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Airlift Picks Up Pace As U.S. Pullout Deadline Nears; Taliban Not Allowing Afghans To Evacuate Anymore; Taliban Spokesman: Women Should Stay Home For Now; Human Rights Activist Flees Taliban Takeover; U.S. Cases Rising At Fastest Rate Since January. Aired 2- 2:45a ET

Aired August 25, 2021 - 02:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[02:00:05]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (on camera): This is CNN NEWSROOM. Hello, I'm John Vause. Coming up this hour.

VAUSE (voice-over): The deadline stance. U.S. military flights from Kabul on track to end by next Tuesday's deadline. While the Taliban effectively bans all Afghan nationals from reaching the airport. We'll talk with the human rights activists who recently left Kabul.

All it took was just one infection and Australia and New Zealand so their COVID defenses breached by the Delta variant. And now, concerns are growing along with a surge in the number of new daily cases.

And what is the mysterious Havana syndrome, which may have delayed the U.S. vice president's flight to Vietnam?

VAUSE (on camera): U.S. troops are on track to leave Afghanistan in just six days, most likely leaving behind thousands of Afghans who helped them during two decades of war.

The White House says more than 70,000 have been airlifted out of the country in the past 10 days. The U.S. military says fewer than 5,000 people, mostly Afghans remain at the airport waiting for flights. But operations will soon wind down as U.S. forces prepare to come home.

U.S. President Joe Biden says the August 31st deadline stands, although he has asked advisors for contingency plans, just in case it needs to be extended.

Meantime, the Taliban had blocked the road to the airport for Afghans, saying they will not be allowed to leave or they will not be allowed to be evacuated. And American troops have already started a withdrawal from Kabul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are currently on pace to finish by August the 31st. The sooner we can finish the better. Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops. But the completion by August 31st depends upon the Taliban continuing to cooperate, allow access to the airport for those who were transport -- transporting out, and no disruptions to our operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Two announcements in one day. One from the U.S. president, the other from the Taliban have been devastating for many Afghans desperate to leave. And the reality is that Kabul's airport, families are being torn apart in real time.

Here is CNN's Sam Kiley.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Afghans have been banned from fleeing their country on evacuation flights. A Taliban spokesman said the road that ends at the Kabul Airport has been blocked. Foreigners can go through it, but Afghans are not allowed to take the road.

This sudden announcement means that thousands of people who have worked for the international coalition and others who fear persecution under the extremist movement are now trapped. And these evacuees may be among the last flown to safety.

The Taliban insists that there's no need to fear them. The spokesman went on. Afghans are not allowed because the crowd in there would grow even bigger and they increases the risk of Afghans losing their lives in stampedes, getting stuck in the crowd, or being stepped on.

The numbers of Afghans crowding here are down because the numbers getting out have been going up.

On this day, 9,000 people were put on flights by midday. In the day before, more than 21,000 were flown to multiple countries by an international coalition. The pace accelerated through new efficiency and the need to meet the deadline for the end of the evacuation just a week away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: There has been no change to the timeline of the mission, which is to have this completed by the end of the month.

KILEY: The Taliban moved to stop Afghan nationals from leaving with drastically reduced the level of evacuations. And it makes it easier for the U.S. to meet the August 31st deadline set by the Taliban.

The State Department estimates that there are thousands of Americans still in Afghanistan to be evacuated.

At the airport, military officers said that there had been a significant drop in the number of people trying to get into the airport gates already.

KILEY (on camera): There is no doubt in the success of the second biggest airlift in the history of mankind. Yes, there are thousands still to get on these planes, there are many people stock in Kabul. But for most of these people, this is a moment of celebration in terms of their freedom, but also bittersweet because of what they're leaving behind.

KILEY (voice-over): That bitterness is immediate to Hasna (PH). Her brother Hider (PH), who has a visa for the U.S. has been trapped outside the airport. She's moments from flying.

Marines do their best to help as it's close to a gate still controlled by the Taliban. But her plane is due to take off and she's swept away with her younger sisters to a new life. Not knowing if her brother will ever join her there.

