is happened to their loved ones. it is going to be important to remember that the pentagon has very strict notification procedures w

yes, the pentagon sa inc, as from the pentagon. as you rightly _ from the pentagon. yes, the pentagon saying, as you rightly say, _ from the pentagon. yes, the pentagon saying, as you rightly say, a _ from the pentagon. yes, the pentagon saying, as you rightly say, a number. saying, as you rightly say, a number of us troops killed, other military services, several of them, are confirming that at least four us troops have been killed and more injured. three more injured, we hear. of course, those are yet to be confirmed by the pentagon. ten days ago,joe confirmed by the pentagon. ten days ago, joe biden said there were obese ago, joe biden said there were obese a swift and devastating response if there were attacks against us personnel in kabul. we haven't been hearing from the white house about that response is yes. what we have been hearing is thatjoe biden has been hearing is thatjoe biden has beenin been hearing is thatjoe biden has been in the situation with monitoring events over recent hours and he, of course, has been adaman

do not pentagon briefing the the pentagon spokesperson was boasting about how well we've been doing exercises since may and table top exercise is looking at all sorts of different contingencies that he's always point like. and was one of those contingencies that youth role plays at the pentagon. that's cobble a couple were for this rapidly. he said, well, i can't really tell you. so give you the information about that. and that goes the next question is, i'm did you, when you a role playing all these contingencies? tell joe biting about some of these contingencies, and he wouldn't be drawn on that. but that's the fundamental fundamental problem here is yes, the big picture, hopefully the bite administration things will be enough to carry them through this . but in the end there, why was it or poorly planned? and i understood that this organization was he's not answering bible says, the buck stops with me. but then he just claims the african politicians and the african military, which he then he then measures and then puts into a sort of a circular argument that because of the afghan failure o

the pentagon saying it's not doable.arthy trying to go over the heads of democrat leaders, a big fight in congress with a longshot move to get it done the bill, it needs to 18 posts. a serious tragedy unfolding us. the house on services and former state department official, paul, a navy national security affairs expert. first you, congressman. they wanted hundreds of americans out who couldn't get out, they wanted to leave. thousands of afghan allies, too. what youll say? >> i say president biden lied to the american people. he said get everybody out and he didn't. just this morning i was having a back-and-forth with two american citizens outside the gate@kabul international with their children and couldn't get in. american citizens left behind. thankfully congressional offices, nonprofits, veterans groups have stepped up in this vacuum of leadership from this administration and we are trying to smuggle them out but this notion we can trust the taliban, they tell held an american hostagehe for the last year. his name is

what is the advice the pentagon is giving them? >> what i tell you, largely speaking, we know we have an obligation to help these individuals and their families who helped us so much over the last 20 years and we have been focused on this for quite some time. there is a process by which they can apply for these visas and the state department opened up the umbrella for other p1and p2 opportunities. i'm not an expert on that process but there is a process to follow and highly encourage if they aren't already in the system to get themselves into the system. i understand if i think i understand the second gist of your question is, are we going to be able to physically move someone from somewhere else in the country into the airport and right now, our focus is on the airport itself, and making sure that it stays safe and secure and that air operations which have resumed can sustain themselves going forward and an awful lot that has to be done in that. again, sacred obligation, we take seriously, there is a process and i would highly enc

here is what we know confirmed by the pentagon. the first explosion occurred in a large crowd near the airport. the second glass was confirmed to have happened at or near the baron hotel, not are from the airport. president biden has been briefed in the white house situation room. the white house has released a statement, saying the president has met with his national security team including secretary of state antony blinken, secretary of defense lloyd austin, general mark milley, and commanders on the ground, and that he will continue to be briefed throughout the day. concerning the twin explosions, and gone spokesperson john kirby said we can confirm the explosion at the abbey gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of u.s. and civilian casualties. we can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the baron hotel, a short distance from abdicate. we will continue to update. dow jones is reporting the u.s. ambassador in kabul has called -- told staff that four marines have been killed. global new

