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America's Patience with the Unvaccinated Running Out; Security Threats Prompt Warnings to Leave Kabul Airport; Desperation Grows Outside Kabul Airport as Deadline Nears; First Afghan Refugees Arrive in Uganda; New Name of Pfizer COVID Vaccine Draws Criticism. Aired 1- 2a ET
Aired August 26, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again. I'm John Vause.
Coming up this hour on CNN NEWSROOM.
More warnings to clear the area around Kabul airport due to a possible terror attack have left many to choose between staying put and risk dying at the hands of ISIS-K or leave and risk dying later at the hands of the Taliban?
[01:00:02]
Also coming up --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is happening and what is about to happen is a humanitarian crisis and we have all the power and ability to stop it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: A desperate plea from the U.S. veteran who served in Afghanistan now trying to save not just an Afghan ally but a friend and his family, desperate to leave.
And Delta Airlines versus the delta variant. Unvaccinated employees at the world's biggest carrier now facing punitive action.
(MUSIC)
VAUSE: We'll begin again in Afghanistan, where new security warnings have been issued by the United States, the U.K. and Australia, all urging their citizens to stay away from Kabul's airport.
A U.K. foreign office cited a high threat of terrorist attack and a U.S. defense official tells CNN the group known as ISIS-K wants to create mayhem at the airport we are huge crowds have gathered open for flight out of the country.
And this security warning comes with a window closing on evacuations. Flights are expected to end in a few days, and a few days after that, by Tuesday, the U.S. military is scheduled to complete a total draw down. That will mean tens of thousands of Afghans who assisted U.S. forces, and their families, will likely be left behind, their fate decided by the Taliban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are operating in a hostile environment in a city and country now controlled by the Taliban, with the very real possibility of an ISIS-K attack. We're taking every precaution but this is very high risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's Anna Coren has covered Afghanistan for years, she continues to be in contact with many living inside the country, many living in fear right now. She joins us live from Hong Kong.
Whatever amount of time there was to get to the airport and get out on an evacuation flight is now even shorter because of this terror threat, may even harder to get there. How serious is the threat? What do we know about ISIS-K?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, John, from what we are hearing, this threat is very real. From the expert that I have been in touch with, he said that when Kabul fell on the 15th of August, about 2,000 ISIS-K prisoners managed to escape. He believed that the Taliban have killed about 100 of them but still, you have over 1,000, you know, 1,800 roaming around.
He says that it is puzzling to him as to why ISIS-K haven't launched attacks as yet. So this is obviously something that is that the front of the administration's agenda, to get their U.S. troops out safely, to get U.S. citizens out safely. We know there are about 1,500 U.S. citizens that are still stuck in Kabul.
And, John, we are getting images on social media of planes leaving Kabul empty, because people haven't been able to get on board. They haven't been able to get through those checkpoints, that the Taliban are manning.
And we are also hearing as well, John, that the mission, if you like, is turning from evacuation to drawdown. They have until Tuesday to be out of there. You are probably looking at about five and a half thousand U.S. troops as well as coalition troops that are on the ground.
We've also got to take into consideration the Afghan forces, the commandoes who did not surrender to the Taliban, who will need to be evacuated as well, along with all of the equipment in the airport. Remember, we never -- we never expected this scenario to take place.
But this is what has transpired and this is what the United States now has the cleanup, before the 31st of August. This means that there are tens of thousands of Afghan allies. These are people who have worked for the United States, for foreign companies, that will be left stranded.
I am in touch, John, with a number of Afghans. I was on the phone last night with a 30-year-old, father of two kids, he was sobbing, pleading, please, is there any way that you can help me? His company, which I should point out, is funded by the U.S. embassy, the U.S. State Department, had been promising him and his staff, since the 7th of August, that they would be evacuated.
One of his staff members is a woman. She is a young mother. Once again, it is just these pleas of desperation. And I want to read to you what she sent to me a short time ago.
She said: Since the regime changed, all my world history rooms of my home.
[01:05:04]
Sometimes I become so tired that I feel I cannot breathe easily. I feel there is not enough oxygen in the house. I feel oxygen has left us and left Afghanistan. Now these three rooms are my shopping markets, ice cream shop, my office that I used to go to before. Now I just go from room to room to help my heavy heart.
John, it is just so distressing when these people say, what do I do, do I go to the airport? Do I take my young children? Do I cue up with my documents? You know, these people do not have those SIVs, which they thought they had time to get, which the company told them that they would apply for.
And now, we know that they are stuck, that they are stranded. That when America pulls out on the 31st of August, they're on their own.
VAUSE: Anna, thank you. Anna Coren there in Hong Kong, with some insight, and also some very sad stories from people who are just basically given up on hope. Thank you, Anna.
Well ISIS-K is a bitter rival of the Taliban. They are formed from a disaffected members of the Pakistani Taliban about five years ago. They're small in number but have new motivation because of a new leader.
