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Fear And Uncertainty Grip Afghanistan As Taliban Take Control; Militants Tighten Grip In Power After Seizing Kabul; Pakistan: U.S. Decision "Logical Conclusion" To Conflict; China Hopes Taliban Deliver On "Smooth Transition"; Rescue Efforts Slow Going In Haiti After Quake. Aired 12-1a EST
Aired August 17, 2021 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:13]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm John Vause.
Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, escaping Afghanistan. There's so many are desperate rush to flee by any means possible now that the Taliban control Kabul and the country.
The U.S. president admits the speed of the Taliban takeover was surprising, but it's standing by his decision for a faster and unconditional withdrawal.
And heaping misery on top of devastation in Haiti's earthquake zone and tropical storm now threatens to bring flash floods and mudslides.
The first day of Taliban rule of Afghanistan soar a chaotic mad rush to Kabul's airport with thousands trying desperately to flee the country. Terrified their new leaders will return to their old ways and impose a brutal interpretation of Islamic law.
Taliban fighters have flooded the streets of the capital, roaming the heavily fortified Green Zone once home for the diplomatic missions now abandoned.
For the most part, Kabul fell with a whimper not a bang. Like most of the provincial capitals, Afghan security forces and government officials surrendered without firing a shot.
There was however, gunfire at the airport where U.S. troops shot and killed two armed men, while civilians and US military aircraft were mobbed. A sign of the extent of the desperation. Some tried to hold on to this U.S. Air Force plane while it was moving on the tarmac.
U.S. forces have tried to secure the airport for Americans leaving the country. Just how the Taliban rose to power so quickly and who's to blame will be debated and argued over for years to come. But right now, as the chaos unfolds and uncertainty grips the country, it will be the civilian population, we now have the most to lose.
CNN's Clarissa Ward is in Kabul and has begins our coverage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As soon as we leave our compound, it's clear who is now in charge. Taliban fighters have flooded the Capital, smiling and victorious. They took the city of six million people in a matter of hours, barely firing a shot.
This is a sight I honestly thought I would never see. Scores of Taliban fighters and just behind us, the U.S. Embassy compound.
Some carry American weapons. They tell us they're here to maintain law and order
Everything is under control. Everything will be fine, the commander says, nobody should worry.
What's your message to America right now?
America already spent enough time in Afghanistan. They need to leave, he tells us. They already lost lots of lives and lots of money.
People come up to them to pose for photographs.
They're just chanting Death to America. But they seem friendly at the same time. It's utterly bizarre.
Almost everywhere we go, it seems the Taliban want to talk.
A lot of people are very frightened that you might engage in revenge attacks against security forces.
Since yesterday, we've proved that nothing will happen and we give assurance to everyone that they will be safe, Maoli Mortaza (PH) tells us and we follow our leaders. Once we make a promise, we stick to it.
Maintaining law and order is top of that list of promises. At the presidential palace, the Taliban are now guarding the gate. They say they're here to fill the vacuum left when the government fled.
But the welcoming spirit only extends so far, and my presence soon creates tension.
They've just told me to stand to the side because I'm a woman.
The Taliban have yet to implement their draconian version of Islamic law, but many are already preparing for it.
You can see this beauty salon and many others have actually painted over images on their storefronts of uncovered women.
Taliban commander Assad Massoud Khistani says Islamic rule will be implemented gradually.
How will you protect women because many women are afraid they will not be allowed to go to school? They will not be allowed to work.
ASSAD MASSOUD KHISTANI, TALIBAN COMMANDER: The female -- the woman can continue they're lifers. And we will not say anything for them. They can go to the school, they can continue their education with Islamic hijab.
WARD: So, like I'm wearing?
KHISTANI: Not like you but covering their faces as well.
WARD: Cover the face?
KHISTANI: Yes.
WARD: So, you mean niqab?
KHISTANI: Niqab?
WARD: Why did they have to cover their face?
KHISTANI: Because it is in our Islam.
[00:05:00]
WARD: Is it in Islam though that you have to wear a niqab?
KHISTANI: Of course, it does in Islam.
WARD: Most ordinary Afghans we meet are in a state of shock, struggling to process the last 24 hours.
Faizula (PH) tells us his father was in the Afghan army and was killed this summer. Now, he doesn't know what to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yesterday, I have lost everything. I don't feel secure in here.
WARD: You're afraid?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ha?
WARD: You're afraid?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm afraid. Because I lost my dad. I lost my mom in Logar province, like two months ago.
WARD: I'm sorry to hear that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just I am with my little sister. We are living at home. That's why I'm afraid from everything. It's a big problem. This is a big problem for us.
