they presented themselves as much more pragmatic, as much more interested in governance, and they basically set about getting everything in place for this moment that began then in may when u.s. troops began to leave in earnest, when morale among the afghan army was at an all-time low, when the afghan army quickly it became clear was not able to function coherently and properly without the logistical and fighting combat support that the u.s. had provided for all of those years. so essentially, they were playing the long game, and they knew how this would end. no one could have predicted just how quickly it ended and how little resistance there were, and i think that's what we have heard today in these hearings, but i think that the outcome, while it might have happened much more quickly than anticipated, was always anticipated. >> and jamie, then to some political questions, which some of these senators during the committee hearing, you know,