the pentagon had been directed to order those up. and we're now watching very carefully to see what the defense department will say. moving forward, there is a pentagon briefing that a schedule, and there is no question that what is on the minds of so many reporters in that room is the very latest on what is happening at the cobble airport. for the i wouldn't take him because all white house correspondent, thanks very much. let's just bring it to speed on what we know so far. we all got to get taliban source. now saying that as many as 11 people have been killed at cobble airport, including foreigners, and also suggested that children may of also been injured. as kimberly, also concerned from us from the us. we are also getting the same from the pentagon, that 3 us personnel has also been injured in that blast, which happened just over an hour ago. the germans and the turks. nothing has happened to them though they were close or in the vicinity of the blast they seemed to be okay. let's cross over to charlie angelo in our london broa

and that is clear from the pentagon response today. question is how quickly could they fix the situation, kate. ted lieu is now of a member of congress, he tweeted something that i thought was so fascinating yesterday and he said that back when he was serving, what he did was to airlift people in iraq during saddam hussein, the kurds who example who were in his cross-hairs and they did that and they got the paperwork done afterwards. so airlift out, ask questions later. and so that is what i'm hearing from even the president's staunchest allies is concern that there is too much bureaucracy with helping people that are in harm's way. especially those that helped american. >> absolutely. and peter there are reports that taliban is urging women to join their government. they're trying tosy they're reformed and more moderate. taliban co-founder has just arrives in afghanistan. u.s. military commanders are in touch with the taliban at kabul airport. i lay all of this hout because i want your perspective if you think there is -- is there rea

the pentagon saying that is not doable. leader mccarthy a long shot with a bill that needs 218 votes. this is serious tragedy. joining us florida congressman michael waltz and steve capper a naval expert. congressman, they couldn't get hundreds of americans who wanted to get out, hundreds of americans who wanted to leave, thousands of afghan allies too. what do you say to this. >> i say president biden lied to the american people. he said he would get everybody out and he didn't. just this morning i was having a back and forth with two american citizens outside of the gate at kabul international with their children and couldn't get in. american citizens left behind. thankfully congressional offices, non-profits, veterans groups, have stepped up in this vacuum of leadership coming from this administration and we're trying to smuggle them out. you know what? this notion that we can trust the taliban, they have held an american hostage for the last year. his name is mark treic. he is a navy veteran. they haven't let him go. th

from the pentagon just now. we can confirm that a number of us serious -- servicemembers were killed at the airport. >> sandra: going back to are we leading? . >> things are fluid here at the state department. we do know for sure, at this hour is there is no greater penalty than the 1500 americans that believe to be stranded now. there was a warning sent out that u.s. citizens should avoid the airport and the gates. we don't know the fate of the 1500 are. we do know yesterday from secretary blinken's briefing, there is 500 at the airport and they were aggressively pursuing to make contact to see if they wanted out or not. with this devastating attack at the abbey gate, this has made it different and put the state department on a different footing. if we remember what was said after the august 31st deadline, they would be fully dependent on the taliban to ensure the safe passage for american and afghan allies who were trying to get out. we have seen the taliban condemning these attacks, but we don't know where th

the pentagon is all locked down, offer a shooting at a bus platform on the defense department grounds. several people are reportedly injured including an officer. the view and torture replica raises the alarm as an officer help a woman to the ground triggering an urgent police probe. and censorship and an attack on freedom of speech is the reaction to youtube banning sky. you don't really have really violating the platforms, coded policies, the channel, low planes, it oh, the question. wearing masks and locked down policies. ah, allow live for moscow. this is our t international law calling bray with the world news for you. this our number of breaking news events to tell you about to 1st in the united states, this is the see live outside the pentagon right now. the facility currently on lock down after a shooting at its transit center on a bus platform, steps away from where the main building is. multiple gunshot said to have been fired and reports yet to be verified, claim that several people, including a police officer, have been injured. subway trains to that center have also been

