WEBVTT 00:09.640 --> 00:13.640 Good afternoon . I've 00:13.640 --> 00:16.360 just met with the Vice President 00:16.360 --> 00:19.290 Secretary Blinken Secretary Austin and 00:19.290 --> 00:22.120 that security advisor , Sullivan and 00:22.120 --> 00:24.064 other members of national Security 00:24.064 --> 00:27.950 leadership team . The situation room to 00:27.950 --> 00:30.172 discuss our ongoing efforts to evacuate 00:30.172 --> 00:32.240 american citizens , third country 00:32.240 --> 00:34.830 civilians , afghan allies and 00:34.830 --> 00:37.170 vulnerable afghans . And I want to 00:37.170 --> 00:39.114 provide the american people with a 00:39.114 --> 00:41.281 brief update and this on the situation 00:41.281 --> 00:43.960 in Afghanistan . Since I spoke to on 00:43.960 --> 00:46.238 monday we've made significant progress . 00:46.640 --> 00:49.030 We've secured the airport enabling 00:49.030 --> 00:51.820 flights to resume not just military 00:51.820 --> 00:54.042 flights but civilian charters and other 00:54.042 --> 00:56.410 from other countries and the Ngos 00:56.420 --> 00:59.090 taking out civilians and vulnerable 00:59.100 --> 01:02.420 afghan uh vulnerable afghanis . 01:02.940 --> 01:04.920 And now we have almost 6000 troops 01:04.930 --> 01:07.890 including the 82nd Airborne providing 01:07.890 --> 01:10.620 runway security . The Army 10th 01:10.620 --> 01:12.920 Mountain Division Standing Guard around 01:12.920 --> 01:15.340 the airport In the 24th Marine 01:15.340 --> 01:17.173 Expeditionary Unit assisting the 01:17.173 --> 01:19.650 civilian departure . This is one of the 01:19.650 --> 01:21.770 largest , most difficult airlifts in 01:21.770 --> 01:24.220 history and the only country in the 01:24.220 --> 01:26.331 world capable of projecting this much 01:26.331 --> 01:29.560 power on the far side of the world with 01:29.560 --> 01:31.890 this degree of precision is the United 01:31.890 --> 01:34.270 States of America . We have already 01:34.270 --> 01:36.750 evacuated more than 18,000 people since 01:36.750 --> 01:40.500 July and approximately 13,000 since our 01:40.500 --> 01:43.550 military life began on August the 14th 01:44.240 --> 01:46.351 thousands more have been evacuated on 01:46.351 --> 01:48.910 private charter flights facilitated by 01:48.910 --> 01:51.080 the U . S . Government . These numbers 01:51.080 --> 01:53.302 include american citizens and permanent 01:53.302 --> 01:55.413 residents as well as their families . 01:55.740 --> 01:57.920 It includes s ivy applicants and their 01:57.920 --> 02:00.300 families , those afghans who have 02:00.300 --> 02:03.270 worked alongside us served alongside of 02:03.270 --> 02:05.640 us gone in a combat with us and 02:05.640 --> 02:07.696 provided invaluable assistance to us 02:07.696 --> 02:10.050 such as translators and interpreters . 02:11.140 --> 02:12.918 The United States stands by his 02:12.918 --> 02:14.918 commitment that we've made to these 02:14.918 --> 02:16.973 people and includes other vulnerable 02:16.973 --> 02:19.200 afghans such as women leaders and 02:19.200 --> 02:21.290 journalists . In fact , working in 02:21.290 --> 02:23.470 close coordination with the management 02:23.470 --> 02:25.637 of the new york times , the Washington 02:25.637 --> 02:27.637 post , The Wall Street Journal . We 02:27.637 --> 02:30.470 have successfully evacuated all 204 of 02:30.470 --> 02:32.940 their employees in Afghanistan on us 02:32.940 --> 02:35.162 military aircraft . Earlier this week . 02:35.940 --> 02:38.190 We've established the flow of flights 02:38.640 --> 02:40.529 and we've increased the number of 02:40.529 --> 02:42.751 people were moving out of the country . 02:43.240 --> 02:45.351 We pause flights in Kabul a few hours 02:45.351 --> 02:47.640 this morning to make sure we could 02:47.640 --> 02:49.780 process the arriving evacuees at the 02:49.780 --> 02:52.700 transit points . But our commander in 02:52.700 --> 02:54.930 Kabul has already given the order for 02:54.930 --> 02:58.110 outbound flights to resume . Even with 02:58.110 --> 03:01.670 the pause , we moved out 5700 03:01.670 --> 03:04.470 evacuees yesterday and we're working on 03:04.470 --> 03:07.700 a variety uh , to verify that number of 03:07.700 --> 03:09.756 americans are still in country as we 03:09.756 --> 03:11.978 work on this because we're not going to 03:11.978 --> 03:13.922 the exact number of people who are 03:13.922 --> 03:16.120 americans are there and those who may 03:16.120 --> 03:18.231 have come home to the United States , 03:18.231 --> 03:20.231 we're not , we want to get a strong 03:20.231 --> 03:22.398 numbers to exactly how many people are 03:22.398 --> 03:24.564 there . How many american citizens and 03:24.564 --> 03:27.940 where they are just yesterday Among the 03:27.940 --> 03:30.660 many Americans were evacuated 169 03:30.660 --> 