WARD: It's a feeling shared by so many. Walking along, one has a sense that the real story maybe the people who are not on the streets, those too afraid to leave their homes, waiting to see what tomorrow will bring.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Kabul.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: During televised address, the U.S. president once again defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops. But he did talk about his surprise at the speed of the fall of Kabul.
Joe Biden says the buck stops with him. But he's blaming local leaders and Afghan troops for the southern collapse of the national government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces. That's why we're still there. We were clear eyed about the risks. We planned for every contingency.
But I always promised the American people that I will be straight with you. The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.
So, what's happened? Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country. The Afghan military collapsed, some time without trying to fight.
If anything, the developments of the past week, reinforced that any U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan now was the right decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Live now to Hong Kong and CNN's Anna Coren who recently returned from Afghanistan. A story she has covered for years for us here on CNN.
So, Anna, I guess what we're looking for now is signs that the Taliban is sort of re-implementing, you know, that brutal version of Islamic law, especially when it comes to the rights of women and other marginalized groups, but it is still early days. What do we know?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is too early. And obviously, what we're hearing from the Taliban is peace, is forgiveness, is, you know, we're here to restore law and order. But yes, we will be implementing Sharia law.
It's not going to be easy for women, and certainly for young girls in Afghanistan, despite what the Taliban is saying.
And you heard in the piece earlier, you know, we want women to go to work, we want girls to go to school. I think that will be to a certain limit.
You know, girls might go to religious schools, women, perhaps if you're a doctor, you're allowed to work in a hospital. But you will have to be, you know, fully covered up.
This is not the way that the people of Afghanistan and particularly in Kabul, the educated people have lived for the last, you know, 20 years. You've had girls go to school, move on to university, you know, they have built careers for themselves, they're part -- or at least they were part of the government, part of the private sector.
They spoke out, they won't be able to do that anymore. Many fear they will be confined to their homes. I mean, that is a prison sentence for these educated, talented people.
And John, when I was there last month, certainly, you know, every single educated person that I spoke to wanted to get out of the country, they knew what was coming. They didn't think it was going to happen this fast. No one thought it was going to happen this fast. But they knew the Taliban would return.
And you heard President Biden then say, you know, why should American troops fight when the Afghan troops didn't put up a fight?
And to a certain respect, you know, that is true. The Afghan military did not believe in their government. They did not believe in former President Ashraf Ghani, who when he came to power, you know, 2014 2015 from the World Bank, this academic with all these ideas of reforms for Afghanistan. There was this hope, he did not deliver.
Instead, there was this government that, you know, it was dysfunctional, leaders within did not speak. You had corruption, you had fraudulent elections, you know, all of this adds up.
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COREN: So, he became despised, he was not popular. And then, you have his troops. Yes, many of them U.S. trained but they just decided not to fight. They weren't willing to die for this government.
You know, speaking to some experts, John, they say when Afghanistan changes, it changes overnight. And I guess that is what we have seen.
VAUSE: In some cases, there are women who were actively encouraged by the United States to speak out on issues like women's rights, human rights. They are now living in absolute terror and fear of what comes next, talk to the sense of betrayal that these people are feeling right now.
COREN: Oh, John, it's utter betrayal, utter abandonment. And you know, we heard those voices time and time again when we were there last month, these women who said, we knew you could not stay forever referring to the United States, you we knew the U.S. government couldn't be here and be our guardian angel forever. But we never thought that you would pull the rug out from beneath us this quickly.
And I guess that is where they are most angry. This hand over, this messy execution of America's withdrawal from Afghanistan. It has left these people utterly exposed.
And so, we will see these women, you know, they will be muzzled, and they'd certainly fear reprisal attacks.
Already, John on the Afghan T.V. channel, the government channel known as the the national channel, where women were presenting last week -- presenting the news, they have now been replaced, these anchors have now been replaced by Talibs.
There will be no women on these -- on this particular channel. And the media industry was one industry that we really saw Afghanistan evolve. We saw these women, you know, doing our jobs, and speaking their minds, talking about politics, about issues, criticizing, you know, the government, criticizing the Taliban, that will not be allowed to take place anymore.
I was speaking to an Afghan friend just before I came on the program, John, and, you know, he said he walked out onto the streets today, he thought he would take a, you know, a walk around and he said it's quiet. But all the shops are up and open.
He was speaking to a shopkeeper who actually said, I'm happy that the Taliban have arrived because there has been this criminal element within Kabul that has been allowed to fester because of the corruption, because there hasn't been law and order.
So, for the local people, I guess, the uneducated people, you know, many are pleased that the Taliban have arrived to restore law and order but for the educated people, the people who wanted so much more from their lives who wanted Afghanistan to modernize and be part of the progressive world, they have no future.
This one friend of mine, John, he just said I do not want to stay here any longer. As soon as I can get out, I will.
VAUSE: Popularity is relative. The Taliban may not be popular, but neither was the Afghan government since.
