i refer you to state department colleagues. reporter: why don't you call it a combat deployment, because it is insulting for the americans watching this? mr. kirby: this is not a combat deployment and i don't share that sentiment at all. reporter: this isn't combat? mr. kirby: they will have the ability to defend themselves. they will be armed. of course. they are going for security mission, a narrowly defined mission to secure and safeguard movement of civilian personnel as well as movement of special immigrants, men and women applying under that process. reporter: not a combat mission? reporter: i am responding to emails from people enough to understand. this is a narrowly defined mission for our diplomatic personnel and those in the siv program. it is not for any other individuals who are not afghans. -- afghans who may have worked for u.s. agencies and other government's. the follow-up question -- other governments. the follow-up question, could the u.s. work with nato allies to evacuate? mr. kirby: i think i have character

the administration and the state department are ensuring that the u.s. and people there understand that the administration or the united states cannot secure safe passage to that airport. moving on beyond this. we've gotten accounts of what is happening today. this is from a former u.s. contractor. he's an afghan, he's in kabul. he said he worked with the state department for about a decade. he told us -- >> we have gotten no update from him since he sent us that this morning. meanwhile here at the state department, a brief ago short while ago. the deputy secretary of state wendy sherman acknowledged the problems in getting to the airport. >> there's military partners on the ground in kabul, engaging directly with the taliban that to make clear that we expect all people that wish to leave to do so safely. >> the state department has warned of consequences and has failed to detail the specifics of what that would be. back to you. >> martha: thanks, rich, at the state department. joining me now, jack carr, retired navy seal that led special operations teams

i cannot speak to the timing of the state department with respect to their production. we wanted to make sure that we were in full support of them and that we were getting on station as quickly as possible and that is what we are focused on. as for when departures will occur and how many on a daily basis, that is my colleagues at the state department for them to speak to. >> as a follow-up, given the events of the last 24 hours with three or four additional cities falling to the taliban, and the taliban apparently moving closer to kabul, i'm wondering -- how likely is it that you will be able to complete the drawdown of forces by august 31 as opposed to staying to ensure the security of the embassy afterward? mr. kirby: we will watch the security situation day by day, bob. and i cannot speak for what that is going to look like, you know, in days to come. i can tell you where we are today in the mission we have been assigned is to support the state department's reduction in personnel by the end of the month. that is what we are focused on. that is the timeline and if we

state department community i say thank you to major general collins. we enormously proud of the legacy you have left at the department of state, on earth, and on the moon. we thank you for your service to our country and our world. it is now my deep honor to welcome major general collins to the stage to join dr. tecil muir harmony. thank you. >> wow. okay. woo. thank you. thank you. >> thank you. i am so thrilled to be able to speak with you about this diplomatic tour, and then also your role in u.s. foreign relations more generally. and to start things off, i would love to hear whether or not when you became an astronaut -- if you had an kbrshl of the international significance of the program? and if you were aware of your role as an ambassador or a diplomat for the united states? >> i wasn't an astronaut until i was very late in life. i started out in rome. i was born in rome. my father was a military atash aat the embaesz. my mother was not employed, but she had a mantra. it was diplomacy is the first line of defense. and i don't hear that much anymo

kirby: you would have to talk to my colleagues at the state department. they have made it clear that as of today, they are reducing, not a limiting, their diplomatic presence in kabul. we are simply helping them support that reduction. >> are these three thousand u.s. troops going to kabul, is this a combat deployment? mr. kirby: i didn't sleep on the question, lucas. i thought i answered it well yesterday. >> john, the soldiers and marines are fully kitted out, putting on nightvision grottoes and landing in kabul, taking position to the airport. they're certainly going into harm's way, lucas. mr. kirby: lucas. they will be armed and have the right to self-defense. i do not think i could've made it any clear -- more clear that if there is an attack upon our forces, our commanders have now and always have had the right and responsibility to defend themselves at any attack on our forces in afghanistan. it will be met slickly with a forceful -- swiftly with a forceful inappropriate response. i know you want to get into the nomenclature. nobody is walking awa