03:33.400 Americans who over the we've got over 03:33.400 --> 03:35.178 the wall into the airport using 03:35.178 --> 03:37.020 military assets . We're also 03:37.020 --> 03:39.480 facilitating flights for our allies and 03:39.480 --> 03:41.990 our partners and working in close 03:42.000 --> 03:44.950 operational coordination with NATO on 03:44.950 --> 03:48.390 this evacuation for example , we 03:48.390 --> 03:50.680 provided over watch for the french 03:50.680 --> 03:52.569 convoy , bringing hundreds of the 03:52.569 --> 03:54.680 people from the french embassy to the 03:54.680 --> 03:57.410 airport . These operations are kind of 03:57.410 --> 03:59.577 going to continue over the coming days 03:59.577 --> 04:02.330 before we complete our drawdown , we're 04:02.330 --> 04:04.497 going to do everything everything that 04:04.497 --> 04:06.800 we can to provide safe evacuation for 04:06.800 --> 04:09.580 our afghan allies , partners and 04:09.580 --> 04:12.900 afghans who who who who might be 04:12.900 --> 04:15.530 targeted because of their association 04:15.530 --> 04:17.500 with the United States . Let me be 04:17.500 --> 04:21.480 clear any american wants to come home . 04:21.640 --> 04:25.230 We will get you home . Make no mistake . 04:25.230 --> 04:27.750 This evacuation mission is dangerous . 04:28.140 --> 04:31.030 It involves risks to our armed forces 04:31.390 --> 04:33.112 and it's being conducted under 04:33.112 --> 04:35.580 difficult circumstances . I cannot 04:35.580 --> 04:38.170 promise what the final outcome will be 04:38.180 --> 04:40.402 or what it will be that will be without 04:40.402 --> 04:42.730 risk of laws . But as commander in 04:42.730 --> 04:45.250 chief , I can assure you that I will 04:45.250 --> 04:48.820 mobilize every resource necessary . And 04:48.820 --> 04:51.170 as an american , I offer my gratitude 04:51.170 --> 04:53.710 to the brave men and women of the U . S . 04:53.710 --> 04:55.654 Armed forces are carrying out this 04:55.654 --> 04:58.340 mission . They're incredible as we 04:58.340 --> 05:00.340 continue to work , The logistics of 05:00.340 --> 05:02.880 evacuation were in constant contact 05:02.880 --> 05:05.170 with the taliban . Working to ensure 05:05.170 --> 05:07.114 civilians have safe passage to the 05:07.114 --> 05:09.690 airport . We are particularly focused 05:09.690 --> 05:12.060 on our engagements on making sure every 05:12.060 --> 05:15.430 american who wants to leave can get to 05:15.430 --> 05:18.910 the airport where we have been seeing 05:18.910 --> 05:20.688 challenges of americans for for 05:20.688 --> 05:22.910 americans we have thus far been able to 05:22.910 --> 05:25.370 resolve them . We've been able , we've 05:25.370 --> 05:28.700 made , look , we made clear to the 05:28.700 --> 05:32.120 taliban that any attack , any attack on 05:32.120 --> 05:35.110 our forces or disruption our operations . 05:35.110 --> 05:37.490 The airport will be met with swift and 05:37.490 --> 05:40.930 forceful response . We're also keeping 05:40.930 --> 05:42.652 a close watch on any potential 05:42.652 --> 05:44.920 terrorist threat at or around the 05:44.920 --> 05:47.760 airport , including from the ISIS 05:47.760 --> 05:49.850 affiliates in Afghanistan who were 05:49.850 --> 05:51.961 released from prison when the prisons 05:51.961 --> 05:54.910 were emptied and because they are by 05:54.910 --> 05:57.021 the way and make everybody understand 05:57.140 --> 06:00.880 that the ISIS in Afghanistan artists 06:00.880 --> 06:02.713 have been the sworn enemy of the 06:02.713 --> 06:06.150 taliban . I've said all along we're 06:06.150 --> 06:08.470 going to retain a laser focus on our 06:08.470 --> 06:11.080 counterterrorism mission , working in 06:11.080 --> 06:13.247 close coordination with our allies and 06:13.247 --> 06:15.840 our partners and all those who have an 06:15.840 --> 06:17.951 interest in ensuring stability in the 06:17.951 --> 06:20.410 region . Secretary Blinken is with me 06:20.410 --> 06:22.970 today , met this morning with our NATO 06:22.970 --> 06:25.081 allies and consultation about the way 06:25.081 --> 06:27.940 forward so that Afghanistan cannot be 06:27.940 --> 06:30.780 used as in the future as a terrorist 06:30.780 --> 06:32.930 base of attack to attack the United 06:32.930 --> 06:36.740 States or our allies . For 20 years . 