Anna, thank you so much. Thank you for your reporting as well. We appreciate it. Anna Coren live in Hong Kong.
Pakistan says the U.S. decision to withdraw is a logical conclusion to the conflict while also emphasizing the need for an inclusive political settlement.
CNN's Sophia Saifi is in Islamabad with details on this. There will be no political settlement here, the Taliban won and that's what it is.
SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Hi, John. Yes, I mean, that's what it's looking like at the moment. There's been a huge flurry of activity here in Islam but ever since Kabul fell, you know, there has been -- there have been dinners that very night on Sunday night, there was a dinner with the -- with representatives from Afghanistan at the Serena Hotel here in Islamabad where you know, a senior Hazara leader was talking about -- from Afghanistan was talking about how there needs to be, you know, representation from all ethnic groups of Afghanistan for there to be a settlement.
Pakistan was initially criticizing the United States for the way that it's pulled out. Literally on Friday, I spoke with the National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf who said that it's unfair that the U.S. has left how it has. But, now we're seeing the foreign minister speaking to the U.S. Secretary of State Blinken and we are getting lines like what you just said that this was a logical conclusion.
So, there's a lot of diplomatic back and forth happening, things are changing. Every day there was a National Security Committee meeting that lasted for many hours yesterday, it including -- included the top civilian leadership of Pakistan, and very importantly, the top military leadership of Pakistan, which hasn't released any actual statement itself on what has, you know, unfolded next door in Afghanistan and the Chief of Army Staff General Bajwa has been very involved in, you know, the peace talks that had been ongoing in the months leading to what happened in Afghanistan over the weekend.
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SAIFI: So, we're just going to have to wait it out. The Pakistani Embassy is very much open in Kabul right now, there's been no indication that it's going to be shut down. There's been a facilitation of, you know, giving visas to as many people as possible.
I believe, according to a statement released by Pakistan International Airlines who obviously suspended operations right now out of Kabul. They've been attempting to evacuate. Personnel from the World Bank from various diplomatic missions as well in Kabul.
So, that's -- there's that happening on the other side. There's also the question of, you know, we're seeing these horrific images, these terrifying images of people trying to flee from the airport in Kabul, but we're also now going to see possibly what's going to happen on the land borders.
With Pakistan, the Chaman crossing and the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan are the two biggest crossings out of Afghanistan's eastern border.
So, the Torkham border is very much closed only for truck traffic, bringing in food, goods, which had been briefly stalled. People are now trickling in from the Chaman border in the south in Balochistan province of Pakistan. And that's something we're now going to have to monitor because Pakistan has said, in the weeks leading up to what's happened, that they will not be taking in any more refugees, they don't have the economic capacity to take in more refugees, they simply can't afford to be that generous anymore as what you have said.
And what we're just going to have to see is will that generosity suddenly be extended? And what's going to happen to all those people now, you know, lining up at the Chaman border --
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Very quickly, (INAUDIBLE) the refugees is an issue obviously, a great concern but just going back to something you said earlier about, you know, these key groups all coming together for these meetings (INAUDIBLE). You know, the one to watch in all of this, I imagine is Pakistan's Intelligence Service, because this does seem to be the outcome that they wanted. They wanted all the foreign nationals out of Afghanistan in the neighboring country. And they wanted their own creation, the Taliban to be back in control.
I mean, this is the dream run, isn't it for many -- in many respects, for what they -- what they were looking for.
SAIFI: Well, in a way, sure. But what's happened is, is that dream has now soured, I believe, because there's always been this dichotomy between the good and the bad Taliban. They have Afghan Taliban, but they're also the Pakistani Taliban which have operated out of Afghanistan and have been responsible for multiple attacks within Pakistan.
And the fear always with the Pakistani side was, is that the strongholds of the Pakistan Taliban are not allowed to continue to operate in Afghanistan.
But what we're now seeing is, is that Nick Robertson, for example, interviewed the head of the Pakistani Taliban a couple of weeks ago, and he said on air, that they will have good relations with the Afghan Taliban.
So, what is good and what is bad anymore, and what is really the dream for Pakistan because they they've fenced off about 90 percent of the border and fears that there'll be people coming across.
You know, the Taliban don't really need Pakistan that much anymore to kind of be a mediator or facilitator to talk to (AUDIO GAP) said, because of the amount of power that they now have, and the way they've swept into Kabul. So, that again, is a question about what lies ahead, John.
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) they did their own creation. Did the monster get out of control I guess is the question for Pakistan right now.
Sophia, thank you so much for being with us there in Islamabad. We appreciate it.
Meantime, China is also watching developments closely, they have a dog in this fight. They want a smooth transition as the Taliban formally takes control of Afghanistan once again.