let's go to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, i know there is a briefing coming up at the pentagon at the top of the hour. we'll get more information. but what more do we know right now about this drone strike carried out in afghanistan last night? >> reporter: well, the word came here in washington overnight, wolf, that the u.s. military had launched a drone strike from outside of afghanistan. w against a target in nangarhar province, southeastern afghanistan, a long-time stronghold of isis-k. they say they killed the target, the person they were looking for, and no civilian casualties. we khave no additional details. there was, in fact, knowledge intelligence had firmed up in recent days. we are told this person, this isis-k planner was suspected of being involved in planning future attacks at the airport. they had had eyes on him for some time. the level of confidence in the intelligence was a bit low, so they were firming it up. when they had it in hand, they were ready to go. he was in a compound, they believe, with

pentagon says casualties are still unclear at this point. we know that the president has been briefed on the explosion. he was in a preplanned national security meeting this morning. white house officials are huddling as we speak. we hope to learn more from them soon. the airport has been under a terror threat all morning. this was going to our top story even before this attack. so, americans have been told to leave the airport gates and to stay away. all of this is happening as the pentagon is set to give an update in the next 30 minutes. we'll see if that remains on schedule and we'll bring it to you live when it happens. meantime we'll try to stay on top of this with our reporters. courtney kube is at the pentagon. geoff bennett remains at the white house. and sanchez is in london. what do we know so far, courtney? >> reporter: we know very little details. so far, this appears to be an explosion that occurred outside the airport at the abby gate. for perspective, the abby gate is over on the far southeast side of the airport. it's voupded

pentagon press briefing what's unfolding in afghanistan. he only has a couple of minutes so i want to right away go to capitol hill. senator tom cotton, republican from arkansas who sits on the armed services, judiciary and intelligence committees. senator cotton, i'll jump right in. i just tweeted the headline or one of them was when asked whether or not the pentagon knows how many americans are left in afghanistan, there was a one word answer, no. what is your reaction to that? >> the situation around the kabul airport is getting worse by the day. kirby stressed how many lights are landing and control of the tarmac but violent chaos outside of the airport. my office has been in touch with dozens of people on the ground outside the airport where the taliban are beating people and taking their passports. taking their visa papers. all of this is happening just a few yards away from the gates and american soldiers are not allowed to venture beyond that perimeter to try to secure american citizens who are making their way through these crowds

what does that comment from the pentagon tell us about the l from the pentagon tell us about the planningis, how organised or otherwise it was, what sort of wrecking would of been done or is needed? the picture of all those people messing around the airport were available around the world. that is the difficult thing, is it was not hard for those planning this attack to pick a target. they knew where to go, and they almost certain he would have done some kind of reconnaissance to see what the checks, for instance, were. the complexity is you have got the taliban out at checkpoints, and before you get to those checkpoints, in this case, with american troops, 13 of them killed, and questions being asked in washington about, where the taliban providing enough security? clearly in the chaos, it was possible with some reconnaissance for a suicide bomber to get through those initial taliban checks, amidst these huge crowds congregating around the airport, and then get close enough. it looks like they were perhaps targeting american troops as well because so many of them were killed and then det

i want to bring back lucas tomlinson at the pentagon.he brought the report at the top of the hour of this isis k planner, what can you tell us? >> reporter: the us reefer drone fly in from the middle east in the united arab emirates that flew from the middle east, into eastern afghanistan, to kill this isis planner. not necessarily and isis leader but isis planner in retaliation for deadly suicide attack that killed 13 american servicemembers yesterday and wounded another 20, the dignified transfer to dover air force base, we expect that tomorrow and also expecting president biden to attend that ceremony when 13 americans return. on also told president biden approved this strike. the suicide attack, he said he would carry out revenge, kill those responsible. the big question was with 5000 us troops on the ground in kabul would that strike happen? 5000 us troops at the couple airport, would he wait until after they had departed? president biden's deadline of august 30 first. what we can say is two days after the deadly suicide attack that