We have more details now from CNN's Brian Todd reporting from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRRESPONDENT (voice over): The chaos, the threats to Americans and their allies at the Kabul airport are pinned squarely tonight on a terror group with a familiar name that has only burst into the mainstream in recent days.
COLIN CLARKE, AUTHOR, AFTER THE CALIPHATE: THE ISLAMIC STATE: My main concern is ISIS-K would look to deploy a massive bomb or a team of bombers to strike simultaneously.
TODD: ISIS-K, The K for Khorasan, an area around the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. ISIS-K claims to be a branch of the main ISIS terror group which gained power in Syria and Iraq seven years ago. Experts say ISIS-K comprised of some veteran jihadists from Syria and elsewhere has lost ground and man power since 2018, but still has a presence in eastern Afghanistan and has formed cells in Kabul.
In total, according to a U.N. report, they're believed to have from 1,500 and 2,200 fighters in Afghanistan.
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: A lot of these are former Taliban who slapped on the ISIS patch in order to sort of make themselves the biggest, baddest guys on the block.
TODD: But ISIS-K is now a sworn enemy of the Taliban.
BERGEN: The Taliban are fighting them. Really, you know, it's more local rivalries.
TODD: Why more broadly have the two notorious terror groups turned on each other?
CLARKE: For a number of reasons. Those range from ideological to political to military. Frankly, ISIS doesn't believe in a political agenda. ISIS believes that only God can rule.
And even though the Taliban is attempting to establish an Islamic Emirate, that's not enough for ISIS. ISIS is a bit more hardcore.
TODD: So hard core, according to analyst Colin Clarke, that ISIS-K is thought to be more draconian than the Taliban. In areas they control, he says, they impose harsh Sharia Law, execute civilians and others who they suspect are spies.
CLARKE: They want to attract and recruit the most ardent sociopaths in the country. And their calling card is this rapacious and wanton violence against anyone that stands in their way. That actually helps them bring in other fighters into the organization that have a similar mindset.
TODD: Some of those fighters have been sprung from Afghan prisons. ISIS-K has carried out several devastating suicide bombing attacks in Afghanistan in recent years, including an attack on a school for girls this spring which, according to a Pentagon assessment, killed at least 68 people, most of them girls.
Another threat from ISIS-K that analysts are watching for tonight --
CLARKE: They could wreak havoc around the airport by taking a shot at some of the aircraft that are taking off from and landing at Hamid Karzai International Airport. That's a great concern right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (on camera): Is ISIS-K a threat to wage bloodier war against or even overthrow the Taliban? The terrorism experts we spoke to don't think so. The Taliban have far greater numbers, they say. ISIS-K could be a violent nuisance to the Taliban, doing hit and runs, conducting IED attacks, according to experts. But they say ISIS-K is not going away without a fight.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington. VAUSE: Robert Grenier was the CIA Station Chief in Islamabad on 9/11.
In the weeks, which followed, he put together the plan for the war in Afghanistan, and then directed the CIA's operation to drive the Taliban and Al-Qaeda out of southern Afghanistan. He joins us this hour from Washington.
Mr. Grenier, thank you for your time.
ROBERT GRENIER, FORMER CIA STATION CHIEF, ISLAMABAD: You're very welcome.
VAUSE: So, the possibility now of a terror attack on Kabul's airport, that seems to be a real threat since this evacuation began. There were thousands of people who gathered outside the perimeter, with the only security being provided by the Taliban. It's a soft target for this group known as ISIS-K, for any group really.
And ISIS-K has carried out dozens of attacks this year in Afghanistan. It would seem this new intelligence or these new warnings are just confirming, which should have been obvious.
[01:10:06]
GRENIER: Well, yes, you're right. It's a very soft target. And so, one will always, you know, be concerned about the possibility of a terrorist attack.
I viewed some of the early reports with some skepticism. But people who are in a much better position to know seem to be taking this very seriously indeed. And it sounds as though there's some fairly specific threat information because as we understand, the word has gone out to individuals, Americans, Green Card holders and some others with whom the embassy is in direct communication, telling them to stay away from certain specific gates. So, that sounds like a specific threat to me.
VAUSE: Yes, it's also telling people essentially give up your only hope of getting out of the country.
GRENIER: Well, perhaps now they have been able to launch some extraction operations from out beyond the airport perimeter.
And, of course, I don't know what appears at some of these, at least, would have been done with some coordination with the Taliban. All things equal, one would prefer to be coordinating with the Taliban and that sort of thing.
GRENIER: And so, I suspect that there may be some other locations from which American citizens and Green Card holders in particular might be picked up. But obviously, if they have to close the gates, that is not a good thing with time running down.