Sam Kiley, CNN, Kabul International Airport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Anna Coren has covered Afghanistan for many years and recently returned from Kabul. She joins us now live from Hong Kong with more.

[02:05:03]

VAUSE: You know, we've heard the telephone make a bunch of promises in the recent days about respecting human rights, respecting women's rights, the right for them to get an education, all within the context of Sharia law.

The problem is they made very similar promises when they took power first time around, and we know how that ended.

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, these women were virtually prisoners in their own home. If they -- if they left, they had to wear a burqa, they had to be accompanied by a male relative.

If they violated the morality rules set up by the Taliban, they were flogged in public. They were tortured. And we saw women being stoned to death.

This was how the Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001. This was how they treated women. Fast forward 20 years, and they're saying they have changed, they have evolved. They want women to be part of society.

I mean, when I was there in Kabul, last month, there was a delegation in Russia, saying we want women to be part of Afghan society. And yet, we heard from the Taliban spokesperson yesterday, saying that we want women to stay at home for now. That this is just a temporary policy. But stay home now.

Let me read to you what is Zabiullah Mujahid said in this press conference. He said, "We are worried our forces, who are new and have not yet been trained very well, may mistreat women. Until we have a new procedure, they should stay home. They won't be counted as absent, and their salaries will be paid in their homes."

We don't know how long this temporary policy is going to remain in place, John. This might be the way it will be for years. And that is what the women that I'm speaking to in Kabul hiding in their homes believe they do not take the Taliban at their word.

They just don't believe them. They don't believe that they have changed. And the fact that they have to retrain their fighters. I mean, how long is that going to take? These people have been fighting a war for the last 20 years.

And suddenly they need to get a lesson on how to treat women? It really is quite extraordinary. I mean, John, the women that -- yes, I just going to say the women that I'm talking to --

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: I just (INAUDIBLE) quickly.

COREN: You know, they are pleading for help to get out. But as we know that, that window is just -- it's just closing rapidly.

VAUSE: Was closed now really, for all intents and purposes.

COREN: It is.

VAUSE: At least from the U.S. military point of view.

What is the incentive for the Taliban to change their ways? Why should they?

COREN: For legitimacy. You know, and you listen to the experts, and they say that this is what the Taliban want. They want to be considered a legitimate governing body. You have to remember that the Taliban does not have access to the funds that the government -- the former government of Afghanistan once had.

So, perhaps they are going to rely on the west, perhaps they are going to need America to help, and that is where America might have leverage, which is just extraordinary.

Treat women right, human rights, and they will give you access to funds, which is just bizarre to even think that the U.S. and Taliban may have that relationship.

VAUSE: It seems the only leverage point the U.S. has right now, I guess.

Anna, thank you. Anna Coren, live for us in Hong Kong.

The U.N. Human Rights Council wants an investigation into reports of abuses in Afghanistan, citing grave concerns for women, journalists, and other groups. While the Taliban say this time, women's rights will be respected. That's only within the context of Sharia law.

U.N. says there are reports violations are already happening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE BACHELET, HUMAN RIGHTS HIGH COMMISSIONER, UNITED NATIONS: We have also received credible reports of serious violation of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses taking place in many areas under effective Taliban control.

They include, among others, summary executions of civilians, and all the combat members of the Afghan National Security Forces. Restrictions on the right of women including the right to move around freely, and girls' right to attend school. Recruitment of child soldiers and repression of peaceful protests and expression of dissent.

VAUSE (voice-over): Meantime, financial support from the World Bank is on hold, amid growing concerns about the fate of women under Taliban rule. That's another blow for a country which depends almost entirely on foreign aid.

During a virtual G7 meeting, the European Commission president said there needs to be international support to protect the most vulnerable.

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: People most risks are educated women, are girls, are female journalists, human rights activists, female teacher, judges, lawyers, just to name some.

50 countries took part in The ISAF NATO mission, and 36 country took part in Resolute Support Mission.

[02:10:07]

VON DER LEYEN: So, to protect these most vulnerable is clearly a matter for global cooperation and it has to be dealt with as such from the start. These people should not fall into smugglers' hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE (on camera): Gaisu Yari is a human rights activist from Kabul. She made it out of Afghanistan last Wednesday. She now is with us from Poland. How are you watching all this unfold from a distance? Do you feel safe now?