about a half hour pentagon briefing with john kirby, the pentagon press secretary, and major general hank taylor. we got three important headlines out of the briefing. first, not one but two isis-k facilitators and planners, terrorists, were killed in that u.s. drone strike yesterday. one facilitator and planner was wounded. we also learned that the terror threats from the u.s. perspective that remain during these final three days of the u.s. military withdraw and evacuations, the terror threats remain in the words of these pentagon officials, very real, very active, and very dynamic. and we also got an update on the number of individuals who have been evacuated from afghanistan over these past several days since august 14th. a total now of 117,000 u.s. citizens, green card holders, afghan allies, other afghans, third-country individuals. 117,000 have been evacuated over these past couple weeks or so. 5,400 of them, 5,400 of them u.s. citizens. most obviously of the 117,000, afghans. we have a team of reporters and experts covering all of this. cnn's nick paton walsh is joining us fr

no one unnamed us, official says, there are 3 from the pentagon. what they are saying officially is that there are a number of american casualties. no idea how many new idea how serious they are at this point. hopefully that will become clearer in the next hour or so. but it's, kimberly was rightly pointing out was sitting in the situation room with a secretary of state and also a secretary of defense. joe biden will get easy access to that information. he will know that before we even get a sniff of that information. clearly, there have been contingency plans drawn up because joe biden said he wants the evacuation to be done by august 30. first. he was presented with those contingency plans by the pentagon on wednesday, saying, sorry, this is what happens if x, y, and z, dad happens. they know have to add a new fact or what happens if there is an attack like this. but it's not as if the american didn't know this was coming. on tuesday, joe biden warned that there was a potential for an attack from ice o k, the off shoot in afghanistan all over the

bring us up to date with what the us via the pentagon has l what the us via the pentagon has said soa the pentagon has said so far-— what the us via the pentagon has said so far. ., ., ., , said so far. the pentagon has said that a number— said so far. the pentagon has said that a number of— said so far. the pentagon has said that a number of us _ said so far. the pentagon has said that a number of us military - that a number of us military personnel were killed and a number were wounded. they didn't say how many of either, although the us media have been reporting that four were killed and three at least were injured. that is the most concrete information the pentagon has given up information the pentagon has given up so far. it talked about the explosions where they took place, that it was a complex attack, the kinds of things you have been hearing from other security analysts but they confirmed all of those things. the crucial thing for the administration is the speaker of the casualties because this is exactly what they have been trying to avoid. they have been trying to get that

the pentagon spokesman says a number of u.s. marines why killed in the bomb attacks outside the kabul airport. the pentagon did not mention an exact number of casualties, but the wall street journal is reporting the number killed stands at four u.s. troops and 60 afghans the first american soldiers killed in afghanistan in a year and a half we are expecting more details from a pentagon news conference that was just scheduled for 3:00 p.m. eastern boris johnson says the attacks will not interrupt evacuation efforts and paid respects for the victims. >> members of the u.s. military sadly lost their lives and many afghan casualties as well. we extend our condolences both to the united states of america and to the people of afghanistan. >> and the taliban is condemning the attacks saying it happened in an area controlled by u.s. forces the taliban says it is paying close attention to security but it is unclear if the taliban did anything to thwart the attacks tyler, back to you >> very, very interesting, rahel. thank you very much.

the pentagon has announced the completion of military evacuations of from the country. and in the 20 your mission there. last, see 17 lifted off from hammered cars. international airport on august 30th this afternoon at 3 29 pm east coast time. and the last manned aircraft is now clearing the air space above afghanistan. this process has left even more questions and concerns regarding the u. s. strategy and plans for the region down couple survivors of the airport black claim. they actually saw american troops shooting as civilians. in the aftermath of the explosion are to senior course, euro gas vs has more from the ground. this is the 2nd violent escalation within the past 24 hours. they start around, we've heard that up to 5 rockets have been launched at the port of capital where the united states and suburb its allies. its remaining allies are still conducting their evacuation for, according to reports, from what we've heard a truck, a pickup truck with a good healed launcher 5. these missiles some distance away from cavil airport. the rockets then was shot down by