VAUSE: Yes, and in recent days, there has been this surge in the number of evacuated out of Kabul. Is it possible that every single person has undergone some kind of security check that we know their background, their history? We know we've got the right people getting out of the country? GRENIER: I'm not there. But I would say absolutely not. You know, just from the insight that I've had speaking to some people on the ground, trying as best as I can to help some people get out.
And some people I know, have fortunately been able to get out. But it seems like it's utter chaos. I know of the some cases that I know of directly were individuals who were certainly not on any evacuation list wouldn't probably not have qualified once they managed to get into the airport was shoved onto airplanes and flown out.
So, I think to do any kind of a careful screening under these circumstances, one understands that there might have been 19,000 people flown out in the last 24 hours. That is -- that's frankly, incredible.
And so, no, I think the answer to your question is no, there's no way you can properly screen these people.
VAUSE: Well, the threat from ISIS-K, it seems to highlight beyond the situation inside Afghanistan right now with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda on one side of this bitter rival, ISIS-K on the other. And then, add into the mix with thousands of foreign fighters affiliated with all of those three groups arriving in recent months.
A former Afghan security official was quoted as saying Afghanistan is like Las Vegas for terrorists right now, they're coming from all around the world.
So, where do you see all of this heading in the coming months?
GRENIER: Well, you know, I think in terrorism, as in other endeavors, nothing succeeds like success. And so, you're right, this is seen in jihadist circles around the globe as a great success.
And I think we're already beginning to see people rushing now to Afghanistan, believing that this will be a safe haven for them.
Now, we've had assurances from the Taliban that they will not allow that. I as a professional in this area, with some experience in that area don't believe that for a moment, others don't. But we would certainly hope to be pleasantly surprised.
VAUSE: Is there any chance that these intra-Afghan talks once which are taking place among the Taliban, the former President Hamid Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah, will they actually end with any chance of a government beyond just made up of the Taliban, will be a broader government by any possibility? Or the other question to ask is, why would the Taliban actually, you know, engage any kind of power sharing arrangement?
GRENIER: Yes, well, I think that there is some objective motivation for the Taliban, to try to have a more broadly-based government, there are still a lot of opposition to them in Afghanistan as we know. There are a number of leading figures who would like to come to some sort of an accommodation with the Taliban, that might work to the Taliban's political benefit. However, from what I've been able to gather so far, these talks do not appear to be fruitful. Knowing something about the Taliban mentality, I don't think that they will want to share power, they will certainly only share power on their terms. I thought that perhaps they would have some sort of a nominal sure made up with non-Taliban members, members of other ethnic groups, et cetera.
At least just to show some sort of a face to the world, thus far, that doesn't seem to be gaining any traction. So, I'm rather pessimistic about that as well.
VAUSE: I just want to finish off with a statement from the U.S. Secretary of State on Wednesday, he said, there's no deadline for helping American citizens and Afghan allies to leave the country. The only deadline is for an end to those military flights.
How does that actually happen in any kind of meaningful way? I mean, this seems to be part of sort of the ongoing gaslighting, which we've heard, you know, from the Biden administration since this began.
[01:15:05]
GRENIER: Well, I'm not sure exactly what the secretary of state means. But I think it is certain that for months and perhaps years, Afghans who have not been able to make their way out of Kabul and of course, you know, it's a very small slice of the country.
There are many others who are similarly vulnerable in many other parts of the country. And I think that those people, many of them will be making their way out of Afghanistan overland and trying to apply for some sort of Special Immigrant Visa from there.
So, I think somewhat as we saw with Vietnamese getting out of Southeast Asia slowly over many years, I think we may see something similar occurring in Afghanistan.
VAUSE: Sir, thank you very much for being with us. Robert Grenier, we really appreciate your time.
GRENIER: Most welcome.
VAUSE: Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, an intelligence review into the origins of the coronavirus is now with the U.S. president. Already, China claims it's all politically motivated.
Also ahead, one of the world's biggest airlines imposing penalties on employees who refuse vaccination.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The Israeli prime minister will meet face to face with the U.S. president in a few hours with Iran topping the agenda for Naftali Bennett. He's expected to push for a regional coalition to counter Iranian aggression while also making the case for no return to a nuclear deal with Tehran. The Biden administration seems unwilling to rule out the new deal. Bennett met with the secretary of state and defense on Wednesday,
already after relations were strained with the former Israeli president and his overt public support for Donald Trump. Bennett seems eager for a diplomatic reset.
China is already lashing out at the U.S. intelligence report over the origins of the coronavirus, even before it's been made public. The report could be declassified in the coming days, but sources say it's inconclusive on both major origin theories that a leak from a lab or jump from a bat.
CNN's Will Ripley following the story for us from Hong Kong.
It's interesting, the sort of schoolyard-for-tat from Beijing, calling for investigations into laps in the U.S. in some kind of retaliation here.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You read my mind, John. I am imagining these two kids on the school yard, pointing fingers, China saying the U.S., this is a quote, hear avoids answers, keep secrets, constantly sets up obstacles. That sounds familiar because that's what the U.S. and its allies have accused China of doing since the beginning of the pandemic, not being transparent, not sharing information from the early days of the outbreak, which we are now fast approaching year number two.