states. department of state subsequently activated the afghanistan ordination task force and requested the departmentf defense by temporary support for up to 3500 afghan siv's. on august 15, the department state requested ended -- secretary of defense approved -- in responses request, u.s. northern command are providing temporary housing, medical screening, transportation and other services for both afghan special immigrant visa applicants and at-risk afghans. u.s. northern command has been tasked to build capacity to support up to 50,000 afghans. to do that, the department defense under u.s. northern command has established taskforces at fort lee, virginia, fort, texas, fort mccoy, wisconsin, and joint base mcguire lakehurst in new jersey. on ounces -- three additional military institute nations authorize choose provide support in the united states for afghan siv applicants and other at-risk individuals. this includes marine base quantico and holland air force base in new mexico. as of today, fort pickett has a capacity of 1000 afghans. we are working with the other two installations to finalize the

i am sure you heard from my colleague at the state department, the president ordered the reduction of civilian personnel at our embassy in kabul, and the acceleration of evacuation of special visa applicants from the country. the secretary of defense directed the department to position temporary enabling capabilities to ensure the security of u.s. civilian partners and personnel. i will break this down real quick. the first movement will consist of three infantry italians in the central command area of responsibility. they will move to hamid karzai international airport in kabul within the next 24-48 hours. two of the battalions are u.s. marines and one is an army battalion. the next move will consist of a joint u.s. army-air force support element of around 1000 personnel to facilitate the processing of siv applicants. initial elements of this will arrive in qatar and cutting day -- incoming days. the third movement is to deploy one infantry brigade combat team out of fort to kuwait, where they will be prepared if needed to provide additional security at the airport. we anticipate tho

>> we continue to work with the state department officials on the ground to improve the procedures at points to make sure that we can speed up the process of getting people in and move them onward. the state is deploying more consular officers to help with that. >> that's the secretary of defense, lloyd austin. both men have been talking about how the situation in afghanistan is personal for them and they have been outlining how the americans plan to get every u.s. national and afghanistan who wants to leave out of the thank you for watching. i will see you tomorrow. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; puuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪ narrator: you're watching pbs. ♪ da-da-da-duh-da-da-da♪ ♪ da-da-da-da-da-da ♪♪ ♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: archit

the explosion unclear how big comes hours after the state department warned americans outside to quotet. also lucas reports the secretary of state blinken said yesterday there was a very real possibility of an attack. that's in the pentagon. we should get a briefing in 35 minutes. back to doha for trey yingst. what have you heard? >> good morning. we're following this breaking news out of kabul right now. reports of an explosion outside of the abbey gate, one of the main three gates on the ground there at the airport in kabul. remember there were thousands of people lining up over the past several days trying to get out of the country not just afghan civilians but also foreign nationals including american and british citizens. isis-k a small organization in eastern afghanistan. this is an offshoot of the islamic state that started back in 2014 responsible for a lot of attacks in afghanistan especially from 2015 to 2017. some reports indicate upwards of 250 attacks both shooting and explosive attacks against afghan and pakistani civilians during that time period. the afghan security for

reporter: as you mentioned, the state department has been hit by a cyber attack. fications of a possible serious breach were made from the department of defense cyber command. it's unclear when the breach was discovered products believed to have happened a couple of weeks ago. a source familiar is telling me the ongoing mission by the state department to evacuate americans and afghan allies in afghanistan have not been effective. the extent of the breach investigation into who might be behind it, any effort taking to mitigate it and any ongoing risks to potential operations is pretty unclear at this time. state department officials gave a generic statement that says the department takes seriously response about us that states are the information and continuously taking steps to ensure information protected for security reasons not in a position to discuss the nature or scope of any alleged cybersecurity incidents at this time. the state department was breached as part of the solar wind by russia so yet another event impacted them, we are awaiting more detail on thi

>> that's a question for the state department. the defense department is focused on conducting this noncombatant evacuation. >> the pentagon says the u.s. military evacuated 2,000 people in the past 24 hours. far less than the capacity it has to fly out between 5,000 and 9,000 people each day. >> so many american citizens remain in afghanistan? >> i don't know. >> the military always knew after it pulled out that they would get the 911 call from the state department to help evacuate americans and vulnerable afghans hot pentagon warned for months needed faster processing by the state department in order to leave. they just didn't know the call would come so soon, bret. >> bret: and, jen, you have just received some information about one of afghanistan's most recognizable female news anchors? >> that's right, bret. she was the face of afghanistan's state owned broadcaster but when she arrived for work on tuesday, armed taliban turned her away. they told her the hakeem had changed and told her to go home. she posted a video describin