CNN Kristie Lu Stout live in Hong Kong. So, what's the thinking here, Beijing as the Taliban sort of retake Afghanistan and the seat of power in Kabul?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, China is quickly adapting to this new reality and putting the focus on stability on Monday. We saw that the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had that conversation with the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, he slammed America as what he called hurried exit from Afghanistan, but also said that China would work with the United States in order to create in China's words, a soft landing for Afghanistan.
Meaning, introducing some form of stability to the country with the goal here to avoid humanitarian disaster, to avoid civil war and to avoid a return to becoming a refuge or safe haven for terrorism even before the Taliban takeover, ties seem to be warming between the Taliban and China.
Remember, it was in July just last month when the Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed a high-level delegation of Taliban leaders to the Chinese port city of Tianjin and he called the Taliban an important political and military force in Afghanistan.
[00:20:05]
STOUT: Observers have called this a "reluctant embrace". And the reason behind it is because China's biggest fear here is instability.
Look, China shares a border with Afghanistan. It is a very short border, but it touches the western region of Xinjiang. China has also invested heavily in Central Asia through its One Belt One Road project, especially in Pakistan, but has also signaled interest in extending a program into Afghanistan as well.
And China, of course, wants to minimize terror threats posed inside Afghanistan. I want you to listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY STOREY, POLITICAL RISK ANALYST: I think China is really quite worried that the instability and chaos on the ground in Afghanistan factored with the Taliban's previous relationship and indeed ongoing relationship with the East Turkestan Islamic movement.
They're worried in Afghanistan could become something of a -- of a training ground for this group. And I think Beijing would be worried that what's happening on the ground in Afghanistan will provide an opportunity for a team to regroup and further their presence in Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Now, when the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with or rather talked with Secretary Blinken on Monday, he made sure to say that China objects to something that the U.S. did in October of 2020 of taking the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement or ETIM off a U.S. terror list. And that was followed by a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that the U.S. cannot count on China's support if it impedes on China's interests.
Back to you, John.
VAUSE: Kristie Lu Stout with all the details as always in Hong Kong, thank you.
STOUT: You got it.
VAUSE: We have this just into CNN, India plans to close its embassy in Kabul and is ordering diplomatic staff home. The reason? The deteriorating security situation across the country. Well, the U.S. president a key argument was this, if Afghan troops cannot stand up to the Taliban now, then they never will. But coming up, is that allowing the U.S. off the hook just way too easy?
Also ahead, a tropical storm system brings torrential rain and the threat of floods ato Haiti as the country struggles to recover from a deadly earthquake.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. The Biden administration is expected to advise most Americans to get a booster shot for COVID. According to a source familiar with discussions, a booster dose will be recommended eight months after full vaccination.
The plan still needs approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration but the rollout is expected in mid to late September. The healthcare workers care home patients and the elderly at the front of the line.
The death toll for that massive earthquake in Haiti continues to climb. Haitian officials now report more than 1,400 people have died, thousands more have been hurt, tens of thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed.
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VAUSE: All this comes as heavy rain from Tropical Depression Grace threatens to unleash flash flooding and mudslides in an area where the quake hit on Saturday. Wait need to see the impact from the storm.
CNN's Matt Rivers was in Les Cayes earlier showing some of the damage to the epicenter of the quake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Getting to the hardest hit area of this earthquake means a helicopter ride, 100 miles away from Port-au-Prince land. And the reality of Haiti's latest trauma greets us on the tarmac, a waiting truck filled with people injured over the weekend still waiting to be evacuated. First to come out, a young child held by a relative carried into a waiting plane. Next up, an elderly woman in a wheelchair unable to walk, lifted out of her chair, she's carried up step by cautious step on her way to the help that still eludes so many.
Things are out of control at the hospital, he says. Not enough doctors, not enough medicine, serious injuries. We need urgent help before things get worse.
At least 1,400 have been killed and thousands more injured in the worst earthquake to strike here since 2010.
Not far from the airport, this is what remains of a multi storey hotel. Officials say there could still be bodies in this rubble, some here digging trying to help, others digging for scrap metal and air conditioners.
What you don't see here are Haitian authorities. There is no police presence. There's no firefighters. There are no search and rescue crews here, there's just people from the community and this lone excavator that is not currently in operation. It's very indicative of what we're seeing as we drive through this area near the epicenter.
Aid simply isn't arriving quickly. Part of the reason, blocked roads like this one, impassable for some convoys.
JERRY CHANDLER, DIRECTOR, HAITI CIVIL PROTECTION AGENCY: The response effort is taking time to actually get there. I mean, in Orpington we should have been there already, we're getting started but we're not satisfied.
RIVERS: Back at the airport, first responders desperately look for a way to get this young girl out. She's stoic that her leg is gravely injured and she's clearly in pain.