there has been a statement released by the pentagon. what does the pentagon have to say. >> the mission continues is the major headline here with -- the old mitt goal here is to keep the roads closed and under control with an attempt to avoid such large accumulations of people that we have seen their surrounding the cobbler over recent days -- kabul airport over recent days. in addition to that, no recent service members are going to afghanistan. we do expect more attacks to happen. general mckenzie of central command said they are currently looking 24/7 for the people behind those attacks and that potential retaliation attacks are quite possible. brent: have you heard that there could be the possibility that these attacks could be used to justify an extension of the u.s. mission beyond august 31? >> there has been some talk of a potential extension. however, president biden time and time again said he believes the longer the u.s. stays on the ground, the higher possibility that the forces there, and afghans who are trying to leave the

courtney kube is at the pentagon, josh bradley is in london. tell us where we are in terms of both getting u.s. military personnel into the country and the evacuations getting folks out. >>. >> reporter: so the pace has really stepped up. look back to where evacuations ground to a halt. they could not get troops in, people out. operations have been flowing for several days and now getting up wards of 20 flights in and out every day, every 24 hours. so nearly one an hour. they're moving hundreds of people. the big problem continues to be getting these people to the airport safely. so, what we know -- and i'll set this up for our viewers. the airport has two sides, civilian side and the military side. right now, the taliban have checkpoints that are really surrounding both sides of the airport. the u.s. military has been in touch, in direct talks really, with the taliban there on the ground. these sort of technical talks where they discuss things like the situation under which they will allow americans through these checkpoints. but afghans are s

that's a technical pentagon term. the drawdown of both people and equipment will be done in the same manner that we would do it anywhere else. obviously there is a strong bias to be able to get our material out with our people. if there needs to be destruction or other disposition of equipment there at the airport we'll do that appropriately. >> can i ask you about the bottleneck? you got 20,000 people out in the past 24 hours, a big number. do you have 20,000 people now inside the airport to get out in the next 24 hours, or are there bottlenecks preventing people from getting in and getting people on planes and those planes in the air because there is nowhere to receive them? >> i will talk to you about just bottlenecks. i talked a little bit about that earlier. as we -- those that depart kabul and get to those staging bases within u com or centcom, that's the coordination i was talking about earlier to insuring that we place, you know, evacuees in one of those 14 locations to prevent a bottleneck so as our increased

victor, alisyn. >> barbara starr for us at the pentagon. thank you very much. >>> president biden says he always knew some chaos was inevitable despite previously vowing an orderly exit from afghanistan. now, there is this new interview and he says he insisted there is nothing he would change about the american withdrawal. watch a portion of it. >> was the intelligence wrong or did you down play it? >> there was no consensus. the intelligence community did not say back in june or july that, in fact, this was going to collapse like it did. >> you don't think this could have been handled, this actually could have been handled better in any way, no mistakes? >> no. >> cnn's jeff zeleny is in washington for us. what did he go on to say there, jeff? does he think there have been no mistakes made? >> reporter: alisyn, of course president biden has been defiant and defensive all along, largely trying to keep the focus on the overall strategy of withdrawing american troops. what is left, of course, is the chaos we are seeing unfold to get to that s

it's been confirmed by the pentagon. there's been a bombing, and it is something that we have been anticipating or expecting with multiple threats being confirmed throughout the day from multiple sources that, that potentially there was a bombing that was being planned that has been planned by the, the, the branch in afghanistan of islamic states, that's who we believe that the main threat has come from. although it hasn't been claimed by them and hasn't been put on them at the moment. we know from our colleagues down that after the explosions happened, that the taliban was poor forcing people away from the area. there was a large rush of people, several 100 people, according to our colleagues who were down there. witnessing this, running away from the scene of the blas that was firing in the air. we believe that fire was probably from the taliban again to try to disperse people. the fear with all of these attacks is that once you have one explosion, there is always the danger of a secondary explosion. so we understand t