06:36.750 --> 06:39.350 Afghanistan has been a joint effort 06:39.740 --> 06:42.110 with our NATO allies . We went in 06:42.110 --> 06:45.370 together and we're leaving together and 06:45.370 --> 06:47.592 now we're working together to bring our 06:47.592 --> 06:50.010 people and our Afghan partners to 06:50.010 --> 06:53.850 safety the past few days . I've also 06:53.850 --> 06:56.017 spoken directly with the british prime 06:56.017 --> 06:58.500 Minister Mr johnson , Chancellor Merkel 06:58.500 --> 07:00.970 of Germany and President Macron of 07:00.970 --> 07:04.720 France . We all agreed That we should 07:04.720 --> 07:07.460 convene and we will convene the G7 07:07.590 --> 07:10.210 meeting next week , a group of the 07:10.210 --> 07:12.400 world's leading democracies so that 07:12.400 --> 07:14.960 together we can coordinate our mutual 07:14.960 --> 07:16.738 approach are united approach on 07:16.738 --> 07:19.510 Afghanistan . And moving forward , we 07:19.510 --> 07:22.830 are united with our closest partners to 07:22.830 --> 07:25.610 execute the mission at hand . We've 07:25.610 --> 07:27.666 also discussed the need to work with 07:27.666 --> 07:29.832 the international community to provide 07:29.832 --> 07:31.888 humanitarian assistance such as food 07:31.888 --> 07:34.000 aid and medical care for refugees who 07:34.000 --> 07:35.722 have crossed into neighbouring 07:35.722 --> 07:38.330 countries to escape the taliban and to 07:38.330 --> 07:40.330 bring international pressure on the 07:40.330 --> 07:42.640 Taliban with respect to the treatment 07:42.640 --> 07:45.250 of afghan afghan people overall , but 07:45.250 --> 07:47.361 including afghan , particularly women 07:47.361 --> 07:50.560 and girls . The past week has been 07:50.560 --> 07:53.140 heartbreaking . We've seen gut 07:53.140 --> 07:55.084 wrenching images of panic . People 07:55.440 --> 07:58.830 acting out of sheer desperation . You 07:58.830 --> 08:01.052 know , it's completely understandable . 08:01.640 --> 08:04.840 They're frightened or sad , uncertain 08:04.840 --> 08:07.170 what happens next . I don't think 08:07.170 --> 08:09.650 anyone , I don't think anyone of us can 08:09.750 --> 08:12.170 see these pictures and not feel that 08:12.180 --> 08:16.150 pain on a human level . Now we 08:16.150 --> 08:18.261 have a mission mission to complete in 08:18.261 --> 08:20.840 Afghanistan . It's an incredibly 08:20.840 --> 08:22.951 difficult and dangerous operation for 08:22.951 --> 08:26.720 our military . We have almost 6000 of 08:26.720 --> 08:29.040 America's finest fighting men and women 08:29.050 --> 08:31.820 at the Kabul airport . We're putting 08:31.820 --> 08:33.820 their lives on the line and they're 08:33.820 --> 08:36.390 doing it in a dangerous place to save 08:36.390 --> 08:38.730 other americans , our afghan allies and 08:38.730 --> 08:41.800 citizens of our allies and women with 08:41.800 --> 08:44.760 this . You know , I I talk 08:47.040 --> 08:48.929 I talked to our commanders on the 08:48.929 --> 08:51.970 ground there every single day as I just 08:51.970 --> 08:55.180 did a few hours an hour or so ago and I 08:55.180 --> 08:57.370 made it clear to them that we'll get 08:57.370 --> 08:59.560 them whatever they need to do the job 09:00.440 --> 09:02.740 they're performing to the highest 09:02.750 --> 09:04.960 standard under extraordinarily 09:04.960 --> 09:07.071 difficult and dynamic circumstances . 09:07.740 --> 09:10.730 Our NATO allies are strongly standing 09:10.730 --> 09:13.270 with us , their troops keeping century 09:13.270 --> 09:17.160 alongside ours in Kabul as is the case . 09:17.740 --> 09:19.800 Whenever I deploy our troops into 09:19.800 --> 09:22.660 harm's way , I take that responsibility 09:22.660 --> 09:25.760 seriously . I carry that burden every 09:25.760 --> 09:29.060 day just as I did when I was vice 09:29.060 --> 09:31.282 president , my son was deployed to Iraq 09:31.282 --> 09:33.780 for a year . Will be plenty of time to 09:33.780 --> 09:35.780 criticize or second guess when this 09:35.780 --> 09:39.150 operation is over . But now now 09:39.540 --> 09:41.707 I'm focused on getting this job done . 09:42.640 --> 09:45.410 I would ask every american to join me 09:45.410 --> 09:47.250 in praying for the women and men 09:47.440 --> 09:49.496 risking their lives on the ground in 09:49.496 --> 09:52.730 the service of our nation . As events 09:52.730 --> 09:55.990 evolved over the coming days , my team 09:55.990 --> 09:57.823 and I will continue to share the 09:57.823 --> 09:59.823 information and update the american 09:59.823 --> 10:01.934 people and exactly where things are . 10:01.934 --> 10:04.120 We'll use every resource necessary to 10:04.120 --> 10:06.720 carry out the mission at hand and bring 10:06.720 --> 10:10.010 the safety american citizens and our 10:10.020 --> 10:13.690 afghan allies . This is our 10:13.690 --> 10:17.650 focus now and when this is finished , 10:18.040 --> 10:19.707 we will complete our military 10:19.707 --> 10:21.873 withdrawal and finally bring to an end 10:22.540 --> 10:24.990 20 years of American military action in 10:24.990 --> 10:28.470 Afghanistan . Thank you May God bless 10:28.470 --> 10:30.637 you , our troops and our diplomats and 10:30.637 --> 10:32.748 all those serving in harm's way . And 10:32.748 --> 10:36.460 now I'll take questions Ap Zeke Noah 10:46.640 --> 10:49.430 Afghanistan but you also promised not 10:49.440 --> 10:51.551 to help to bring out those who helped 10:51.551 --> 10:53.718 America in its war effort . We've seen 10:53.718 --> 10:55.718 these heart wrenching images at the 10:55.718 --> 10:57.829 Kabul airport of people trying to get 10:57.829 --> 10:59.829 their say nothing of the people who 10:59.829 --> 10:59.530 can't get to that airport . You made 10:59.530 --> 11:01.641 the commitment to get american troops 11:01.641 --> 11:03.808 out to get get american citizens out . 