This plane is full, another helicopter takes off without her. And so, after walking around the tarmac, she's placed in another truck, a painful wait for help goes on.
And rainfall continues to come down from Tropical Depression Grace. Of course, the more rain that falls, the greater the risks are both of flash flooding and things like mudslides, landslides, those are the kinds of things that will make the search and rescue efforts that much harder. The more it rains, the more time that goes on, the slimmer the chances are of finding more people alive in the rubble.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
VAUSE: Well, for more on the storm, which is battering Haiti, let's go to our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for details.
This seemed like a fairly fast-moving system, at least which I guess, you know, is some good news?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. But you know, John, when you look at these systems, a lot of times people kind of fall in love with a category of a storm, the depiction on satellite imagery, the strength or magnitude of these storms. And this certainly doesn't have a lot of that going for it has been a tropical depression for more than 24 hours, winds only 55 kilometers per hour.
But I always tell people when they ask this question about categories, and if it's as impressive as it seems, I tell him that 70 percent of all fatalities related to tropical cyclones, they happen in the water aspect of a storm, whether it be flash flooding, or getting the flooding events to take place. And of course, landslides become a primary concern across an area such as Haiti, because it is a lot of this area has been deforested. So, this soil here not going to hold the moisture as readily as other areas across the Caribbean.
See tremendous amounts of rainfall. We think the heaviest rain this storm has to offer is going to be happening from around right now through at least the early morning hours. And this is kind of the closest pass it'll make to Haiti as it pushes just south of the island, upwards of 300, maybe some areas 400 millimeters of rainfall in store here within the next 24 hours.
And then, as John noted, that quickly skirts out of here, heads towards portion of the Mexican Yucatan around say Cancun and eventually, potentially aims itself across another landfall in northern Mexico.
But it is this elevated terrain that is often the concern across places such as Haiti where elevations rise to over 3,000 meters because the clouds are forced to -- the air is forced to rise, it essentially -- the air cools and it condenses into clouds. And that is squeezed out across these areas and these mountainous landscapes see the tremendous amount of rainfall on the windward side of them and all that water does rush back downstream into the communities that are downstream. And that's the concern with this storm here as it makes landfall, John.
VAUSE: Pedram, we appreciate that. Thank you. Pedram Javaheri with the very latest in the concerns for so many.
When we come back, a frantic scramble to escape Kabul as thousands of Afghans fear a return of the Taliban's brutality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just ahead of us is the gates into the airport and this is the panic seeing of many people still living there despite how hard it's been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, the desperation so many have to leave Afghanistan played out in Kabul's airport on Monday, where some tried to cling to a U.S. military planes as it taxied up the tarmac for takeoff. The U.S. has promised to evacuate some Afghans. Those who worked for the U.S. and NATO forces, but there will be many left behind.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Kabul. He reports from the airport. And a warning: this report contains some disturbing video.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the only way out to so many. The airport road is jammed. Chaos. Over a trillion dollars spent, and this is what the and looks like. Walk where you can't drive.
(on camera): Just ahead of us is the gates into the airport. And this is the panicked scene of many people still living there, despite how hard it's been.
(voice-over): And entry to the last bit of Afghanistan America controls, there is panic.
(on camera): They're shouting tanks, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they say that --
WALSH: Let's turn around.
(voice-over): "Tanks," someone shouts. But who is doing crowd control outside America's evacuations spot? The Taliban. The vehicles they've taken from the Afghan army, paid for by America, now used to keep the desperate crowds back. People whose only hope is to get out, possibly with American help.
Crowding the gates, trying to climb over walls originally built to keep an insurgency out. At one time, pushing en masse and being sent running. Nearly every gate with a crowd fueled with the idea this is their only way out.
U.S. troops at the perimeter shot dead to Afghans who they said were armed, but later admitted were not Taliban.
But inside the airport, the great escape was not going according to script and check insecurity had collapsed. Afghans convinced the promise of a flight out was their only life ahead. Clambering over walkways and tarmac the U.S. spent billions on to maintain its presence.
And then a startling image. One of the U.S.'s largest cargo planes, taxiing, laden with Afghans who did not want to be left behind.
Later, a plane takes off, and what you're about to see is disturbing. As the plane ascends, two objects, or people, appear to fall from the fuselage.
But the sheer scale of those who needed help meant it was even harder to come by. Civilian flights canceled. Even the Americans had to pause operations till they could regain control.
[00:35:08]
These images from satellites in space showing just of the volume of people thronging in and around Hamid Karzai International Airport, the symbol of the United States's billions spent in a 20-year project.
The U.S. always wanted to win hearts and minds here, but their swift, unconditional departure has instead filled them with panic.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kabul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: It was a humiliating end after two decades of U.S. military occupation. And it's raised questions over the Biden administration's commitment to international diplomacy.