the state department has been hit by a cyberattack. notifications were sent out from the department of defense cyber command. it is unclear when this breach was discovered, but it's believed to have happened a couple of weeks ago. under federal law, when an agency determines a breach constitutes a major incident, they are required to notify congress within seven days. the extent of this breach, the investigation into who is behind it, any efforts taken to mitigate it, and any potential ongoing risk to state department operations does remain unclear, not to suggest the state department doesn't have that information, but they did not readily share it with me. a state department spokesperson tells fox the department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously take steps to ensure information is protected. for security reasons we are not in a position to discuss the nature or scope of any alleged cybersecurity incidents at this time. just this month, the senate homeland security committee raided the stat

the department of state and the department of defense working overtime to vet as many people as possible. a certain group called special visa applicants. they were vetted several months ago when the president announced the troop draw down. saturday, a plane with afghan refugees landed at dulles outside washington d.c. those of those on the plane will take shelter at the expose center. they agreed to house afghans as a layover stop until they find something a little bit more permanent. defense secretary lloyd austin act investigated the civil reserve air fleet to help transport people once they left afghanistan. these are private airlines. they're not landing at kabul airport. the airlines participating, american, delta, atlas, omni, hawaiian and united. vetting is taking place before anyone comes to the united states. many afghans are being housed at several different military installations. just added today, the defense department announced joint base mcguire dix is taking part there. you have to remember and i'll finish with this, the 30 part countries helping out while the vetting tak

over the past 13 years, the state department has issued more than 73,000 special immigrant visas to eligible afghans who have helped the united states, and also to their families. last year alone, we issued nearly 8000 of those. we have expanded the program. congress recently increased the cap by another 8000. the first flight of operation allies refuge arrived in the united states friday. the second arrived early this morning, together transporting around 400 people. and those will continue. we are now focused on relocating a group of more than 1000 applicants and their families who have nearly completed processing. around 4000 people in total. we are pursuing third country agreements so eligible afghans can be quickly relocated safely to another country while we finish elements of this rigorous vetting process. getting to this point was not a civil matter. earlier today, i visited the interagency task force at the state department responsible for executing this operation. i told him how think oer they are giving their all to this important and meaningful mission. as you know, the special i

and evacuate any other evacuees that the state department designates. the president of the united states made a decision to withdraw u.s. forces from afghanistan on april 14th. since that date, we conducted a deliberate and responsible drawdown of u.s. forces to less than 1,000 with the specific task of securing the u.s. embassy and our diplomatic presence in afghanistan. since then, the security situation rapidly degraded. today the situation is still very dangerous, very dynamic, and very fluid. and all of us can be proud for the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines executing this mission. they are currently in harm's way. that needs to be our focus. there will be plenty of time do aars, but right now, our mission is to secure that airfield, defend that airfield, and evacuate all those who have been faithful to us. there will be many postmortems on this topic, but right now is not that time. right now there are troops at risk. and we are the united states military and we fully intend to successfully evacuate all american citizens who want to get out of

and here we have the state department briefing. >> good afternoon. hello. th an update on the situation on the ground in afghanistan. first as you heard from my counterpart at the pentagon this morning, 12c17s departed in the last 24 hours with more than 2,000 passengers who arrived at safe haven. since august 14th with your left at seven evacuees. i can also confirm there were 6,000 people at the airport right now who have been fully processed by our team and will soon board the planes. overnight we significantly expanded how many american citizens, locally employed staff, siv applicants and others who are available for departure. we are aware of congestion around the airport and we are working closely with the department of defense to facilitate safe and orderly access for processing on the compound. the u.s. military and other fights have continued throughout the last 24 hours and they are given the other priority to board. they are continuing to rapidly deploy additional officers and we will continue to do so over the coming days. the department is sendi

it’s commentators and people inside the state department?— state department?department? it's pretty clear that the foreign policy _ state department? it's pretty clear that the foreign policy direction, i that the foreign policy direction, also the previous, was an attempt to shift more towards china. they laid out their plans and they talk about it very extensively. the secretary of state mentioned that as one of the key foreign policy items, alongside maybe the specific country he mentioned at the time. they do want to shift further in that direction. when it comes to shifting away from afghanistan as part of that, i think it is part of that, but even more so, there's been a parallel attempt to try to end what they call the forever wars. president 0bama wanted to get out of afghanistan and president trump wanted to, and made a deal with the taliban, and president biden has wanted to get out for the long time. he's basically said the american don't have an in game. we can't build a nation. i think this has to do with his own determination to cut that operatio