11:03.808 --> 11:05.863 Will you make the same commitment to 11:05.863 --> 11:08.030 those who assisted in the american war 11:08.030 --> 11:10.197 effort over the last 20 years ? Number 11:10.197 --> 11:12.363 one and then number two , what is your 11:12.363 --> 11:14.586 message to the Americas partners around 11:14.586 --> 11:16.697 the world who have criticized not the 11:16.697 --> 11:18.752 withdrawal , but the conduct of that 11:18.752 --> 11:20.641 withdrawal and made them question 11:20.641 --> 11:19.990 America's credibility on the world 11:19.990 --> 11:22.410 stage . I have seen no question of our 11:22.410 --> 11:24.577 credibility from our allies around the 11:24.577 --> 11:26.466 world . I've spoken with our NATO 11:26.466 --> 11:28.970 allies , we've spoken with NATO allies , 11:28.980 --> 11:31.370 the Secretary of State , our National 11:31.370 --> 11:33.426 Security Advisor has been in contact 11:33.426 --> 11:35.481 with his counterparts throughout the 11:35.481 --> 11:37.760 world and our allies as has the general 11:37.760 --> 11:39.871 or excuse me , I keep calling them in 11:39.871 --> 11:42.093 general . But my Secretary of Defense , 11:42.140 --> 11:44.196 the fact of the matter is I have not 11:44.196 --> 11:46.362 seen that . Matter of fact , the exact 11:46.362 --> 11:48.890 opposite . I've got the exact opposite 11:48.890 --> 11:51.001 thing is we're acting with dispatch . 11:51.001 --> 11:53.334 We're acting committing to what we said . 11:53.334 --> 11:55.334 We would do . Look , let's put this 11:55.334 --> 11:57.200 thing in perspective here . What 11:57.210 --> 12:00.440 interest do we have in Afghanistan at 12:00.440 --> 12:04.420 this point with Al Qaeda gone . We 12:04.420 --> 12:06.420 went to Afghanistan for the express 12:06.420 --> 12:09.540 purpose of getting rid of Al Qaeda in 12:09.540 --> 12:13.100 Afghanistan as well as as well as 12:13.100 --> 12:15.960 getting Osama bin laden . And we did 12:16.340 --> 12:20.070 imagine just imagine if that 12:20.070 --> 12:23.000 attack , if Bin laden had decided with 12:23.000 --> 12:25.860 al Qaeda to launch an attack from Yemen , 12:26.340 --> 12:28.340 would we ever gone to Afghanistan ? 12:28.640 --> 12:30.807 Would there ever be any reason we'd be 12:30.807 --> 12:32.640 in Afghanistan controlled by the 12:32.640 --> 12:35.030 Taliban ? What is the national interest 12:35.030 --> 12:37.252 in United States in that circumstance ? 12:37.540 --> 12:40.140 Yeah , we went and did the mission . 12:40.150 --> 12:42.261 You've known my position for a long , 12:42.261 --> 12:46.150 long time . It's time to end this war . 12:46.740 --> 12:48.851 The estimates of the cost of this war 12:48.851 --> 12:50.851 over the last 20 years range from a 12:50.851 --> 12:53.560 minimum $1 trillion dollars To a think 12:53.560 --> 12:56.090 tank at one of the universities saying 12:56.100 --> 12:58.340 two trillion , that's somewhere between 12:58.340 --> 13:02.260 $150 million $300 million dollars a day . 13:03.640 --> 13:05.390 The threat from terrorism has 13:05.390 --> 13:08.560 metastasized . There's a greater danger 13:08.560 --> 13:12.290 from IsIS and Al Qaeda and all these 13:12.290 --> 13:14.930 affiliates and other countries by far 13:14.930 --> 13:17.097 than there is from Afghanistan . We're 13:17.097 --> 13:19.210 going to retain on over the horizon 13:19.210 --> 13:21.377 capability that they were to come back 13:21.377 --> 13:23.680 to be able to take them out surgically 13:23.680 --> 13:26.520 move . So this is , this is where we 13:26.520 --> 13:28.940 should be . This is about America 13:28.940 --> 13:31.500 leading the world and all our allies 13:31.500 --> 13:33.778 have agreed with that . And by the way , 13:33.778 --> 13:36.260 before I made this decision , I was at 13:36.260 --> 13:40.120 the G7 as well as met with our 13:40.310 --> 13:43.040 NATO partners and I told them all , 13:43.050 --> 13:45.360 every one of them new and agreed with 13:45.360 --> 13:48.750 the decision I made to an end , end 13:48.750 --> 13:51.170 jointly end our involvement in 13:51.170 --> 13:53.250 Afghanistan . The first part of your 13:53.250 --> 13:55.250 question was I can't remember now , 13:55.840 --> 13:58.173 would you commit to the same commitment ? 