And here is the latest intel report and analysis supposedly of a trove of genetic data and a reexamination of intelligence and communications and satellite imagery. And yet, still, the intelligence community, frankly, has not a clue where the virus came from.
[01:20:07]
Did it leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology? This report was triggered 3 months ago because of this reporting a number of researchers at the institute where sick and hospitalized in November of 2019. This was also the time there was a major influence outbreak happening in Wuhan. So, it could have been any number of things they were hospitalized for.
But that piece of reporting triggered this 90-day race to try and find some sort of definitive answer. I will tell you, what a lot of people, John, are not surprised they weren't able to get much because they are working with very limited data.
VAUSE: With that in mind, we heard from the WHO investigators who said that window to gather that data, that evidence from the early days of the outbreak in Wuhan, that when it was closed because that evidence won't be around for much longer. One of the reasons why they are having trouble, it seems, Beijing is citing things like patient confidentiality.
RIPLEY: Yeah. And saying they had to throw away all the samples because there was some sort of a risk of keeping them around.
Look, China has been trying to block this from the beginning, in terms of getting to the bottom of where the outbreak came from, even going so far as to say that yeah, it might have been a lab leak from the United States, or some other country. So, you all should open up your labs if we're going to up ours.
They are saying this latest intel report before they've even read it because it's not the classified yet, it's going to cause interference and damage to the international traceability and global pandemic cooperation. They are also saying it's not a scientific report based on facts. That is partially true because the facts meaning the actual samples and data have been made impossible to access by the Chinese authorities, if they even exist anymore at all.
VAUSE: I'm rubber, you're glue. Will Ripley, thank you.
RIPLEY: Exactly.
VAUSE: The number of COVID patients admitted to U.S. hospitals has nearly tripled in the past month. That's straining health care systems nationwide. More than 100,000 Americans are now in hospital with the virus, according to the U.S. Health Department. That's the most since January.
Florida and Texas account for nearly a third of all COVID patients. One Florida doctor says the demand is forcing him to turn others away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. NITESH PARYANI, ONCOLOGIST: I had to turn away a cancer patient that needed an emergency treatment simply due to the fact my hospital didn't have any beds. When I establish my cancer practice, I'm a 3rd generation oncologist, the one principle that I had built, my family had bill treating cancer patients off of as we would never turn away a patient, regardless of whether they could pay or not. For the first time in 60 years of my family's history of treating cancer, we have to turn someone away. We didn't have a bed. There was simply no room in the hospital to treat the patient.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, vaccine hesitancy it seems according to experts has contributed to the increase in the number of COVID cases in the United States. But there is a new study from Israel which finds the risks that come with getting the shot vastly less than someone actually catches the virus.
The study involved 2 million people, shows the Pfizer vaccine slightly raises the risk of heart inflammation, swollen lymph nodes and shingles. It also showed the virus increases the risk of heart inflammation, even more. Along with blood clots, heart attacks, other deadly effects.
This is the first large study to compare the risks of vaccination versus infection in the same population during the same time.
Delta Airlines is starting to choose the stick over the carrot when it comes to getting existing employees vaccinated. Not being forced, but rejecting the shot will cost them.
CNN's Pete Muntean explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Airlines are trying everything from incentives to mandates to get their workers vaccinated. But what's so interesting is Delta Airlines has now become the first to penalize its workers who are still not vaccinated. Delta is telling its workers they must get vaccinated by November 1st, or begin paying a $200 a month surcharge depending on their health insurance.
It's not only the surcharge that a smoker would pay on their health insurance, and Delta says the rationale is this. The average hospital stay for somebody who has COVID-19 costs delta $50,000 per person, it says. This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company.
Company CEO Ed Bastian made this announcement at a company-wide memo and he says the company is stopping short of a mandate.
ED BASTIAN, DELTA CEO: I think these added voluntary steps short of mandating a vaccine are going to get us as close to 100 percent as we can. We have over 80 percent of our crews, pilots and flight attendants are already vaccinated. So, I think this last step just short of a mandate I think will work for us.
MUNTEAN: Remember, United Airlines is the only major U.S. airline to mandate that its workers get vaccinated. All 67,000 employees in the United States must get vaccinated now by September 27th since the FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine.
Interestingly, Delta did not mention the delta variant and its release by name.
[01:25:02]
Instead mentioning the B.167.2 virus.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Arthur Caplan is a professor of bioethics at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine.
Art, welcome back. It's good to see you.
ARTHUR CAPLAN, BIOETHICS PROFESSOR, NYU GROSSMAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Hey, John.