GAISU YARI, FORMER AFGHAN CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONER: Well, thank you for having me. I don't think safety is in the -- in terms of physical safety. Yes, so, I got out of Afghanistan. But mentally, I'm not still safe.

My family is still back in Afghanistan, I couldn't get them out. I, personally still have nightmares at night, and I don't sleep comfortably.

VAUSE: Tell us about the journey you made to actually get to where you are right now. Because just going through and getting to Kabul airport, seem to be quite harrowing, to say the least.

YARI: It was extremely difficult. I feel that if I was smuggled out of the country to go to another country illegally, the process was as hard as that. I entered the gate around 7:00 p.m. at night, Wednesday. I couldn't get out of the gate to the airport until 8:00 in the morning. So, I was in the middle of the Taliban, and also the British military, who both of them are firing on the air, so that people would leave the space.

It was difficult because it was thousands of people behind the gates, and I was pushed by the Taliban and they persistently asked me to leave, because they told me there isn't any flight and they will not take me out of Afghanistan and I shouldn't even try.

I hide it myself and the corners outside the gate until 8:00 in the morning, until I got to a Polish journalist who was helping Afghans to get to the Polish Air Force plane. That's what I made it to the airport around 8:00 in the morning.

VAUSE: That is just incredible to hear and I -- you know, to actually endure that and to make it out is just amazing. And, but at the same time, you say you've left family behind, and you've left life behind as well, a life that will never come back. Your life in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover. Tell us about that.

YARI: I did. I mean, in addition, I would like to tell you that I, being outside the gate for 12 hours, we were there without food or drinks and I lost my phone too. And I had my Bitcoin -- I have my Bitcoin with me.

Yes, I -- there are two times I left Afghanistan and I left it heartbroken. I left Afghanistan in 2007 from a forced marriage. And I couldn't go back to Afghanistan until 2015.

I left Afghanistan this time because I was forced to leave Afghanistan. In my life, I worked in the Civil Service Commission of Afghanistan. I work for woman. We increase woman up to 29 percent to work in the civil service. I work for other woman around the country. I spend so much energy and as well as my fellow friends in the country. We spend our energy, our dedication, and everything to build that country. We left everything behind us. And we didn't have any other options except living Kabul.

VAUSE: Have you been shocked and stunned at just how quickly everything that you build, everything that you work for, is now essentially gone?

I mean, this is something which will not survive under this Taliban regime.

YARI: I think they are gone. I was on Tuesday, I was hidden in Kabul because Taliban started searching houses. Because I was a government employee, I wouldn't be able to be in my apartment. I left.

On Tuesday afternoon, I got a car and I wanted to go around in Kabul to at least find an Afghan flag, right? Nothing else but an African flag. I couldn't see it. Right? And I was desperate, upset. We didn't see any security guards that are wearing uniforms.

My husband was working with the Afghan military who is luckily with me. He was crying around -- he, because he missed to see security guards with uniforms. We wouldn't be able to see anybody.

A lot of my colleagues from the commission contacted me if they had to go to work. And I told them that the doors are closed, they won't be able to get in. They persistently are trying to get to their offices, but they are not allowed to as (INAUDIBLE).

[02:15:06]

VAUSE: What sort of future do you see for yourself now that you are out of Afghanistan, you're in Poland, but what does the future hold?

YARI: Well, I think what a lot of Afghans, including me that I also lived in the United States, I think we have to start from zero. If you live outside the country, we have to find a job, they have to have a room, they have to buy everything and start from zero as I started from zero in Afghanistan.

I started from zero in 2007 in the United States. My life is as if I keep starting everything from zero, and then it collapses somewhere in the middle.

I think we do have dedications to go back if we wouldn't be threatened to get killed. I think we still continue our advocacy. We are advocating right now. I do talk to a lot of people, different organizations about the Taliban's government to not be legitimize.

We are hoping that the world and the U.N. -- United Nation don't approve the current government because they are symbolic. What they are saying on the media is not what they are actually implementing in the country. And I'm worried that I will lose that 29 percent of women in the civil service. I'm scared that I will lose the achievements we have had and we sweat so much to build that country.