13:58.173 --> 14:00.284 Would you make the same commitment to 14:00.284 --> 14:02.396 bring out afghans who assisted in the 14:02.396 --> 14:04.507 war effort ? Yes . Yes . We're making 14:04.507 --> 14:06.618 the same commitment . There is no one 14:06.618 --> 14:06.140 more important than bringing american 14:06.140 --> 14:08.630 citizens out . I acknowledge that but 14:08.630 --> 14:10.741 they're equally important . Almost as 14:10.741 --> 14:13.300 all those who those S I . V . S we call 14:13.300 --> 14:15.467 them who in fact helped us . They were 14:15.467 --> 14:17.467 translators , they went into battle 14:17.467 --> 14:19.244 with us . They were part of the 14:19.244 --> 14:21.430 operation as well as we're also trying 14:21.430 --> 14:24.250 to get out as many NGO's non government 14:24.250 --> 14:26.760 organizations , women's organizations 14:26.760 --> 14:28.940 etcetera . We're doing all we can in 14:28.940 --> 14:32.320 the meantime , uh Secretary Blinken and 14:32.330 --> 14:34.890 I am going to be working with our 14:34.890 --> 14:37.001 allies to see to it that we can bring 14:37.001 --> 14:40.210 international pressure on the Taliban 14:40.220 --> 14:42.740 to be there looking to gain some 14:42.740 --> 14:44.870 legitimacy . They're going to have to 14:44.870 --> 14:46.648 figure out how they're going to 14:46.648 --> 14:48.870 maintain that country and there's going 14:48.870 --> 14:50.926 to be harsh conditions , were strong 14:50.926 --> 14:52.926 conditions we're going to apply and 14:52.926 --> 14:54.981 will depend on whether they get help 14:54.981 --> 14:57.037 based on whether or not how and well 14:57.037 --> 14:59.148 they treat women and girls , how they 14:59.148 --> 15:01.360 treat their citizens . So this is just 15:01.360 --> 15:04.350 beginning in that score . They passed 15:04.360 --> 15:06.471 the 31st to make that happen to bring 15:06.471 --> 15:08.527 all the Americans out to bring those 15:08.527 --> 15:10.638 SUVs out . I think we can get it done 15:10.638 --> 15:12.804 by then . But we're going to make that 15:12.804 --> 15:15.027 judgment as we go now . Justin Sink A . 15:15.027 --> 15:18.910 Bloomberg . The 15:18.910 --> 15:21.970 president , um you just said that you 15:21.970 --> 15:23.526 would keep a laser focus on 15:23.526 --> 15:25.581 counterterrorism efforts . You don't 15:25.581 --> 15:27.692 see as great of a threat of terrorism 15:27.692 --> 15:29.859 from Afghanistan as other parts of the 15:29.859 --> 15:31.414 world . But if you and your 15:31.414 --> 15:33.526 administration so badly miss assessed 15:33.526 --> 15:35.526 how quickly the Taliban would sweep 15:35.526 --> 15:37.581 through Afghanistan and we no longer 15:37.581 --> 15:39.803 have an embassy there from which to run 15:39.803 --> 15:41.914 intelligence operations . How can you 15:41.914 --> 15:44.081 all be confident of your assessment of 15:44.081 --> 15:46.192 the risk of terrorism and the ability 15:46.192 --> 15:48.137 of the U . S . To conduct over the 15:48.137 --> 15:50.303 horizon missions to keep it in check . 15:50.303 --> 15:52.303 Can you tell americans that they're 15:52.303 --> 15:54.414 safe and will remain safe from terror 15:54.414 --> 15:56.637 attacks in Afghanistan ? I think you're 15:56.637 --> 15:58.581 comparing apples and oranges . one 15:58.581 --> 16:01.740 question was whether or not the Afghan 16:01.740 --> 16:04.840 forces we trained up would stay and 16:04.840 --> 16:07.740 fight in their own civil war . They 16:07.740 --> 16:11.610 hadn't going on . No one shouldn't 16:11.610 --> 16:14.520 say No one . The consensus was That it 16:14.520 --> 16:17.090 was highly unlikely that in 11 days 16:17.090 --> 16:19.312 they collapse and fall in the leader of 16:19.312 --> 16:21.460 Afghanistan would flee the country . 16:22.440 --> 16:24.551 That's a very different question than 16:24.551 --> 16:26.718 whether or not there is the ability to 16:26.718 --> 16:28.900 observe whether or not large groups of 16:28.940 --> 16:31.630 terrorists began to accumulate in a 16:31.630 --> 16:33.860 particular area in Afghanistan to plot 16:33.870 --> 16:36.037 against the United States of America , 16:36.240 --> 16:38.240 that's why we retained and over the 16:38.240 --> 16:40.184 horizon capability to go in and do 16:40.184 --> 16:42.660 something about that . If that occurs , 16:43.040 --> 16:45.360 if that occurs . But in the meantime , 16:45.940 --> 16:47.884 we know what's happened around the 16:47.884 --> 16:49.884 world . We know what's happening in 16:49.884 --> 16:52.590 terms of what's going on in other 16:52.590 --> 16:54.757 countries where there is a significant 16:54.757 --> 16:57.950 rise of terrorist organizations in the 16:57.950 --> 17:00.120 Middle East and East africa and other 17:00.120 --> 17:03.670 places . And so the bottom line is we 17:03.670 --> 17:05.910 have to do