also an afghan, a stan pentagon, press secretary john kirby said last thing the u. s. wants to do is cause civilian casualties. make no mistake. no military on the face of the earth works harder to avoid civilian casualties than united states military. and nobody wants to see innocent life taken. we take it very, very seriously. if we have, you know, verifiable information that we did in fact take innocent life here, then, then we will, we'll be transparent about that to. nobody wants to see that happen. but you know, what else we didn't want to see happen. we didn't want to see happen, what we believe to be a very real, a very specific and a very imminent threat to the how many cars international airport and to our troops operating at that airport as well as civilians around it and in it. but kirby and other pentagon officials were tight lipped about security details related to the drug strikes and also the ongoing evacuation efforts. specifically, if there are any additional ices k targets that may be in the works. instead, a lot of us forces is ongoing evacuation

two separate pentagon briefings already today. on everything from helicopter exfiltrations of afghan evacuees to evacuation flights and their numbers to babies be born onboard those evacuation flights. he's done a lot of work already today, but i still have more questions and he's been kind enough to join us tonight to come answer them. admiral kirby, thank you so much. i know it's been a long couple weeks. even a long day today. thank you. >> my pleasure, rachel. thank you. >> let me start by asking you not about the most important thing, but something my interest was very piqued by at the second pentagon briefing in which we learned there wasn't just one baby born on one of these flights, one of these evacuation flights this weekend at ramstein in germany, but the general who you were briefing with, actually said there's been three babies born in these circumstances. >> yeah, that's right. he surprised everybody, including me, on that. this is general steve lyons, the commander of u.s. transportation command. we wanted him to co

did he try to rope the pentagon into that kind of planning? all documents and communications related to the potential use of military power to impede or ensure the peaceful transition of power between the time of the election up through and including the inauguration of president biden. all documents and communications concerning possible attempts by president trump to remain in office after january 20th, 2021. from election day, november 3rd, to january 20th, all documents and communications related to the possibility of invoking the insurrection act. including but not limited to documents and communications concerning that possibility with respect to preparation for the events of january 6th. all documents and communications on january 6th relating to the employment of law enforcement personnel or military assets to the u.s. capitol. oh, yeah. why didn't law enforcement and military personnel get to the u.s. capitol sooner? why don't we know more about that? and why did the army tell an untrue story about the number of people and one particu

. >>> the pentagon put on lockdown. a police officer dead, law enforcement shooting and killing a suspect. late details just coming in. >>> harrowing moments caught on camera. new video showing what first responders witness as they arrived at the deadly surfside building collapse. >>> stranded passengers. in a new wave of flight cancellations, one day after widespread groundings nationwide, the latest from spirit and american airlines. >>> and triumphant comeback in tokyo. olympic superstar simone biles winning bronze after returning to the mat for a final event. >>> good evening. it's great to have you with us on a busy tuesday night. i'm whit johnson, in for david tonight. we begin with that scathing report on the investigation of new york governor andrew cuomo. the state attorney general's office finding the governor sexually harassed multiple women, retaliated against at least once that came forward and fosters a toxic workplace. tonight, a growing list of democrats calling for him to resign, includes president bide

what else are you hearing from the pentagon? the us basset, the cabal highs, confirm just in the last few minutes before american marines have been killed and 3 others have been injured in the bombing at capital airport. interestingly enough, 24 hours ago, the troops that were guarding the gates and processing people through 4 flights to leave from afghanistan were given advice on what to look for. if there was a suspected suicide bomber. that is because there was a high security allowed, they had credible evidence that there was going to be an attack. and so the troops were warned, this is what you need to look for. this is what you need to keep an eye on. i'm still, even after that warning, they were processing people through those gates, risking their own lives to make sure that these people could get out of the country . the bomb blast came at the gate. it was a complex attack. according to the pentagon, not just because there was one bomb blast, the ivy gate, as people moved away from the area towards barton's hotel, where

