and apparently it didn't go so well. >> yeah. cnn has been reporting that the u.s. is scrambling to fill the intelligence vacuum created by afghanistan's sudden collapse. how big of a problem is that? is that a big deal? >> it is a big deal. there's simply no substitute for the on-the-ground presence our intelligence services have had and built up over some 20 years. and that's going to -- i'll just say this. you can't replicate that from afar. there's a lot we can do to observe from over the horizon, but others have pointed this out. we're going to take a hit here as far as our on the ground intelligence capability. i'm sure we'll have some contacts, some assets and some other technical means for trying to monitor what's going on in-country, but it's not going to be the same and not as robust as what we've had. >> director clapper, always a