we were asked by the state department to provide support to their operation. that is not a suggestion that is when siv's became a priority for the government, that has been many years. it's just the contribution the defense department could make it, using our installations in the united states where we could do this in a very orderly setting, free of distractions, without them coming individually or scattering to multiple locations. we could centralize the resources and contribute our resources, our logistics and military personnel. fort lee, virginia is the center of excellence for military logistics. it was an example of how we could use our resources to support a program we all wanted to see continue and accelerate and help as many folks out as we could. we value what they did for us and we want to be reciprocal in that regard. reporter: do we have to understand this group was created because of the slowness of the process of the state apartment? mr. reed: that's not what i said. in addition to dod resources, could make it about bringing them altogether. if

maybe joe did not read his own state department memo. they've been beaten by the taliban in kabul outside the airport and, some were beaten with rubber fan belts and joe biden clearly lied, his own state department and they were highlighting these lies. the taliban is absolutely not allowing safe passage, watch with their own eyes. >> the president said he is not no intelligence of americans have been a be unable to get there. >> totally not. and the most intense part was getting into the airport itself. people pushing, scrambling, crying and screaming children. >> if you can't get in, cnn abc, nbc and fox in his correspondence back checked by it. and, i'm having a hard time digesting what we hurry to come because i couldn't fact-check it fast enough in real time. and if you can't control the parameter, that would be the taliban. it is so sad whether joe's friends the liberal media cannot and will not be able to shield him from this crisis, they clawg their way through several tataliban checkpoints in the mit of this utter chaos and coun

so the, the number of 700 that i gave earlier was the number reported by the department of state in the, the commander on the ground. so the question, as we continue to go forward, that is one of the more important task that we will do is as department of state continues to provide names of those that will depart, the military will continue to ensure we have the aircraft, whether it's military or civilian aircraft to get them out and continue to report forward. data is like millions question. what is the determining factor? is it august 31st, or is it the completion of the mission to evacuate? diplomats, us citizens, vulnerable as its mission is to evacuate. our embassy personnel, american citizens, as well as afghans who we can help. that's the mission, said, the timeframe that we're on right now is to is to, is to do that complete that mission by august 31st. and if we're at 5000, and i've seen some estimates that go north of 5000 a day depending on how many sources you can fly. and obviously that's dependent on a lot of factors, including whether we believe that there with that capac

today the state department was forced to clear up confusion about the number of americans remaining in the country. secretary of state antony blinken says there are roughly 1500 who have left to leave. secretary blinken says taliban leaders have said americans outside of kabul will be granted safe passage as long as they have proper documentation, even if that is beyond august 31st. but, from firsthand stories from americans and afghan allies on the ground too secret and controversial bipartisan congressional trip to the kabul airport, a different reality is becoming clearer on the ground. correspondent trey yingst is in doha, qatar tonight with the story. good evening, trey. >> bret, good evening. the clock is ticking as the world awaits american evacuations to wrap up and u.s. troops to go home. still though scenes of devastation happening outside the airport in kabul. >> afghan civilians weighed through sewage outside of kabul's airport. lines of people as far as the eye can see with paperwork in hand. many locals and foreigners have the correct documents to board flights out of afg

and not an overbearing power and not a power that tries to be dominant. [ applause ] that's state department talk. where was i about power and what we -- the various aspects of that. when i saw the united states flag, the american flag planted on the moon by neil and buzz, i was thrilled and i was very proud to be a citizen of the united states of america. i continue to be very proud to be a citizen of the usa. on the other hand, that trip around the world kind of changed my -- opened my vista a little bit. yes, i wouldn't swap the u.s. for any other place. i think when we are in the business of foreign policy, the technology that goes into a foreign policy, the use of that technology, how it manifests itself and how we treat other countries, i think it's important that we try not to be -- i don't mind being the leader but not the dominant leader. i think we ought to go -- bend over backwards to have a unified worldwide approach to the things that we are trying to do in space. it may slow us down a little bit in some cases. i'm not sure speed is the paramount goal. i think getting the job do