we expect a briefing in 30 minutes from the pentagon.en an explosion outside of the airport. we have h.r. mcmaster well versed in all these issues and worked as a national security advisor for president trump. h.r., isis-k might be a little new to some of the people watching. might not be new to you, though. and we don't know what this explosion was. the extent of it, how large it was or who was responsible. what can you tell us you are thinking about this morning as this breaking news just happened? >> i think there are some important things to correct. some of the common misunderstandings about the nairt of isis-k and various groups. we try too hard to disconnect the dots. the number two person in the taliban, the military commander who put together this massive campaign. he is in charge of security in kabul now and what this network does is provide a bridge between al qaeda and the taliban. those two organizations are completely intertwined. the network specializes in two things. taking hostages and committing mass murder attacks agai

situation in afghanistan. the pentagon on the situation in afghanistan-— the pentagon on the situation you for “oining twin give fl afghanistan. thank you for “oining us. i will give you i afghanistan. thank you for “oining us. i will give you a t afghanistan. thank you for “oining us. i will give you a quick_ us. i will give you a quick operational update as well as answer your questions and obviously mr kirby is here also. before i described the situation in kabul for the past 2a hours, i want to recap the past 2a hours, i want to recap the past 2a hours, i want to recap the past week and present a holistic view of what has been accomplished. as you know august 1a we began this evacuation operation which really is exactly one week ago today. since then, we have rapidly deployed thousands of troops into afghanistan. 0urfootprint thousands of troops into afghanistan. 0ur footprint continues today to start at approximately 5800 troops on the ground, continuing to provide and secure the kabul airport to allow for evacuation operations. as you know these troops were both pre—positioned as

i think she's in -- he's in the pentagon. no, i think he's in the meeting over there in crystal city. jane stopped worrying until betty any assistant called and betty was in tears and that was when -- was introduced to the element of surprise. it was a strange day. sky was beautiful beautiful. maybe 70 degrees and there's nothing to do. it's in the afternoon, so a bunch of us went out and ran. and if you're familiar with a trail that runs along the river by the airport, and that's where it did. no planes -- couldn't run a car. some of the guys in the meeting, national guard guys had their own airplanes and they were parked at andrews air force base, they got to go home. >> how long were you there? >> i'm sorry, say again? >> how long were you there in washington? >> well, what happened was the next morning i couldn't sleep that night. the next morning i'm thinking, i have to get out of here and i called the hertz. we can reserve for you there. fine, reserved the car. i'm getting ready to leave the hotel, take a cab downtown a

the pentagon briefing underway.he pentagon saying that there was no second explosion in kabul on thursday despite an initial contrary report. joining is now is annmarie hordern. this is 24 hours after the very chaotic thursday. what are we learning? anne-marie: very chaotic where we thought there was going to be, there were two terror attacks, a suicide bomber outside the at the gate where the u.s. military is letting people in and as well as a nearby hotel that is about a mile away that many people that visit afghanistan in kabul would stay at. now we are hearing that there is actually only one exposure from the pentagon. the pentagon saying that it is a very dramatic event. sometimes ports can get misrepresented. we know that there was only one suicide bomber and that was at the abbey gate. we are learning that within the last 24 hours, they were able to evacuate another 300 americans, bringing the total to a little bit more than 5000. that breathing is ongoing and will continue to get updates from the pentagon. w

john kirby was his spokesperson at the pentagon for a while, to. that was before mr.o become spokes for the secretary of state, when john kerry was secretary of state, under president obama. he has had these very high visibility jobs at the pentagon, at the state department, he is also a rear admiral in the united states navy. john kirby served in the navy as the public affairs officer for the blue angels, he served as the editor in chief of the navy's magazine, he served as chief spokesperson for the department of the navy. these aides, he is back at the department of defense, reprising his role as pentagon press secretary. this time of the biden ministration for the defense department that has now led by defense secretary lloyd austin. john kirby has been a very very high profile person in washington for a long time. right now, he has one of the most difficult and scrutinize jobs in washington, because right now, daily, sometimes multiple times per day, he is briefing the defense department press corps, which is not a bunch of pushover's, briefing them, reading thro

