taliban. the question is whether or not that is really leverage, and that is, again, these are some biden allies i m talking to, they don t know whether or not just the money. it s a lot of money, but even that is enough leverage to get the taliban to actually make good on their promises that they are going to let some of those, all of those americans get through. and one thing i just want to add quickly to what clarissa said about the way that this is going to be perceived by afghans. what i heard from the president was maybe certainly not compassion what she said that people in afghanistan are expecting, it s frustration and anger that all of the resources and the years and years of training and money and human cost didn t add up to the afghan army standing up, that they just melted away.
have the united states military fight a third decade in a civil war to do that just as he s not prepared to send the u.s. military in to solve for human rights abuses of a similar kind to the ones you just described in many other countries around the world. but it s not just thoughts and prayers. we have plenty of tools to be able to fight on behalf of human rights and human dignity in afghanistan just as we do in other places. the president said today he is determined to do that, and he s a man of his word. national security adviser jake sullivan, thank you so much. we appreciate you coming on and taking our questions. coming up, dangerous heat now blanketing new orleans, and power may not be back on for a month. more on the brutal aftermath of hurricane ida, ahead. y wash is new and improved with skin-strengthening nutrients and moisturizers. .that help rebuild your skin with every shower. (upbeat music) - [narrator] this is kate. she always wanted her smile to shine. now, she us
officials are keenly aware that that is something that is agreed upon by a majority of americans. there s no question about it. both candidates in the 2020 presidential election race held that position of withdrawing from afghanistan. and i think that more than anything else was the message that the president wanted to get out through this speech, kind of get past everybody s micro focus on the last 16 days and focus bigger picture on what getting america out of afghanistan for the first time in 20 years means more broadly for u.s. foreign policy, for u.s. national security posture, for u.s. military forces in particular. i think the reality remains that while the administration has been clear that they are going to take a diplomatic track and have perceived commitments from the taliban related to the 100 plus americans that are still on the ground, related to the hundreds if not thousands of afghan allies including siv applicants, eligible individuals. while they are going to continue
off checkups and screenings during the pandemic. but first leading this hour, the last u.s. service member has left afghanistan, but the final u.s. citizen who wants to get out has not. president biden minutes ago seeming defiant and defending his decision to leave and to do it now despite the u.s. evacuating more than 123,000 people from afghanistan over the past month. critics are slamming president biden for going back on a promise he made that u.s. troops would stay until every american who wants to leave afghanistan gets out. as cnn s phil mattingly reports, the white house is now laying out exactly how it believes americans stuck in afghanistan will be able to escape. my fellow americans, the war in afghanistan is now over. reporter: president biden moving to mark an end to the most acute crisis of his administration. i refuse to continue a war