VAUSE: OK. So it begins, there is this approach now by Delta, imposing financial penalties to increase health insurance costs for unvaccinated employees. There are other airlines taking a different approach like United, Hawaiian, Air Canada, Lufthansa where vaccines have been mandated for all employees.
So, legally, is it easier to impose a mandate as opposed to a financial penalty? And why is that?
CAPLAN: It is a little easier to go with the mandate, because basically people can't complain and say you are burdening me too much, or you're -- I am poor and it's not fair to kind of impose that kind of a penalty, say affixed not across the board both for managers and for maybe people who are hurting a lot less. So, mandates are somewhat easier to put forward because they are seen as more equitable.
VAUSE: Delta's logic seems fairly straightforward. Hospital costs for treating employees with COVID-19 are around $50,000. And with the threat of the delta variant, employees hospitalized due to COVID have all not been vaccinated, the unvaccinated ones. They say it's a business decision, like higher costs for smokers compared to nonsmokers.
Where is the downside here? Potentially setting precedents in terms of other factors which increase health insurance costs? You are not bungee jumper skydiver. Your health rate should go up.
CAPLAN: Hypothetically, yes, bungee jumping. Look, I think the way I would answer this is, we're in a plague. It's unusual circumstances. I don't see setting a higher rate for people not vaccinated for health insurance is that opening the door to taxing the obese or going after people who don't exercise, or don't wear helmets when they ride motorcycles.
We have unusual circumstances. Businesses are trying to stay open. A message from Delta is partly you are going to pay, but it is also you better get vaccinated. If you will, it's a double whammy, trying to incentivize vaccination.
I think these are unusual times. I'm not too worried about setting a precedent. I think we are going to see is many more businesses and private health insurance plans saying you are going to pay more. Your copays are now going to be up to you. They're not going to be covered anymore, which they have been up to this point.
And with the life insurer of Pfizer vaccine and soon Moderna, you are going to see more mandates coming out.
VAUSE: Delta is also taking this hard line, in other ways. You know, COVID pay protection now only applying cases of breakthrough infection. Unvaccinated workers who get COVID need time off, to use their sick leave.
Overall, though, given delta has a fairly low number of unionized workers compared to the rest of the industry, does that basically, for lack of a better team, make this easier to implement?
CAPLAN: Somewhat easier. Unions definitely are fighting mandates and trying to battle over any type of fiscal penalties. But it doesn't make it a winner. The best argument unions had was you can't mandate, you can't compel, you can't raise rates on a non-licensed vaccine. That went out the window this week.
Pfizer's license, Moderna will be in a couple weeks. That was their best argument, in my opinion, to try and say you can't do this to us. I don't think those arguments are going to hold up. I think we've turned a corner, John. I think we are starting to see the rights of the vaccinated moving ahead of the rights of the unvaccinated, or the people who don't want to do it.
VAUSE: I mean, there is a third option and all this. Some companies have offered for, it's taking, implementing perks if you like for employees who are vaccinated, extra vacation days, for example. I think American Airlines is doing that. In terms of getting people to do something, are positive incentives as effective as negative ones?
CAPLAN: You know, I just read Krispy Kreme donuts was offering to American workers a free donut if you showed the vaccination card. They just doubled down offering to donuts. So, some companies taking it very seriously on the incentive side.
Look, we've tried it. It had lotteries, free meals, free beers, all kinds of clever ideas, free fishing licenses. They didn't move the needle that much. And I think where we're at is COVID is expanding and the American south is out of control, it's out causing too many hospitals to be full, unable to take care of people who are non-COVID, but maybe emergencies.
I think patience is running out. Incentives are fine, but I think we've reached a point now where we've got to say we've got to protect the kids, and protect the immuno-suppressed who can't vaccinate, and we're just tired of listening to people say I still want their job, but I don't want to vaccinate. I don't think that's going to hold up anymore.
[01:29:37]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. There is an issue.
But what about the rights of people who need treatment in hospitals for other illnesses? They're not being protective either.
So Arthur Caplan As always, great to have you with us.
CAPLAN: Thank you.
VAUSE: Still to come, now that Pfizer's COVID vaccine has been fully approved in the U.S., it's being marketed under a new name. Why it's causing a lot of confusion among many Americans. That later this hour.
Also ahead, Uganda joins the effort to help Afghan refugees. How it's working with the U.S. to help get them to safety and what it wants in return.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Fears of a potential terror attack at Kabul's airport have prompted warnings from the U.S., the U.K., and Australia for their citizens to steer clear of the area.
These are live images right now of Kabul Airport, just around 10:00 in the morning there.
And a U.S. Defense official has told CNN the concerns are based on a very specific threat stream from ISIS offshoot known as ISIS-K.
CNN's Oren Liebermann has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Late Wednesday evening, the U.S. embassy in Kabul which is operating at Kabul International Airport warned U.S. citizens to stay away from three of the gates to the airport because it was a security threat -- the Adi Gate (ph), the East Gate and the North Gate.
