Page 961 - Leverage News Today

What that looks like and is there any rational reason to think those folks will have better access to the airport once the taliban control it than they do today? >> well, i mean, its a really important question, john. you raise also really important point which is this has been an extraordinary effort by the u.s. military. and not like anything else that i can think of that we have seen in history in terms of the scale of this air lift evacuation. it really has surpassed everybodys expectations ...

Be leaving some american citizens in harms way. >> sandra: real quick, i will play something from secretary blinken yesterday, as we got the two-minute warning from the white house and the update on the ground in louisiana. real quick first. >> in terms of having an on the ground diplomatic presence september 1st, thats not likely to happen. but what is going to happen is that our commitment to continue to help people leave afghanistan who want to leave, and who are not out by september 1st, tha...

>> dana: i just wanted to jump in here before we lose the time. want to ask you about you said hostages. what do we need to know about that situation because that could turn pretty quickly. >> the taliban and their allies haqqani network have been holding a navy veteran hostage for the last year and a half. if they are so amenable to letting americans go after we leave them behind and our afghan allies, why havent they let him go? why? theyre using him for some things that they want and they are...

Question, and we are continuing to work to evacuate american citizens. what our message directly would be is that our commitment is enduring, and our commitment does not waiver, even as we bring our men and women from the military home and let me just outline a couple steps that are ongoing that i expect well give you updates on as details are finalized. first on the diplomatic front, the secretary of state has -- is going to be meeting with a number of his international partners, just over the ...

Kabul, which is the better place? >> certainly hamid karzai airport is easier for residents of kabul to get to. bagram is, as i recall, something in the vicinity of 20 miles away. there are a lot of vehicles in afghanistan and its a poor country but people get around in various ways. i think a lot of the question is what the taliban would have done as their next step, and i dont suggest that u.s. policy should be dictated by concerns or fears about the taliban, but at this juncture i just dont t...

So many ways, by point is, needs to be keep getting made, it can be reversed, focus on short-term right now if we respond with overwhelming force and go on offense and reset the chess board our leverage, then we could come back from this. at least a little bit. these things are reversible but we need decisive act from white house. mark: do you think that man who lit the fuse to this will put the fire out. >> no, it is almost like arsonist is bragging about how well they are putting out the fire,...

People out after tomorrow? >> i think it is comforting to see just how many american bes the administration has gotten out in a short amount of time i agree with jake sullivan in that its not a cliff, but we do have to understand that its not going to be 100% what we want. the taliban dont have -- theyve been out of government for a long time. they need to figure out the modalities of running an airport, a government. the u.s. doesnt have a permanent presence on the ground anymore. in the absenc...

>> down to a population of 300 or fewer american citizens who have yet to get out. we have evacuated more than 5,000. we evacuated well more than 300 just yesterday. we believe theres still an opportunity for american ci citizens to get to the airport, get on planes and get home. but youre right. august 31st is not a cliff. after august 31st, we believe we have substantial leverage to hold the taliban to allow safe passage for american citizens, legal permanent residents and afghan allies who ha...

What the ambassador just said. with the exception that the plan as far as withdrawal was poorly planned. when troops ended up abandoning afghanistan, and thats what we did, we abandoned afghanistan, at that time, the plan to evacuate civilians, americans, as well as our afghan allies didnt appear to be a part of it. it became a part of it after we withdrew the troops and had to send more troops back in. since then, after that stumble, a lot of good things have happened. the evacuation of 114,000...

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