we're dealing with those 17:05.910 --> 17:08.130 terrorist threats from other parts of 17:08.130 --> 17:10.590 the world and failed states without 17:10.590 --> 17:13.020 permanent military without without 17:13.020 --> 17:15.187 permanent military presence there . We 17:15.187 --> 17:17.760 have to do the same in Afghanistan , 17:18.540 --> 17:21.160 sir . Just on that initial assessment , 17:21.160 --> 17:23.880 we we learned of the last 24 hours that 17:23.880 --> 17:25.824 there was a dissent cable from the 17:25.824 --> 17:28.230 State Department uh saying that the 17:28.230 --> 17:30.780 taliban would come faster through 17:30.780 --> 17:33.240 Afghanistan . Can you say why after 17:33.250 --> 17:35.700 that cable was issued , the U . S . 17:35.700 --> 17:38.030 Didn't do more to get americans , all 17:38.040 --> 17:41.370 kinds of cables , all kinds of advice . 17:41.380 --> 17:44.960 Have you noticed that ranged from this 17:44.970 --> 17:47.026 group saying that they didn't say it 17:47.026 --> 17:49.026 fall when it would fall when it did 17:49.026 --> 17:51.430 fall . But saying that it would fall to 17:51.430 --> 17:53.597 others saying it wouldn't happen for a 17:53.597 --> 17:55.819 long time and they'd be able to sustain 17:55.819 --> 17:58.097 themselves through the end of the year . 17:58.097 --> 18:00.152 I made the decision . The buck stops 18:00.152 --> 18:02.750 with me . I took the consensus opinion . 18:02.760 --> 18:05.810 The consensus opinion was that in fact 18:05.820 --> 18:08.210 it would not occur if it occurred until 18:08.210 --> 18:10.300 later in the year . So it was my 18:10.300 --> 18:14.050 decision . Now my I got my 18:14.050 --> 18:17.270 next is Stephanie Ramos . Abc 18:20.140 --> 18:22.100 thank you . Mr President . Two 18:22.100 --> 18:24.156 questions for you . The military has 18:24.156 --> 18:26.322 secured the airport as you mentioned . 18:26.322 --> 18:28.322 But will you sign off on sending us 18:28.322 --> 18:30.544 troops into Kabul to evacuate americans 18:30.544 --> 18:32.544 who haven't been able to get to the 18:32.544 --> 18:34.930 airport safely . We have no indication 18:34.930 --> 18:37.041 that they haven't been able to get in 18:37.041 --> 18:39.208 Kabul through the airport . We made an 18:39.208 --> 18:41.208 agreement with the with the Taliban 18:41.208 --> 18:43.319 thus far , they've allowed them to go 18:43.319 --> 18:43.190 through it and they're interested in to 18:43.190 --> 18:45.710 go through . So we know of no 18:45.720 --> 18:48.720 circumstance where american citizens 18:48.720 --> 18:51.190 are carrying american passport . We're 18:51.190 --> 18:53.246 trying to get through to the airport 18:53.246 --> 18:55.246 but we will do whatever needs to be 18:55.246 --> 18:57.301 done to see to what they get there . 18:57.301 --> 18:59.468 And one more Mr President last month , 18:59.468 --> 19:01.690 my colleague Martha Raddatz interviewed 19:01.690 --> 19:03.690 Abdul an interpreter who was on the 19:03.690 --> 19:05.357 front lines with us forces in 19:05.357 --> 19:07.468 Afghanistan overnight . We received a 19:07.468 --> 19:09.860 photo of Taliban militants coming to 19:09.860 --> 19:12.690 the door of his home literally hunting 19:12.690 --> 19:15.260 him down thankfully he was able to 19:15.260 --> 19:17.540 escape but he is obviously still in 19:17.540 --> 19:19.830 mortal danger . What would be your 19:19.830 --> 19:22.510 message to Abdul his wife and his three 19:22.510 --> 19:26.490 young daughters ? Yeah , we want you to 19:26.490 --> 19:28.712 be able to get to the airport , contact 19:28.712 --> 19:30.768 us . We'll see whatever we can do to 19:30.768 --> 19:32.823 get you there . We've got to get you 19:32.823 --> 19:35.770 out . We are committed to deal with you , 19:35.780 --> 19:37.840 your wife and your child to get all 19:37.840 --> 19:39.729 three of you out of Afghanistan . 19:40.240 --> 19:43.690 That's the commitment MEREDITH 19:43.690 --> 19:46.670 lee of PBS News hour , 19:49.940 --> 19:51.884 you mentioned just now using every 19:51.884 --> 19:53.940 resource available for evacuations , 19:53.940 --> 19:56.162 why haven't you ordered the military to 19:56.162 --> 19:58.218 expand the security perimeter around 19:58.218 --> 20:00.218 the Kabul airport ? Do you have any 20:00.218 --> 20:02.107 plans to do so ? Giving that will 20:02.107 --> 20:04.162 likely require more U . S . Troops ? 20:04.162 --> 20:05.884 And are you considering rescue 20:05.884 --> 20:07.884 operations to recover americans and 20:07.884 --> 20:09.829 afghan allies stuck behind taliban 20:09.829 --> 20:13.730 checkpoints ? The last answer is yes 20:13.740 --> 20:15.351 to the last question . We're 20:15.351 --> 20:18.060 considering every every opportunity and 20:18.060 --> 20:21.280 every means by which we could get folks 20:21.290 --> 20:23.346 to the airport . That's number one . 