They wouldn't provide specific information about that threat but they say citizens should either leave the vicinity of the gates immediately and wait for information, some contact from the embassy that tells them to approach the gates to get in.
The U.S. has been monitoring threats from ISIS-K and other terror groups trying to target the crowds around Kabul International Airport as well as the U.S. citizens, of course, within that crowd.
That's one of the key threats they've been looking at over the course of the past few days. That threat they say could manifest either in suicide bombs or vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, or some other fashion in a strategy or tactic that's been used by ISIS-K and other groups.
So what the specific security threat is that prompted this warning to stay away from the gates is unclear right now. But we do know the sorts of strategies and tactics employed by ISIS-K.
Of course, all of this comes as there are only days left to try to evacuate as many U.S. citizens as possible and as many Afghan evacuees from Kabul and from Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:34:52]
VAUSE: Whatever time is left to run the gauntlet of Taliban checkpoints on the road to the airport, getting past U.S. security and into the terminal, processed, and on to a flight is fast running out. And now this terror threat has added a new delay.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon said 19,000 people were evacuated over 24 hours. But there are still huge crowds outside the gates trying to leave. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We know there are desperate people who want to leave. And that's why we are working as Fast as we can. And you saw the numbers that we continue to be able to get out.
We are working as fast as we can to get out American citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants and vulnerable Afghans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Sam Kiley has the very latest now reporting in from Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the closing moments of America's longest war, a desperate legacy.
A day after the Taliban announced that they would stop Afghans getting into Kabul Airport, these are the scenes at its walls. They wade through sewage in breathtaking heat, waving their documents, desperate for escape.
Beyond these barriers, plane after plane carrying thousands to freedom. But here, there is fast fading hope that they will get to safety before America and its allies leave in a few days' time.
The process, taking an added urgency with what U.S. intelligence have described as a very specific threat against crowds gathering outside the airport.
(on camera): We've also had a number of reports of Afghans stuck in pockets around the town, desperately sending out signals to Americans to try to get them out, particularly people who've been working with the United States.
We've heard from one group who's identity we're keeping secret, they really fear that they will not survive the coming days if they can't get to this airport.
(voice over): 19,000 people have been evacuated in the last 24 hours. But with the Taliban blocking refugees from getting to the airport, the numbers here are down.
There will be a day, maybe two before the military effort will have to focus on its own withdrawal. Amid detailed threats from ISIS-K, who sources tell CNN have the capacity and plans to commit atrocities against desperate Afghan crowds.
Such fears are now behind those who are boarding, on the plane relief. Mohammed Yusufzai (ph) is a U.S. citizen, so with his family of six he was able to make it through the Taliban blocks.
MOHAMMED YUSUFZAI, U.S. CITIZEN: Nobody wants to leave home easily, but there are a lot of challenges around.
KILEY: Landing in Doha, a muted joy. Now they are safe, but on a long journey into the unknown.
Sam Kiley, CNN, Kabul international airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Jeff Trammell is a U.S. Army veteran who served 2 tours of duty in Afghanistan. He's been trying to help his old interpreter and friend and his family get out of Kabul. So far it has been a frustrating exercise to say the least.
Jeff, thank you for being with us.
JEFFERY TRAMMELL, U.S. ARMY VETERAN: Thank you so much for having me.
VAUSE: Ok. We will not name the man you are trying to help get out of Kabul. But he is married, three daughters, he worked alongside U.S. troops for two or three years.
Now, right now, the family has been camped outside Kabul Airport -- that's been the case since last week. But what is the latest now on their location especially with that warning of a possible terror attack in the airport vicinity?
TRAMMELL: Well, they're still in hiding. They are away from that vicinity where -- that immediate area where that threat is. But they are still in hiding in Kabul. And we are trying everything we can to get them into the gate, into the airport there.
VAUSE: We will get to that in a moment. But this warning from the U.S. embassy saying, you know, all American citizens and others should move away from the airport gates immediately, that seems like a bit of a Sophie's Choice. Stay and risk being killed, or leave and risk being left behind. How do they make that choice?
TRAMMELL: It's a very difficult choice. It's not just the choice about that threat. I mean even without the threat, being in front of the gates is incredibly difficult, a choice they've had to make time and time again because he's been beaten in front of the gates, his children have been trampled in front of the gates.
The Taliban have tried to snatch him up at least once in front of the gates. It's almost -- I hate to say this -- but it's almost like, hey, a terrorist attack at the gates. What's new?
That's not really, it's almost not even a concern for people like him that have had to make that trap -- that journey up there and already experience what he's had to experience at the gates.
VAUSE: When you talk to him, what does he tell you about this level of frustration? What does he say about his family and how, you know, how they are coping through this which, you know, so close but yet so far?