the state department says 6:00 p.m. anthony blinken will come out. >> still in the hamptons. >> no the state department. greg, one thing that is different is our abilities to fight and counter terrorism is greater today. >> i agree. also i can't almost predict the same way i couldn't predict 9/11. it was box cutters and planed r.s. it wasn't rocket science. they turned planes into rockets. that's what they did. i wouldn't of thought -- >> after going to flight school. >> i wouldn't of thought about that. it's an achievement in creativity for us to think about whether it's bio or -- like for example if they paralyze our grid then we turn on each other we don't have atms, money, work. then that's all they need to do? they think in that way. you don't have to be in afghanistan anymore to do that. you can be anywhere. >> right. >> go back to the vegas shooter. we thought that was isis. it was so devastating. there was something else i wanted to bring up that irks me. where are the stories with anonymous sourcing? remember i

the pentagon said refer to the state department. the state department gives changing numbers. jen psaki went to 11,000 but the previous number was 5,000. it is mind-boggling. i want to get to this and i know you have to run. a very good source inside afghanistan is telling fox news today that there is real concern on the ground in kabul that despite president biden's promises, assurances in that abc news interview last night that america will take off on august 31st. there is serious concern and worry that because of the slow current pace of processing thousands of americans will be left behind. how can there be such opposite facts on the ground of what a president is telling the american people and what we're seeing unfold and what you have shared that you know that's unfolding on the ground? >> harris, president biden is confronting the consequences of his catastrophic miscalculation of his horrific execution of the decision to withdraw our troops from afghanistan. and he is spinning that relentlessly to try to convince the american people that everything is okay, taliban is

the state department, important state department announcement that the embassy, the u.s.mbassy in kabul in the state department has since april told american citizens and permanent residents of the united states in kabul, in afghanistan, to leave. so obviously things took on a different turn once the taliban entered kabul. at this point there are four categories that are priority, priority issue. u.s. citizens, foreign western citizen, u.s. permanent residents, siv applicants with the legal documents, and the american and foreign forces who are on the ground who have to leave by august 31st. >> so we know those groups, and the fact is i've spoken to various organizations and teams trying to get people in those categories out, and sadly they're failing to. they can't get them onto those flights. my question to you is has the u.s., in effect, abandoned them, abandoned the country? >> well, that's a loaded question, meaning that there was an agreement for a long time, you know, since february 2020, that the u.s. is leaving. it was supposed to be may 1st. it was extended to s

you've got the white house, the state department, defense department, intel all giving us different stories course, that afghanistan will become a pre9/11 terror haven moving forward. we will get an update, jason chaffetz, dan hoffman with reaction straight ahead. thank you for being with us. ♪ ♪ i am robert strickler. i've been involved in communications in the media for 45 years. i've been taking prevagen on a regular basis for at least eight years. for me, the greatest benefit over the years has been that prevagen seems to help me recall things and also think more clearly. and i enthusiastically recommend prevagen. it has helped me an awful lot. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. welcome back to milkshake mustaches, high fives and high dives. to 3-on 3s... 2-on-2s... and 1-on-1s. at aspen dental, we see all the moments that make us smile so we make it easy to share your smile with convenient, total care - all in one place. and flexible hours that work with your life. right now, new patients get a complete exam and x-rays — free without insurance, and everyone saves 20% on their trea

milley: we continue to work with the state department officials on the ground. we must speed up the process of getting people in and move them onward. so, status deploying more consular officers to be able to help with that. as we stated earlier, we are going to push more military assistance down to the entry points to facilitate these efforts, but we are working hard to get as many people through is possible, and quite friendly, it is obvious we are not close to getting the numbers through, so we will work that 24 hours a day, seven days a week. we are going to get everyone out that we could possibly evacuate. i will do as long as we possibly can until we run out of capability. >> did you feel the afghan security forces were not up to the fight? gen. milley: the afghan security forces had the capacity. they had the trays and -- training, and size, to defend the country. this comes down to leadership. no, i did not, nor did anyone else see a collapse in the army of that size 11 days. >> at what point does the military need to start thinking about changing its ow

