phil, thanks so much for that. joining me now is general leslie clark, a cnn military analyst. also with us, cnn national security analyst who knows that part of the world so well. he has a new book on the rise and fall of osama bin laden. he conducted the first tv interview with the al-qaeda leader back in 1997. general clark, let me start with you. i want you to watch what president biden had to say about this withdraw just a month ago. let's watch. >> the jury is still out. but the likelihood there is going to be a tall ban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely. >> how could the biden administration and the president get caught by surprise like this? it appears they have been caught by surprise. >> you know, i couldn't explain it because once it's always been clear that everyone that once you actually committed to withdrawal, set the date the troops come out, that you will have super charged the taliban. they will have a sense of