[01:39:58]
TRAMMELL: I mean, it is extreme frustration. And I don't know how to put it into words. You have to remember, this is a man who, even when we were in Afghanistan, you know, my first time and you know, we were getting actively shot at frequently, he always had joy in his voice. And he's always been a happy person.
But now, with the situation with (INAUDIBLE) trying to get in, trying to get anyone to look at his paperwork, you can just hear that joy just seep out of his voice. He just doesn't sound like the normal, happy person that he always sounded like.
VAUSE: When you were in country with him, did you talk to him about when he would make it out of Afghanistan and will be resettled in some capacity in the United States?
TRAMMELL: Yes. That was -- that was -- I mean we didn't talk about it a lot, but that was always -- that was always a desire of his. And you know, even now we still talk about like all the things that he wants to do, you know, go to Disneyland, go see all these, you know, American things.
So, it's definitely been a dream. And he's very big into American pop culture too. So it's definitely been a dream for him. And it's something that I know he definitely wants to see into fruition one day.
VAUSE: This is a lot more than just a dream to resettle. This is a question in many cases of life or death, right? Because if he stays behind, what happens?
TRAMMELL: I'm not going to get graphic into what's going to happen. I do know what will happen.
First off, he will be killed most likely in an absolutely barbaric fashion. His children, they will probably not be killed because they are girls, but they will most likely be sold off, and they will be in forced marriages with members of the Taliban. Most likely his wife will be killed in a very barbaric fashion.
This is -- the best way to explain it is this is -- this is worst than the Middle Ages. This is the full Dark Ages of what they are about to experience. And if he does not get out, those repercussions to him and his family are going to be extraordinarily horrible.
VAUSE: So obviously the stakes are incredibly high here and everyone knows what's happening. Have you had any kind of assistance from U.S. officials, from the U.S. government in trying to make this happen?
TRAMMELL: Well, I have had some assistance from Congressman Schiff's office and Congressman Gonzales' office from Texas. And I mean there's so much help going around, but in terms of like the people that I need help from, which are the State Department and presidents office, no.
I mean, we're just not getting anything. I mean I've emailed, you know, everything I can think of. And we're not even getting a response.
And you know, my interpreter, he's not getting a response either and he has a case number with them. So I am getting a lot of -- a lot of people who want to help. But I'm not getting it from the right people.
VAUSE: Five lives at stake right now -- mom, dad, three kids.
Jeff, we wish you very, very -- all the very best and we hope you are successful. Good luck.
TRAMMELL: Can I just say one last thing?
VAUSE: Sure.
TRAMMELL: What is happening and what is about to happen is a humanitarian crisis. It's going to be a massacre. And people often watch movies and documentaries and say how could this have happened. We are letting this happen. And we have all the power and the ability to stop it.
All we have to do is make our mind up and take all of this power that we have and do the right thing. That's all we need to do is do the right thing.
Tell the Taliban to stay away. We are staying until we get these people out. And that is the right thing to do.
VAUSE: Well said. Thanks for being with us, Jeff. We appreciate it.
TRAMMELL: Thank you very much.
VAUSE: The first of 2,000 Afghan refugees have arrived in Uganda, a stopover before ultimately heading to the U.S. Uganda agreed to be a temporary safe haven at the request of the United States. But it remains unclear how long these refugees will actually be there.
Details from CNN's Scott McLean.
[01:44:52]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The first group of Afghan refugees touched down in Uganda on Wednesday and were quickly bussed to a plush lakeside hotel where they will stay at least temporarily.
There were plenty of question marks and conflicting messaging though around when or even if they would arrive at all, illustrating just how chaotic and unpredictable the situation at the airport in Kabul has become.
The arrival comes a week after the government expected the first group of 500 to arrive, though on Wednesday, there were only 51 refugees.
It's also not clear how long they will stay. The foreign minister said this week they could be in country for as little as two weeks. Though the refugees minister said her expectation was they would be there for at least six months before being sent to the United States under special immigrant visas.
In exchange for Uganda's help in housing them, Uganda says that the U.S. has agreed to help get its citizens out of the country. At the moment, there are only two known Ugandans citizens left in Afghanistan. And they were supposed to be on Wednesday's charter flight out but missed because they couldn't manage to get to the airport.
Now Uganda has agreed to take up to 2,000 Afghans temporarily, though that is a drop in the bucket for a country that already has a million and a half refugees, mostly fleeing conflicts in the DRC and South Sudan. And according to the UNHCR, around 1,500 new refugees show up every single month.
Scott McLean, CNN -- Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: There have been small glimmers of joy and hope amid the sad, oppressing evacuation from Afghanistan. Like the little baby girl born in the cargo bay of a U.S. military plane just moments after landing in Germany.
We now know that her parents have named her Reach (ph), the call sign of the plane that carried her to safety. She is one of three babies born during the airlift.
When we come back, nature's most powerful pollinators. How protecting the bees on a tropical island has reaped rewards far beyond the hive.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Now "Call to Earth", CNN's initiative to promote a more sustainable future.