Well, the deal to withdraw U.S. troops was done under the Trump administration. It was how this pullout was done that could forever stain the Biden presidency. And he addressed that issue during a televised address to the nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The events we're seeing now are sadly proof that no amount of military force would ever deliver a stable united, secure Afghanistan, as known in history as the graveyard of empires.
What's happening now could just as easily have happened five years ago, or 15 years in the future.
We have to be honest. Our mission in Afghanistan has taken many missteps, made many missteps over the past two decades. I am now the fourth American president to preside over war in Afghanistan: two Democrats and two Republicans.
I will not pass this responsibility on -- responsibility onto a fifth president. I will not mislead the American people by claiming that just a little more time in Afghanistan will make all the difference.
Nor will I shrink from my share of responsibility for where we are today and how we must move forward from here. I am president of the United States of America, and the buck stops with me.
I'm deeply saddened by the facts we now face. But I do not regret my decision to end America's war fighting in Afghanistan and maintain a laser focus on our counter-terrorism mission there and in other parts of the world.
Our mission to degrade the theorist threat of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, and killing Osama bin laden was a success. Our decades-long effort to overcome centuries of history and permanently change and remake Afghanistan was not. And I wrote and believed it never could be.
I cannot and will not ask our troops to fight on endlessly in another -- in another country's civil war, taking casualties, suffering life- shattering injuries, leaving families broken by grief and loss.
This is not in our national security interest. It is not what the American people want. It is not what our troops who have sacrificed so much over the past two decades deserve.
I made a commitment to the American people when I ran for president. That I would bring America's military involvement in Afghanistan to an end. It has been hard and messy, and yes, far from perfect.
I've honored that commitment. More importantly, I made a commitment to the brave men and women who serve this nation that I was not going to ask them to continue to risk their lives in a military act that should have ended a long time ago. Our leaders did that in Vietnam when I got here as a young man. I will
not do it in Afghanistan. I know my decision will be criticized. But I would rather take all that criticism and pass this decision on to another president of the United States. Yet another one. A 5th one. Because it's the right decision for our people. The right one for our brave service members who risked their lives serving our nation. And it's the right one for America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining us now is Stanford historian -- university historian, Robert Crews. He is with us from Palo Alto in California.
Thanks for being with us, Robert. First off, which just heard Joe Biden there. I now want you to listen to the Pentagon spokesperson, John Kirby, also speaking on Monday with a version of Mike Tyson saying everyone has a plan until they're punched in the mouth. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: Plans are not always perfectly predictive, and you -- as is well-known military maxim that plans don't often survive first contact and you have to adjust in real time. And I think when you look at the images out of Kabul, that would have been difficult for anybody to predict.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[00:40:05]
VAUSE: When he says it would have been difficult for anyone to predict, that would be except for the endless number of people who predicted exactly what happened. The Biden administration seems to have blinders on from the very beginning to end through all of this, it seems.
ROBERT CREWS, STANFORD UNIVERSITY HISTORIAN: The fundamental flaw was beyond the vision of 2001, was to follow Trump's plan to respect the peace deal with the Taliban, which essentially created a kind of roadmap toward a surrender, toward a diminution of the status of the Afghan state that Washington simply backed, that legitimized the Taliban and really gave them a kind of road map to launch the offensive that they kind of pulled off so brilliantly in the last 2 weeks.
VAUSE: The U.S. president also spoke about the argument, which seemed to reinforces his belief that the only option he had was a fast, unconditional and total withdrawal. Here's a little more from Joe Biden.
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BIDEN: If Afghanistan is unable to mount any real resistance to the Taliban now, there is no chance that one year, one more year, five more years or 20 more years, the U.S. military boots on the ground would have made any difference. It is wrong to order American troops to step up when Afghanistan's own armed forces would not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, it all kinds of sounds on paper to be fairly reasonable, but it also seems to negate U.S. responsibility for their role in why the Afghan soldiers had no faith in their government, why the people of the Afghan people, the Afghan government rather, had no credibility, especially outside the big cities. And, you know, there is this Pottery Barn rule: when you invade a country, you break it, you own it.
CREWS: To be sure. And we can tell a longer story of all the failures of American policy, all the ways in which not only have we hamstrung the Afghan state we supported. We did that by killing civilians. We did that by promoting corruption, by not monitoring aid transfers.
We did it really in 2001 by helping to build a state that was highly centralized and, indeed, autocratic, which really has created a dynamic that has haunted the country for some 20 years. Because those who would like to be engaged are largely excluded.
And the president holds, really, all the cards. We can still extend that to the state of the Afghan military, which disappeared so dramatically last week. That was an American-trained, American- designed military.
