rural districts and expand its control, he said he rejected the security situation on the ground and said that negotiations with the taliban is the only measure of success. the u.s. military leaders, intelligence leaders checked out on the taliban. they thought they were going to get a deal on the table. they never believed that the taliban was capable of overrunning cities. it has. it actually happened in that time period when general miller made that statement. everyone should have seen this coming. if i was able to see this coming, i don't understand how the u.s. military and intelligence establishment, which has billions upon billions of dollars at its disposal, was not able to see this. this really is the greatest failure. >> and what does that say about the lack of intelligence now that the u.s. will have in that country and how that effects the national security not just of the u.s., but of countries