20:23.346 --> 20:26.030 Number two . The reason why we have not 20:26.040 --> 20:29.040 gone out and started and set up a 20:29.040 --> 20:31.960 perimeter way outside the airport in 20:31.960 --> 20:35.160 Kabul is that it's likely to draw an 20:35.160 --> 20:38.700 awful lot of unintended consequences in 20:38.700 --> 20:42.150 terms of people who in fact are not 20:42.160 --> 20:44.160 part of the Taliban . We've been in 20:44.160 --> 20:46.220 constant contact with the Taliban 20:46.220 --> 20:49.730 leadership on the ground in in 20:49.730 --> 20:52.820 Kabul as well as the taliban leadership 20:52.830 --> 20:55.550 dot and we've been coordinating what 20:55.550 --> 20:57.772 we're doing . That's why we were able , 20:57.772 --> 20:59.772 for example , how we got all of our 20:59.772 --> 21:01.717 embassy personnel out , how we got 21:01.717 --> 21:03.772 everyone out of the embassy safely . 21:03.772 --> 21:05.883 That was the distance , that's how we 21:05.883 --> 21:08.190 helped get the french out out of their 21:08.190 --> 21:11.270 embassy . So the question remains , 21:11.440 --> 21:13.710 there will be judgments made on the 21:13.710 --> 21:16.190 ground by the military commanders at 21:16.200 --> 21:19.230 the moment and that I cannot second 21:19.230 --> 21:21.230 guess each of those judgments to be 21:21.230 --> 21:24.670 made . But the idea of 21:25.140 --> 21:27.450 again , I mean let me get back to the 21:27.450 --> 21:30.270 fundamental point I made at the outset 21:32.540 --> 21:35.060 when the decision was made 21:36.440 --> 21:40.290 by me that it was made some time 21:40.290 --> 21:42.830 ago and I ran for president saying I 21:42.830 --> 21:44.941 wanted to get us out of Afghanistan . 21:46.540 --> 21:48.770 one of the things that um 21:51.140 --> 21:55.040 is reality is people now say to 21:55.040 --> 21:57.490 me and to others and many of you say it 21:57.500 --> 22:01.300 on air that why 22:01.300 --> 22:04.420 did we have to move because no 22:04.420 --> 22:07.360 americans are being attacked , Why did 22:07.360 --> 22:09.660 we withdraw those ? Why don't agree to 22:09.660 --> 22:12.140 withdraw 2500 troops ? No Americans are 22:12.150 --> 22:16.010 being attacked as I said before . The 22:16.010 --> 22:18.177 reason they weren't being attacked was 22:18.177 --> 22:20.177 part of an agreement that trump had 22:20.177 --> 22:22.710 made a year earlier . We will leave by 22:22.710 --> 22:25.120 May one he said as long as there's no 22:25.120 --> 22:28.050 attack on Americans in that year period , 22:29.440 --> 22:32.040 number one , number two the taliban was 22:32.040 --> 22:34.318 taking large swaths of the countryside , 22:34.318 --> 22:37.010 north and south , none of the major 22:37.020 --> 22:40.590 areas , none of the major uh points 22:40.590 --> 22:42.810 of the capitals of each of these 22:42.810 --> 22:45.450 provinces . But they were all over , 22:45.460 --> 22:48.550 all over the country . And the idea 22:49.040 --> 22:53.040 That if I had said on May II 22:53.050 --> 22:55.820 or 3rd , we are not leaving , we are 22:55.820 --> 22:59.160 staying . Does anybody truly believe 23:00.040 --> 23:02.040 that I would not have had to put in 23:02.040 --> 23:04.850 significantly more american forces send 23:04.850 --> 23:07.610 your sons , your daughters , like my 23:07.610 --> 23:10.760 son was sent to Iraq to maybe die 23:11.440 --> 23:15.370 and for what for what ? So the only 23:15.370 --> 23:18.280 rational thing to do in my view was to 23:18.280 --> 23:21.280 set up and preposition american forces 23:22.240 --> 23:24.660 for the purpose of evacuation and the 23:24.660 --> 23:27.570 aircraft to preposition those ahead of 23:27.570 --> 23:30.290 time so that we would be able to begin 23:30.290 --> 23:34.290 the process of evacuation of 23:34.300 --> 23:37.080 american citizens , s Ivs and others 23:37.080 --> 23:39.080 who helped us . The last point I'll 23:39.080 --> 23:40.960 make is this look um 23:45.140 --> 23:48.050 If we had decided 15 years ago 23:49.040 --> 23:52.350 to leave Afghanistan it would have been 23:53.240 --> 23:56.510 really difficult if we decided five 23:56.510 --> 23:59.160 years ago . If we start if we continue 23:59.160 --> 24:01.382 to work for another decade and tried to 24:01.382 --> 24:04.620 leave , there's no way in which you'd 24:04.620 --> 24:08.100 be able to leave Afghanistan without 24:08.100 --> 24:10.267 there being some of what you're seeing 24:10.267 --> 24:14.240 now . But what we've done so far is 24:14.250 --> 24:17.440 able to get a large number americans 24:17.440 --> 24:20.430 out all our personality embassy out and 24:20.430 --> 24:23.720 so on and thank God so far , knock on 24:23.720 --> 24:26.960 wood or in a different position scott . 24:27.340 --> 24:29.960 Uh De Trow scott . 