as applicants and other evacuees in coordination with the state department. we are ready to increase throughput and have scheduled departures accordingly. we intend to maximize the plane capacity and are prioritizing people above all else and are focused on doing it as safely as possible with absolute urgency. we have not experienced any security incidents nor interference since my last up eight. we continue to recognize the inherent danger of operating in this environment, but our service members in kabul remain agile, professional, in a posture to continue the mission and respond for wired. on the topic as we look at the last 24 hours, the f-18's from the ronald rick -- ronald reagan carrier group flew over kabul to ensure enhanced security and we maintain a watchful eye and are continuously conducting in-depth assessments to protect the safety of americans and we will use all the tools in our arsenal to achieve this goal. i want to reinforce that we are absolutely focused on this mission of national and orton and are committed to the safe evacuation of as

state department. drew pearson had started as a diplomatic correspondent and always kept a close eye on the foreign in service. he collected so much information about the state department that secretary of state kordell once began a meeting by asking, are we talking for this room or for pearson? the columnist benefited from sources high and low within the state department. particularly from sumner wells. they promoted his career and he provided information and also confirmed the news that pearson had picked up elsewhere. the trouble was that the column grew so favorable to wells that secretary hillary began to blame him for all the leaks and eventually had him fired. in fact, drew pearson had plenty of sources within the state department. one was the director of the state department's office of special political affairs. indeed, when the colleagues worried about him leaking, it was not to the soviet union but to drew pearson. some of his columns clearly initiated with information about the british acti

that's the state department in washington d. c. and we are expecting the secretary of state blinking to be standing there and talking to us, of course, as soon as we get that picture will take you there live. interestingly to hear the marine general earlier talking about the military phase. being over because of the announcement of the withdraw this evening, but the diplomatic phase will be next to begin. and i believe that's where the state department picks up the reins. let's talk now to roles. jordan, she's live in washington, d. c. hi, there was. so my right and thinking that this is where the state department gets involved when we moved into this different phase. well, actually, the state department and the pentagon have been working together on the evacuation since it started on august 14th. but now it is going to be solely the state department's responsibility to make, make it possible for those remaining american citizens. fewer than $250.00, we are told by state department officials as well as those afghans who are applying

as it is for many people here at the state department and across the federal government. in 1997, i joined then secretary of state albright when she visited afghan women and girls in refugee camp. secretary albright told them, it is impossible to modernize a nation that half or more the population is left behind. that was one of the most meetings i had as a diplomat. i had a teenage daughter at the time. a young teenager told me about watching her sister being raped and thrown out a window. women who were doctors and teachers and homemakers, talked about how they couldn't do and have their lives anymore. that memory will never be wiped from my mind. society could not flourish and prosper without the full participation of women and girls back then and they cannot flourish and prosper without women and girls now. in the last 20 years, afghan women and girls have embraced their freedom. millions have gone to school. they have become doctors, lawyers, journalist, parliamentarians and entrepreneurs. they have built the lives that secretary albright encouraged them to imagine, a

the state department issued more than 73,000 special immigrant visas to eligible afghans who helped the united states and their families. this year alone we issued nearly 8000 of those visas. we have accelerated and expanded the program. congress increased the case -- cap by another 8000 pieces. the first flight arrived in the united states on friday. the second flight arrived early this morning. transporting around 400 people in those flights -- and those flights will continue. we focus on relocating a group of more than 1000 applicants and their families who have nearly completed processing. around 4000 people in tokyo daschle -- around 4000 people in total. they will be safely move to another country as we finish this vigorous vetting process. getting to this point was not a simple matter. earlier today i visited the interagency task force responsible for executing this for seven operation. -- 24/7 operation. as you know, the special immigrant visa program is defined carefully by statute. we know that there are afghans who do not qualify, but who helped us and deserve our help. some

that is a combination of state department support and military support.orking hand-in-hand, the commander. out of the elements. >> you've got two more weeks almost of this. are there concerns about maintaining the input of supply? >> military planners, we almost ensure we have the proper mandates to conduct missions. those are assessed on a daily basis. those commanders are always assessing what do we have now? what do i need to do in the short term? we are always continuing to and that is why you see other planes continuing to arrive as required. continue to ensure everything we need to do to execute the mission that we have right now. >> tom? >> thanks, good morning. i wanted to check on something. in regards to the pentagon policy that existed providing air support and other assistance to the afghan government that was in place this summer, did this and with the fall of kabul? is there government still functioning in places? >> there is -- there aren't operations out in the country to support. in terms of airpower, is as the general describe. appropria