And if they come in power, by force the way they're doing right now, there isn't any hope for us left to go back.

VAUSE: Gaisu, I wish you all the very best. Thank you for sharing your story with us. It's tragic.

(CROSSTALK)

YARI: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: It's sad, but there is hope. So, thank you for being with us.

We'll take a short break on CNN NEWSROOM.

When we come back, after weeks of rising COVID cases around the world, the WHO says new infections seem to have hit a plateau. More in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: After nearly two months of rising COVID cases globally, the World Health Organization says the number of new infections seems to be levelling off. More than 4-1/2 million cases though were reported in the past week about the same as a week earlier.

Almost a quarter of those new cases are in the United States where the infection rate is back to where it was in January.

VAUSE (voice-over): Hospitals once again feeling the strain especially in parts where vaccination rates are low. Health experts say the U.S. can stem the tide of new infections, but more Americans must get vaccinated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I would like to appeal to this country, to the people in the country who are not vaccinated to realize that we have the capability among ourselves to essentially cut down the timeframe to getting the end of this pandemic.

Very, very clearly, by just listening to everything you've heard on this press conference. Get vaccinated and the time frame will be truncated dramatically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:20:04]

VAUSE (on camera): Meantime, Australia and New Zealand now in the grips of a surging outbreak of the Delta variant. The Australian state of New South Wales just recorded its worst day of the pandemic, more than 900 new cases two deaths in the past 24 hours.

CNN's Will Ripley monitoring the outbreak for us under quarantine in Hong Kong.

So, Will, you know, the situation in Australia and New Zealand is interesting because these were sort of the -- you know, the islands of solitude, they closed their borders, they're almost untouched by the pandemic. But once the Delta variant hit, and it had low vaccination rates, it's off to the races.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): And I'm just bracing for the Delta variant outbreak, which a lot of experts think is probably inevitable here in Hong Kong.

I mean, things are happening out in the outside world. So, they upped their quarantine to 21 days for countries that they consider high risk. But, eventually, history shows us time and time again that someone slips through, there's a lapse, you know, there was a flight that came from the UAE, the other day that had like five positive cases on it. So, they canceled flights on this particular airline for two weeks.

But eventually someone gets in with Delta, and then as you said, it's off to the races. Or, actually, it's shutting down the races and shutting down everything. Again, it's like the worst episode of Groundhog Day over and over again. So, you had New Zealand and Australia, which really were the envy of many around the world, when they were live in life and things were normal at the expense of basically sealing off their borders. And yet now, with the existence of Delta, even those countries with such strong systems to fully eradicate COVID inside their borders, it's no longer working.

China has the same strategy. They have the same strategy here in Hong Kong, to just try to have zero COVID. But is that going to be possible in the age of Delta? And should that be the benchmark? Or is that unrealistic? Is it more realistic and better for overall society to get people vaccinated and focus on hospitalizations and deaths? Because we have seen and more and more studies are now showing and anecdotal evidence from places like New South Wales in Australia, where 98 percent of people in ICU with COVID are not vaccinated.

People who are vaccinated can still catch it, they have less risk of catching it, but if they do, it's going to be a less severe case. And should people be looking at the severity of the cases and allowing people to actually go about their lives instead of locking down every time you get an outbreak?

This is the big debate. And people are getting angry when they get those freedoms, John, and then they're just yanked away.

VAUSE: And one of the things which is really angry a lot of people in Australia, it's just the sort of draconian measures being taken by the authorities to enforce these pandemic restrictions.

There is one guy who got out -- who did not stay in quarantine, and images of him in a public elevator were broadcast on the evening news. And you know, there was a hunt for him -- you know, across the nation because he broke a quarantine rules.

There's a $3,700 fine, I think, for people who, you know, break lockdown rules. These are some very strict rules, and they've been in place for a long time. And that's now resulting, I guess, in a lot of social unrest.

And that -- is this pressure now building on the government to actually change course? Is that having any impact?