24:32.940 --> 24:36.710 NPR thank you mr President I just want 24:36.710 --> 24:38.766 to follow up on something you said a 24:38.766 --> 24:40.766 moment ago you said that there's no 24:40.766 --> 24:42.877 circumstances where american citizens 24:42.877 --> 24:44.710 cannot get to the airport . That 24:44.710 --> 24:46.821 doesn't really square with the images 24:46.821 --> 24:46.770 we're seeing around the airport with 24:46.770 --> 24:48.826 the reporting on the ground from our 24:48.826 --> 24:51.048 colleagues who are describing chaos and 24:51.048 --> 24:53.159 violence are you saying unequivocally 24:53.159 --> 24:55.270 that any american who wants to get to 24:55.270 --> 24:54.890 the airport is getting there and 24:54.890 --> 24:57.001 getting past the security barrier and 24:57.001 --> 24:59.112 to the plains where they want to go , 24:59.112 --> 25:01.279 what the question was how can they get 25:01.279 --> 25:03.223 through to the airport outside the 25:03.223 --> 25:06.130 airport ? And the answer is the best of 25:06.130 --> 25:08.840 our knowledge , the taliban checkpoints . 25:08.840 --> 25:12.130 They are letting through people showing 25:12.130 --> 25:14.250 american passports . Now that's a 25:14.250 --> 25:16.472 different question . When they get into 25:16.472 --> 25:18.550 the rush and crowd of all the folks 25:18.730 --> 25:21.360 just outside the wall near the airport , 25:21.740 --> 25:23.907 that's why we had to I guess yet . Was 25:23.907 --> 25:26.030 it yesterday , the day before we went 25:26.030 --> 25:29.560 over the wall and brought in how many ? 25:30.340 --> 25:34.040 Six , 169 Americans . So it 25:34.040 --> 25:36.530 is a process to try to figure out how 25:36.530 --> 25:40.410 we , how we uh deal 25:40.410 --> 25:43.970 with the mad rush of 25:43.980 --> 25:46.700 non americans . Those who didn't help 25:46.710 --> 25:48.988 those who are not on the priority list . 25:48.988 --> 25:51.740 Just any afghan , any afghan to be able 25:51.740 --> 25:53.900 to get out of the country . And so my 25:53.900 --> 25:56.810 guess is that no matter what under what 25:56.810 --> 25:59.880 circumstances we , anyone there's not a 25:59.880 --> 26:02.080 whole lot of afghanis . Uh there's a 26:02.080 --> 26:04.191 whole lot of Afghanistan just as soon 26:04.191 --> 26:06.413 come to America . Whether there are any 26:06.413 --> 26:08.524 involvement with the United States in 26:08.524 --> 26:10.691 the past at all rather than stay under 26:10.691 --> 26:13.900 taliban rule or any in any room . So 26:13.910 --> 26:16.020 what I was saying is that we have an 26:16.020 --> 26:19.000 agreement that they will let pass 26:19.000 --> 26:22.690 through the checkpoints that day , the 26:22.690 --> 26:26.000 taliban control americans through . But 26:26.000 --> 26:28.000 given this , given the negotiations 26:28.000 --> 26:30.222 with the taliban , the scenes that were 26:30.222 --> 26:32.444 saying , can you just fully explain why 26:32.444 --> 26:34.611 the plan wasn't to go ahead with these 26:34.611 --> 26:36.500 evacuations of both americans and 26:36.500 --> 26:38.500 allies before the drawdowns began , 26:38.500 --> 26:40.722 before bagram was closed . Looking back 26:40.722 --> 26:42.944 several months . Because whether it was 26:42.944 --> 26:42.860 now or several months from now , there 26:42.860 --> 26:45.027 seems to be a broad consensus that the 26:45.027 --> 26:47.249 taliban would make these gains and this 26:47.249 --> 26:49.840 would be needed at some point . Well 26:49.850 --> 26:53.290 yeah , at some point , but the point 26:53.290 --> 26:55.900 was that although we were in contact 26:55.900 --> 26:58.790 with the Taliban and Doha for this 26:58.790 --> 27:01.360 whole period of time , At some point 27:01.360 --> 27:04.850 wasn't expected to be the total demise 27:04.860 --> 27:07.790 of the Afghan National Force , which 27:07.790 --> 27:10.030 was 300 persons . Let's assume the 27:10.030 --> 27:12.940 Afghan national force had continued to 27:12.940 --> 27:16.080 fight and and they were surrounding 27:16.120 --> 27:19.380 Kabul be very different story , very 27:19.380 --> 27:22.460 different story . But the overwhelming 27:22.460 --> 27:26.010 consensus was that they this was not 27:26.020 --> 27:28.020 they were not going to collapse the 27:28.020 --> 27:30.187 Afghan forces , they were not going to 27:30.187 --> 27:32.187 leave , they were not going to just 27:32.187 --> 27:34.242 abandon and they put down their arms 27:34.242 --> 27:36.520 and take off . So that's what happened . 27:36.520 --> 27:38.687 Thank you very very much . Thank you . 27:38.687 --> 27:41.660 Why do you continue to trust the 27:41.670 --> 27:44.650 taliban , Mr President ? Why do you 27:44.650 --> 27:46.706 continue to trust their pledges ? Mr 27:46.706 --> 27:46.960 President