embassy in kabul if the state department requests it?> our mission right now is to help the state department reduce their civilian personnel in kabul and to assist with their acceleration of the siv immigrant visa process, the special immigrant visa process. that is what our focus is on right now. >> how close is the u.s. government to closing its embassy in kabul? >> you'd have to talk to my colleagues at the state department. they get to decide that. they have made it clear, though, that as of today, they are reducing, not eliminating, their diplomatic presence in kabul. we are simply helping them support that reduction. >> and after a night of sleeping on it, are these 3,000 u.s. troops going to kabul, is this a combat deployment? >> i didn't sleep on that question, lucas. i thought i answered it pretty well yesterday. >> you didn't answer it, john. john, these soldiers and marines, they're fully kitted out. putting on night vision goggles, landing in kabul, taking positions at the airport, they're going to a combat zone, are they not

he led the state department investigation under secretary of state mike pompeo into the origins of this virus when president trump's administration was in office. that probe was halted. dr. asher, all the good to have you. thank you for being here. what do you make of what this scientist said at the w.h.o. and the chinese in the group saying we're not going to sign off on this if you say it came from the lab? >> yeah. the chinese cess pool of lies that they've told since day one, rather than looking for a virus and its or gins, they seem to know where it came from from day one and they propagated a cover story, this is a further extension of the cover story. now they're creating a plausible natural origin where a lab worker get out of a cave and spread it innocently in a lab. the chinese are trying to create a situation to back down of this cage they're in, this communist are just not particularly good at hiding their tracks. >> martha: so the wording use n it, it was extremely unlikely that the lab leak theory is what happened. we also heard that same wording from dr. fauci. we heard i

states for afghans. the afghan coordination task force was launched and providing support to 3,500 afghan sivs. on august 15, the department of state requested and the secretary of defense approved special immigrant visa applicants and other vulnerable afghans. the u.s. northern command is providing temporary housing, medical screening, transportation and other services for afghan special immigrant visa applicants and at-risk afghans. we have been tasked to build capacity to support up to 50,000 afghans. to do that, the department of defense has established task forces at fort lee in virginia, fort bliss in texas, fort mccoy in wisconsin and in new jersey: august 25, three additional military installations will provide support for sivs, families and others. this increases quantico and holloman air force base. fort picket has about 1,000 afghans and we're working with holloman and quantico to get their capacities. while not a task force, u.s. northern command is supporting operation allies refuge with services and additional forces including assisting with managing the flow of evacuees at dulles airport and the philadelphia

i don't have a lot of confidence in the state department to negotiate this. te because of who they're negotiating against. didn't have to happen. i'm disappointed the president didn't see anything wrong with it. makes me worry about our future. >> neil: i hope you're wrong. you haven't been in the past. the $30 comment about me, not withstanding. >> i'm sorry. >> neil: you're probably right. that would be generous. danny, thanks. former fbi assistant. finish your thought. >> no, i was going to say, i'll give you $30. >> neil: okay. good. that balances it out. danny, thanks for that. we were trying to crunch the numbers and do the math here. if you by the rough count, 65,000 to 70,000 that would want to leave now kabul as it stands, some are saying it's easily double that and take the rate at which we're doing it now, 2,000 a day, some say we will tick that upwards but it's much more than that. roughly talking 30 days, 60 days. again, the higher the count goes, those that want out, then it gets conceivable this drags in to the fall. that is if the taliban lets

the state department was in charge of civilian evacuations. they failed miserably and continued to fail when the dust settles. it's hard to see how secretary blinking should still up a job when a bad, not a dime of that makes its way to the us treasury. our anti government is rip off out is scamarus, liars, and thieves. then there's an ongoing situation regarding around $100.00 gods for the british embassy a cobble. it's turned out they're not eligible to get on the u. k. evacuation flights because their contracts in order to look after the british embassy, we're outsourcing to a contractor. something that is going to continue to be looked at as those scenes that we've seen from cobble airport continue to be chaotic celebration to mark i've kind of thought independence day turned into anti taliban protest and certain parts of the country. some people ready to show their resistance to the new regime. in cobble crowds marched through the streets announcing to take over the country. they chanted anti taliban slogans and carried john to scan flags