RIPLEY: Absolutely, because eventually, if enough people get pissed off and say, I'm not going to do this anymore, and they go out and join those protesters that are out in Australia. I mean, here in Hong Kong, there's a big sign that I'm looking at on my hotel room door right now that says I will go to jail for six months and have to pay thousands of dollars if I walk out that hotel door.

And eventually, people get fed up and say enough is enough. And so, as public unrest grows, you're seeing leaders now start to talk about shifting the strategy away from zero COVID. And looking at something a little more realistic that allows people to continue living their lives and opens up economies that have been choked off.

VAUSE: I don't think you can even say pissed off on television. Will, thank you.

RIPLEY: Oh, sorry. Isn't it like 2:00 a.m. there or something? 3:00 a.m.?

VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) yes. Will, thank you. Will Ripley, live in Hong Kong under quarantine.

(CROSSTALK)

RIPLEY: Who is awake in that hour?

VAUSE: You'll not getting out of quarantine in anytime soon. Thank you.

RIPLEY: I know. I'm probably going to get a timeout now after that. Thank you.

VAUSE: I get, Will.

Anyone over the age of 30 will now be eligible for vaccine booster shots in Israel as long as they've received their second dose at least five months ago. Israel trying to curb one of its worst outbreaks of the virus.

Health ministry reporting nearly 10,000 new cases on Tuesday, just shy of the country's all time pandemic record set this past January.

The jab in new cases means roughly one out of nine people in Israel have tested positive since the start of the pandemic.

Well, the White House says there are about 85 million Americans who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines but still have not received a shot. One of America's top doctors hopes FDA approval of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine will change that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: This Delta variant is Extremely contagious. So, I think it's a big deal having this full approval, a ray of sunshine in the midst of all these dark COVID clouds, and let us hope that, that both inspires people to do this and maybe also encourages businesses and universities and we've heard the military to start requiring vaccinations since we have now clear evidence of full approval by the gold standard in the world, the FDA.

[02:25:25]

VAUSE: On Monday, the FDA granted full approval to the Pfizer bioNTech vaccine for anyone age 16 and older, the first coronavirus vaccine fully approved by the administration.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is in Hanoi this hour. Her trip there was delayed for a few hours because of a possible Habana syndrome incident. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has more.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Hey there, John.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: So, Kristie, tell us -- yes, what is this about a syndrome, and what is Kamala Harris saying about China?

LU STOUT: Oh, sorry. I'm a bit confused. Sorry, John, I thought you were taping. So, I was into a tape segment, which is why you had that look of surprise. Sorry about that.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: I don't know what too, to be honest.

LU STOUT: My apologies. Let's start again.

VAUSE: Mine as well. Sure.

LU STOUT: Or I could even just do that, that funny -- I don't know. It was jazz hands or something. But look, there is some very serious announcements coming out of Hanoi.

VAUSE: Yes.

LU STOUT: And I'm going to get to that in just a moment. But you mentioned, you know, this so-called, you know, the Havana syndrome. And we've been also trying to get details on that as well.

Happening right now, you have the U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris having a number of high level meetings in Vietnam, but there was that delay. That three hour delay in Singapore, after the U.S. government said that they had a report of someone in Hanoi being targeted by this mysterious syndrome.

That was a reported case, it's not a confirmed case. We've been trying to confirm with our sources and (INAUDIBLE) reporters tried to confirm exactly you know, who was targeted with this mysterious syndrome. No details just yet. But it is interesting to note that because of that delay, the Chinese swooped in.

LU STOUT (voice-over): In fact, they staged a sort of diplomatic coup of sorts, where during that delay, you had the Chinese ambassador meeting with the prime minister of Vietnam, and providing a gift from China, about 2 million Chinese made COVID-19 vaccine.

So, today you have Kamala Harris, capturing the attention of the Vietnamese vice president, president, and prime minister as well on the agenda talking about a range of issues; the coronavirus pandemic, economic concerns, security concerns.

LU STOUT (on camera): They've just announced that they will donate 1 million COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, also U.S., under Kamala Harris given a really strong line about U.S. commitment to the South China Sea region and countering what it sees is coercive and bullying activity by the Chinese. John.

VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout, live for us in Hong Kong.