The U.S. chose quantity over quality. So the whole list of points -- steps that we can point to -- I think fundamentally, what I'd like to highlight here for your audience, is that you're referring to the country as a graveyard of empires and suggesting, in a way, creating false choices about time, saying, well, it will be the same next year, or five years, or 20 years.
That's suggesting the image of a country that -- it suggests a place that never changes, that's stuck in time. And that, I think, is something that's very -- Afghans find very -- very condescending and demeaning.
And -- and Biden went on to actually, you know, criticize the efforts of Afghan troops by essentially claiming they weren't heroic enough, they didn't fight enough. And how can we fight for them if they won't fight for themselves.
And these are all misleading efforts to deflect from American responsibility. And essentially to, you know, wash our hands of this 20-year conflict, where of course, American and other veterans have paid a high price. But also, Afghan society has paid enormous price. Some 66,000 Afghan soldiers died fighting against the Taliban. Not to mention tens of thousands of civilians.
VAUSE: Afghanistan has a population of, what, around 36 million people. The median age is 18 years old. Many only know with life is like under U.S. security, which has meant marginalized groups had more rights and opportunity than ever before. It's flourished, in a way.
So why wasn't there, you know, a rising up amongst the population against 75,000 Taliban fighters?
CREWS: That's a very important and troubling question. I think -- I wouldn't give up on that yet. I think -- I think the question going forward is, yes, we know the -- the Taliban want to reestablish their Islamic emirate, but can they manage that in a society that is radically different? Can they do it, given the democratic structure of the E.U., the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), in a society that is much more pluralistic and much more heterogeneous, where women have been outside the home, in the university, in the hospital, in the parliament, in the courtroom now for almost two decades?
I think it would be very hard to contain that. I think that there is a potential for Afghan society to push back against the Taliban, once the initial shock is over and once the Taliban figure out how they're trying -- how they will attempt to implement what they had in the late 1990s, which was a state that really emphasized the expression of public power and policing through their ministry for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice. The kind of morals police that would circulate in Kabul and other major cities.
I don't think young people in Kabul and Usul (ph) will target this, but there's also the threat of extreme violence on the part of the Taliban. And that's where, I think, the continued diplomatic engagement is so important.
Because we could wake up tomorrow to reports, of course, of more attacks on women, of sexual violence. But we could also wake up to attacks, genocidal attacks on Hazaras and other marginalized communities.
[00:45:10]
I think -- I think that Biden, especially, has painted us all, and Afghans in particular, into a corner where they have no good choices and they really, they find themselves, like 20 years ago, at the mercy of this movement over which no one except Pakistan has substantive leverage right now.
Biden also talked about kind of over the horizon security support, but I think that's, if you look at a map, that's not very realistic. Because that means flying over Russia, or Iran, or Pakistan. And all these things are in flights.
VAUSE: Yes.
CREWS: I think this pace is -- the pace and nature of the withdrawal has left all Afghan society vulnerable.
VAUSE: The pace of the withdrawal has been a disaster at the end of the day. Robert, thank you. Robert Crews there.
CREWS: Thank you. Thank you.
VAUSE: Joining us from California. Appreciate it, sir. Thank you.
CREWS: Thank you. VAUSE: We take a short break. When we come back, with Haiti's government crippled by debt and struggling with the pandemic, the onus to help the nation recover from a weekend earthquake is now falling mostly to private aid groups. We'll have more when we come back.
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VAUSE: More now on the torrential rain from Tropical Depression Grace, which is threatening to slow the recovery efforts in Haiti after that devastating earthquake on Saturday.
The prime minister says the government will ramp up aid efforts, but the death toll from the quake is now over 1,400, with almost 7,000 reported injured.
Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed or damaged. Relief organizations are delivering food and medicine to those most in need.
The nonprofit World Central Kitchen is making meals, hot meals for emergency responders and others who have been impacted by the quake.
To Port-au-Prince now, and Sam Bloch, the director of emergency response for World Central Kitchen, a not-for-profit aid group which has a focus on rapid response to regions, hit hard by disasters both natural and manmade. And they have a focus on feeding the hungry, just like they did back in 2010.
World Central Kitchen is now back on the ground in Haiti.
Sam, thank you for being with us. It's raining there right now. The immediate concern is from Tropical Depression Grace. How much rain could dump on the areas which have been most devastated by that weekend earthquake?
I want you to listen to Haiti's director of civil protection, and what they're expecting. Here it is.
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JERRY CHANDLER, DIRECTOR, HAITI'S CIVIL PROTECTION AGENCY: Yes, I am worried about the storm. As a disaster manager, like I said, it first puts additional pressure on handling a disaster, in a very tight situation. Also, as a citizen, it also worries me be because I know that my fellow citizens are sleeping outside, and they might be impacted because of the rain, and you know, the possible flash flooding that may occur.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You've been there. You know what the conditions are like there right now. What sort of night are the people around Les Cayes (ph) having right now?