Here's a sweet story from Equatorial Guinea where honey collectors have switched from bee burning to beekeeping, and the effect on the local agriculture has the food economy a-buzz.
[01:49:45]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes you think that the only thing that they do is honey but bees -- these little creatures, they are much more than just honey.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the tropical island of Principe, located off the west coast of Africa, the food economy is heavily reliant on imports, especially from Portugal.
In its quest to become more self-sufficient, the islanders make a beeline to the planet's most efficient pollinators.
LAURA BENITEZ BOSCO, PROJECT MANAGER, FAUNA & FLORA INTERNATIONAL: We depend on the bees for everything that we eat, a lot of products for a lot of varieties and they do all of this for free and we don't even notice them. Without bees, our crops are much less productive.
Every one in two bites that you take everybody from your food depends on bees. For example, coffee can produce three times more if you have bees. So if you have coffee in your mornings, thank the bees.
In the past in Principe, , people used to burn the bees. So we're just guys climbing the trees without beekeeping suits or any protection, just burning the whole thing, and just take the wild honey.
JOSE PEREIRA, BEEKEEPER (through translator): I used to set fire to the swamp. I wouldn't spare a thought for the queen and her workers. I just burn them.
But now with the training I already have, I would never advise anyone to set fire to a hive ever again.
BOSCO: People that work with bees can protect nature, can protect the forest, and can be a sustainable alternative. We don't need to stop using honey, we can just find a more efficient way to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since burning was banned on Principe, over 400 hives per year have been saved. And in turn the island hopes to become self-sustaining as more local food products are being sold in the market.
BOSCO: It's urgent for Principe to try to find a way to produce its own food and don't rely on other countries and other places. You need to be sustainable and the only way to achieve this is through the bees.
It's incredible how people here realize very quickly that with burning the bees, they start to have less fruits and vegetables and less food on the island.
PEREIRA: Today, here on Principe island, we see that there are many places where bees are pollinating. So (INAUDIBLE) they are happy because of the bees.
BOSCO: It is a win-win, both for the agriculture and the beekeeper. Everybody is winning. I wish humans could be more like bees.
As the bees we need to work together with the land and with all the animals, with the plants and forest. We need to protect nature because we are part of the nature. We are nature.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We'll continue showcasing inspirational environmental stories like this one. All part of the initiative here at CNN.
Let us know what you are doing to answer the call with hashtag CalltoEarth.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. We will be right back.
[01:53:04] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Now that Pfizer's COVID vaccine has been fully approved in the United States, it has a brand-new market research regulator-rubber stamped brand new name.
There's just one problem, CNN's Jeanne Moos explains what it is.
[01:54:55]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comirnaty.
MOOS: Can you say it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comirnaty.
MOOS: Can you spell it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comirnaty is the new name --
MOOS: It was so much easier to just say Pfizer's COVID vaccine. But now that the FDA has given it full approval and included how to pronounce it, prepare to hear the name.
SETH MYERS, COMEDIAN: What's up with Comirnaty?
MOOS: Twitter pretty much trashed it. "They shouldn't even be allowed to name their pets."
"Sounds like a soviet secret police branch."
JIMMY FALLON, TV HOST: Let's see how that's going for everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cominarty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Comirnaty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Comirnaty.
FALLON: One anchor was like formerly known as the Pfizer vaccine.
MOOS: Well, actually, Pfizer says the name is a mash-up of the terms "COVID-19", "mRNA", "community", and "immunity".
Seth Myers joked the creators must have been smoking something.
MYERS: So it actually like makes sense, dude.
MOOS: The name was dreamed up by the Brand Institute, a major player in naming pharmaceuticals. It isn't easy.
The FDA has 42 pages of guidelines for naming drugs. Many of them aimed at preventing mix up with other drugs.
The Brand Institute told CNN it takes time for the names to be adopted by the general public. Though some are easier than others.
Viva Comirnaty. Some imagined Don Draper of Mad Men" making the pitch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the best I could do.
MOOS: The name for the Moderna vaccine, also created by the Brand Institute, is Spike Vax.
MIKE CARR, EXPERTS IN BRAND NAMING: Well, that's a lot better.
MOOS: Experts in naming like Mike Carr say the most important thing is memorability.
CARR: If the name will stick inside of your target's head.
MOOS: And Carr says Comirnaty fails.
CARR: I just don't think it would even get a C --
MOOS: He proved his own point by not quite managing to remember it.
CARR: Cominarty -- did I get that right?
MOOS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't think there's much else to do here but call it a day.
MOOS: Call it a day, but don't call it --
CARR: Comirnaty.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos --
CARR: Comiraty.
MOOS: CNN.
CARR: Maybe?
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: I'll call it a day as well.
I'm John Vause. Stay with us. Rosemary Church takes over after the break.
Thanks for watching.
[01:57:31]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