It's one of those days, really?

LU STOUT: It is.

VAUSE: Appreciate it. Yes, appreciate it. Thank you. See you tomorrow.

Still ahead, with people desperate to beat the deadline (INAUDIBLE) Kabul, G7 members putting pressure on the Taliban to ensure safe -- to ensure safe passage even beyond Tuesday's deadline.

We'll have more on that in a moment.

[02:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: The number of Afghans waiting at Kabul's Airport for a flight out has dropped to below 5,000. It is expected to continue to fall now that the Taliban will no longer allow Afghan nationals to leave the country. With the pace of evacuations ramping up, U.S. President Biden standing firm on this Tuesday's deadline for a total troop withdrawal. But he has also requested contingency plans in case American forces need to stay beyond Tuesday.

G7 leaders met virtually on Tuesday concerned over the chaos and desperation caused by the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Also insisting the Taliban live up to their international commitments if they want any chance of good relations with the West.

Here's CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, this really does appear to be a potential moment where there could be a significant, perhaps the first big bust up between the Taliban since they got to Kabul and the international community. The G7, made it clear that for them a priority of the future relationship with the Taliban would depend on Afghans who had helped coalition partners get to the airport and be allowed to leave. The Taliban is saying they do not want that to happen, that they need to keep their doctors or engineers, their academics. So, blocking them getting to the airport potentially puts a serious roadblock in how the international community gets on with the Taliban.

This is how the British prime minister framed it.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The number one condition we are setting as G7 is that they have got to guarantee, right away through, through August the 31st, and beyond, a safe passage for those who want to come out.

ROBERTSON: Now, what the G7 said was that the Taliban should live up to their international obligations, that they should prevent terrorists from being able to set up inside Afghanistan, they should give humanitarian access across the country. And they also said that they should stand up for their human rights obligations, for women, children, for ethnic minorities, for religious minorities. The European Council president, Charles Michel, framed it this way.

CHARLES MICHEL, EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT: And this will be subject to strict conditions, regarding the deeds and attitudes of the new regime, both in preserving the political, economic and social achievements for the Afghan citizens and their human rights, notably of women, girls and minorities.

ROBERTSON: Now, President Biden said that thus far the Taliban have been working with the U.S. So, this is a real pinch point, a really decisive moment. President Biden has said he won't take the Taliban at their word, he will see with their actions are. So, this issue over the airport could become a really decisive issue, setting the stage for the future relationship between the Taliban and the international community.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: David Sanger is a CNN political and national security analyst. He is White House and national security correspondent as well for the New York Times. He is author of "The Perfect Weapon." David is with us now this hour.

David, it is good to see you.

OK. President Joe Biden said the U.S. is now on a pace to finish by next Tuesday's deadline. The crucial part of that statement seems to be missing. Is on pace to finish what?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, it's a great question because he was really caught in a terrible bind here. On the one hand, he had said that August 31st was the deadline and the Taliban came along and said they would not cooperate with U.S. forces beyond that date, and might well make it more dangerous for them.

On the other hand, there is no way that he is going to get out of the country all of -- he may get mostly the American citizens who want to go, but he's not going to get all of the Afghans who had worked for the U.S., who have applications in for visas and so forth. Many of them are not in Kabul, so they have to make their way through Taliban territory, to make it to the airport. You have seen the scenes at the airport.

So, the big question is, what happens after August 31st? If you are stuck there after August 31st, are you truly stuck? Do you have a chance to get on a commercial flight if those was open up? Does the U.S. have a way of helping you get to the airport once the military has left?

[02:35:00]

VAUSE: Well, yes, there is still a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of questions about, you know, who will eventually be taken out by Tuesday. Biden is standing firm on this deadline despite pressure from allies like Britain, France and Germany, despite political pressure at home. And the reason why, he says, is because of this acute risk of a terror attack from ISIS-K. Are there other factors here at play or is it just there's going to be terror attack?

SANGER: Well, I think the terror attack thing is real. And clearly, they have some very specific intelligence for ISIS-K, a local ISIS group, it would have the double effect of being a blow to the Taliban and to the United States. But I think there is an additional reason here. And that is that the president has always believed back to the debates in 2009 over the Obama surge and then efforts to withdraw, that there is always a reason to stay in Afghanistan.