SAM BLOCH, DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: A lot of buildings are collapsed, unfortunately. There are many people that are having to make that hard decision of sleeping in the rain, or sleeping in a building that might be affected by the earthquake.
[00:50:08]
VAUSE: It seems that right now, this storm or this tropical depression is just heaping misery onto devastation for the people of Haiti. Clearly, this overnight rain, and the possible landslides, and the strong winds, aren't helping in any way.
But at the moment, how would you say the difficulty level is, in just getting in and out of the quake zones? And what does that mean in terms of just getting what's needed to those who are in need?
BLOCK: Every disaster has its own set of challenges. The situation here with access, via the roads. There's been bridges that have collapsed. There's been landslides that have isolated communities.
We -- we were fortunate. You know, we actually started working here in 2010 after the Haiti earthquake, and we founded a culinary school that we were able to activate immediately after, you know, literally the day after the earthquake hit. That's been beneficial.
When the storm came in, you know, we had a helicopter bringing food out to us, and to these isolated communities, but now, obviously, with this tropical depression, now has grounded all air support.
VAUSE: Yes. Haiti's prime minister has promised a tenfold increase in aid efforts by his government. And given the state of the country right now, that seems unlikely. We wish him all the best, of course.
But this -- added to this, you have all the churches which have been badly damaged or destroyed. And they would normally be offering a lot of help, as well.
So that leaves much of the onus for any kind of assistance out for groups like yours. What are you looking at in the coming days and weeks in terms of meeting demand?
BLOCH: You know, it's always hard to say. Our prerogative is just a start cooking. There are no shortage of people that could really benefit from the work that we do.
So, we just get started, and then allow the need to reveal itself. The physical structures of the churches may have collapsed. You know, the community structure is still there, whether that's a local NGO or (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- some government (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
VAUSE: The last time Haiti went through something like this, there was not a pandemic. It was a big, deadly earthquake back in 2010. So, how much harder is it now, doing what you do, and what you have to do, in the midst of a pandemic?
BLOCH: There is -- I mean, we've been working with the pandemic since, you know, the first major outbreak, outside of -- outside of China, with the cruise ship in Japan. So, we have our systems down really well, in order to do our job safely. Of course, it complicates things, but we are, you know, well over a
year of doing this work within a pandemic, having served over 40 million meals throughout the pandemic. We've got our system down pretty well. So, it doesn't slow us down that much.
VAUSE: Sam, we wish you and everyone who is there with the World Central Kitchen all the very, very best. You're doing a great job. Keep it going. You've got a big job in front of you. Thank you.
BLOCH: Excellent. Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Find out how to help the people of Haiti after Saturday's earthquake. Please go to CNN.com/impact.
Well, next on CNN NEWSROOM, the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan has many who are leaders now calling for a unified response. We'll have reaction from around the world, in a moment.
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VAUSE: Many world leaders remain concerned about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. The U.N. Security Council is calling for an immediate end to all hostilities and for a new government to be formed in Afghanistan that is united, inclusive, and representative.
[00:55:13]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: Mister President, now is the time to stand as one. The international community must be united, and utilized all available instruments, to ensure the following.
First, we must speak with one voice to uphold human rights in Afghanistan. I call upon the Taliban, and all parties, to respect and protect international humanitarian law, and the rights and freedoms of all persons.
We are receiving chilling reports of severe restrictions on human rights throughout the country. And I am particularly concerned by a accounts of mounting human rights violations against the women and girls of Afghanistan who fear a return to the darkest days.
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: All Afghan nationals and international citizens who wish to depart, must be allowed to do so safely.
President Biden has made clear that any action that put U.S. personnel or our mission at risk, will be met with a swift and strong military response.
The United States promises to be generous in re-settling Afghans in our own country, and I am heartened by the pledges we've seen from other nations to do the same. We need to all do more, and the time to step up is now. VASSILY NEBENZIA, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. (through translator):
Today, all of our eyes are on Kabul, which yesterday was quickly abandoned by the country's leader, ordinary Afghans, and also a part of the diplomatic corps.
It is clear that such a sharp turnabout took everyone by surprise. This involved those who very recently made public pronouncements about the degree of military preparedness of the Afghan law enforcement structures, who have prepared and trained over the past 20 years.
Broadly, we are continuing to closely monitor the situation in the country. Currently, we believe that there is no point in panicking.
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VAUSE: With this crisis in Afghanistan rapidly changing, find all the very latest updates on CNN.com or on the CNN app. Both have up-to-the- minute reporting, as well as stories and perspectives you'll find only online.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. I will be right back in just a short time, after a very short break. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
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