did he tried to rub the pentagon into that planning? oh, why didn't law enforcement and military personnel get to the u.s. capitol sooner? why don't we know more about that? and why did the army telling untrue story about the number of people and one particular person who was apparently involved in this discussion? well chairman thompson and the committee are planning on getting to the bottom of. that asking the pentagon, as of today, for all documented communications relating to the initial delight by pentagon officials that lieutenant general charles flynn, mark flynn's brother, participated in meetings on january six relating to the response to the attack. on january 6th, as mike flynn had stoked crowds, had stoked trump supporters, into believing that they could do something on january six that would stop biden from becoming president and would keep trump in office his brother, charles flynn, was part of pentagon discussions that day as to whether or not overrun capital police and d.c. police at the u.s. capital would get back up. a

as a pentagon see that as a success? -- does the pentagon see that as a success? livingston behind? -- leaving them behind? >> i cannot tell you the breakdown between the more than 112,000 afghans who were able to evacuate in the course of a couple of weeks. i cannot give you the breakdown. i honestly cannot. what i will tell you is, we want to get as many people out as we could. in the course of a short order of time, 122,000 got to safety. when this is complete, this department can the math and figure this out. we are all focused on continuing the mission that the general described as doing and making sure that right up until the end , we can get people out safely. including evacuees. >> we have sources that say marines is running the airport allowed accident family members of kabul staff despite having argumentation -- despite having documentation while children were turned away in some cases. have you heard this? >> i cannot verify those reports. without speaking to these reports, the marines and soldiers that have been helping officers manned these gates and help process people

as the pentagon has drawn up contingency plans. we also know that another prominent senator who has been more hawkish with respect to military issues, senator lindsey graham, a republican, has said that i urge the biden administration to re establish our presence at bog room as an alternative to cobble airport. and you'll remember just a few weeks back that the u. s. military very quickly and quietly less ball groom isolate they're rather desolate, given the fact that they abandoned it to shift the operations to cobble airport. so at least one republican saying that that needs to be refined whether or not that says even an option is really for the military experts to answer. but these are all the answered questions that remain. and so that is why all the focus now is on the president's schedule, and we have not yet had any updates. but what i can tell you is that all week things have been rapidly changing. things of briefings have been careful delayed, and today is no exception. in light of these 20 kimberly house there are white h

quickly we keep hearing something from the pentagon over the horizon. means we can fly there really fast. well, it takes a lot if you're not nearby or on the ground and president biden has another decision to make during his presidency and that's about our exit in iraq. just quickly your thoughts. >> the over the horizon can be used for sure. we have over the horizon i could launch ballistic missiles from the united states. do we have something that can respond quickly with rotary wing or drones? how do you negotiate places in pakistan? have they negotiated places up north in uzbekistan or other places to launch from? they're not interested in that in the basing. over the horizon can be very limited in afghanistan, i think. >> harris: all right. commander david sears, thank you very much for being with me today. great to have you in focus. >> thanks for having me. >> harris: some of the tough questioning we've been watching comes from our own jennifer griffin at the pentagon press briefings. she had another tense exchange at the briefing with the pentag

pentagon, no plans to change afghan exit by august 31st.o say about afghanistan. >> i don't know what sound bite you will run. stuart: tell me what he said. >> thing strength we showed was clear message we would never allowed this to happen. affiliation with al qaeda, that is violation of the original agreement. we would have never left bagram airport flat-out. he knows the president. would have allowed our people, if something like this did happen to go out and bring our civilians home. think about what the president's already done with syria, the 59 strikes into syria when they violated the red line. think about the taking out of suleman nip. the message that was sent when we pulled this guy out of prison. the president did speak to him who is now technically the leader of afghanistan, when the president spoke to him directly, he had killed soleimani a few before. they knew the president meant what he said. he does not believe they would have taken kabul with him in power. this is not the plan the president would have signed off on. stuar