And that they would never get to the point where somebody would say, OK, we have gotten everybody we can get, we can leave now. So, I think that he decided in the end he's got to stick with the deadline because if not he would get dragged into a continued presence of a low level where, sooner or later, he's going to begin taking American casualties.

And what is truly remarkable about the past 10 days is we haven't seen any American casualties at this point. He is betting if he can hold on to that record, then people will remember the withdrawal and not the messy nature of the exit.

VAUSE: So, essentially, is there a reluctance from the president just to simply to commit any more significant numbers of troops on the ground even for a short period of time, which is why this plan to maybe retake control of the nearly Bagram Airbase was just a total nonstarter for Biden?

SANGER: Yes. We have seen it time and time again. He had proposals from the Pentagon back in March and April for keeping a force of 3,500 to 4,000 troops. He rejected that. He rejected the idea of keeping a smaller force. He basically said, you can't go for 10 years and say you are going to leave and then not actually leave.

The problem now is he is leaving others to whom the American government has made a commitment still stuck there. And as those stories begin to come out, that is potentially quite damaging and raises the question about the degree to which the United States can be trusted as an ally if it has made a guarantee and then does not perform on it.

VAUSE: Yes. That seems to be one of the biggest potential consequences here for the United States moving forward. But I guess all of this will be written by the historians in the years ahead. But, David, it's good to see you. Thank you very much.

SANGER: Good to see you. Thanks very much.

VAUSE: The clock is ticking as evacuations ramp up in Afghanistan. But with thousands of people leaving, where do they go? Up next, why the CEO of the accommodation site, Airbnb, is offering to help in a very big way. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:00]

VAUSE: In the chaos and confusion to flee the Taliban, many Afghans left everything behind, boarding a flight to an unfamiliar destination and an unfamiliar destination. And reaching a safe haven, it seems, is just the beginning. Many have nowhere to go once they arrive. And that's where Airbnb comes in.

Here is CNN's Anna Stewart to explain.

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ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Airbnb has tried to connect those in need with those who can help in the past as they have done and response to disasters, like Hurricane Sandy in 2012. But never at this scale. It wants to put a temporary roof over the heads of 20,000 Afghan refugees, and Airbnb says it will be picking up the bill with help from its nonprofit airbnb.org.

In one of its tweets, Airbnb Brian Chesky said, the displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the U.S. and elsewhere is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time. We feel a responsibility to step up. It is yet to be announced, for instance, just how long the scheme run. Longer-term housing solutions will be needed. A huge challenge and a great responsibility for governments around the world as tens of thousands of new Afghan evacuees are expected to be in search for shelter in the coming weeks.

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

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And Brian Chesky explained to Alison Cooper a short time ago how refugees would be matched with their hosts. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN CHESKY, CEO AND CO-FOUND, AIRBNB: We are working with resettlement agencies the International Rescue Community and the Church World Service. So, they work with the department of state and different governments to receive the refugees. They do all the screening, make sure the refugee families are ready to find housing. Then what we do is we match those refugee families with our host. Thousands of hosts will open their homes.

Just to give you an example, last year during COVID, 225,000 hosts open their homes to frontline workers. So, we're confident we're going to have more than enough homes. And that we're doing, Airbnb and Air Mirador (ph) is we're going to pay for it. So, we'll pay the host out of our pocket, we use our technology, our cost. So, the host does not have to come out of pocket for this.

COOPER: And how long can you do this for or will you do this for?

CHESKY: We will do this for as long as they need housing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Five members of Afghanistan's Women's Robotics team has arrived safely in Mexico. This is the same team which was the focus that worldwide attention back in 2017 after they were denied entry to the U.S. At the time, President Donald Trump intervened to allow them into the country to compete in an international robotics contest. Well, recently, they have been using car parts to build ventilators for COVID patients. Officials in Mexico say their humanitarian visas are good for six months and can be extended.

Thank you for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. World Sport is up after a short break with much more on the Paralympics. I'm John Vause and I will see you tomorrow.

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