it's violent. the area's controlled by taliban fighters who periodically fire weapons into the air to push afghans back. more on the chaotic situation tonight from cnn's nick paton walsh. nick. >> don, at the end of america's longest war, the real final about that they have to pull off here involved getting so many thousands of people onto the last part of afghanistan america controls and to do that, they have to ask many americans, many afghans loyal to america, to run a horrifying gauntlet through kabul out to the airport. what should be the easiest drive in kabul is the reason the city is on edge. head up the main airport road since monday when i drove it and you run into the taliban. then, they were beating people back perhaps to clear the civilian runway crowded with desperate people then. by wednesday, it had gotten worse when they were clearly stopping people from using their escape to america.