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America's Longest War Ends as Last U.S. Troops Leave Afghanistan; One-Million-Plus Without Power for Possibly Weeks after Hurricane. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired August 31, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: A very good Tuesday morning. I'm Jim Sciutto.

The withdrawal from Afghanistan is complete and a new era for this country has begun. This morning, millions of Americans born after 9/11 are waking up for the first time ever to a nation not at war there. After nearly two decades, the U.S. military no longer on the ground in Afghanistan.

This image capture the very moment the last U.S. service member left Afghan soil. That is Major General Chris Donahue. He is commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, as he boarded a C-17. The 82 Airborne enabled many of those evacuation flights. That step marking a chaotic end to a war that cost trillions of dollars through the years, thousands of American lives, many thousands more injured.

With the United States gone, the Taliban is celebrating its takeover. New video shows Taliban fighters entering Kabul airport, seizing, surveying large amounts of U.S. military equipment. Though the U.S. did destroy much of the equipment left behind.

As for what happens next, President Biden will discuss that when he addresses the nation on Afghanistan in a future there later today.

Our team is across the region following the latest developments. Let's begin with CNN International Security Editor Nick Paton Walsh. He is in Doha, Qatar, where so many evacuation flights went.

So, the withdrawal is official. What does that mean there? You've been at a base there that was really built for these operations both in Iraq and Afghanistan and around the region. What does it look like now?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: It is important to remember, too, Jim, that for so many -- in fact, the most common age in Afghanistan is 18. For so many Afghans, this is the first time they've woken up not knowing an American presence on Afghan soil. So, it is a remarkable moment, one where, essentially, the ability for the Taliban to govern, to provide health care, to run the economy, to do all the things that they frankly never had to worry about over being a 20-year insurgency, suddenly become the most urgent tasks. We saw today a little of how surreal it can be being amongst sort of the silent engines of this huge military machine that's churned for 20 years. Al Udeid Air Base here, I was -- I met some of the last planes that came out of Kabul last night, the very last, in fact. And it is extraordinary to see this runway just lined endlessly with aircraft that were involved in the last two weeks in evacuating 122,000 evacuees and kept this war machine running for 20 years.

It is a new moment, not one, I think, of great excitement, one of extraordinary anxiety for Afghans who simply don't know what their life will ahead for them, for many SIV applicants who tried desperately to get out but failed. And also too, and here is one issue to deal with here. There are still, according to the State Department, maybe 100 to 200 American citizens who probably want to get out but weren't able to. Here is one speaking to Chris Cuomo last night.

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SARA, AMERICAN CITIZEN STILL IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (voice over): Now, the question is my life. Am I safe? These people are safe. I don't even think they're safe because they were in my house. Because now, they are more of a target than ever before because they're living in my house and I'm an American. I'm a former interpreter. I worked for 14 years. And what is next for us? We just smell the death. I'm afraid to let them go out or myself to go out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Now, being no doubt, this is the moment of truth. Any hopes that the U.S. or the west might have had that the Taliban are moderate have to be realized now. You do have to see them getting on with governing. Not getting involved in what many fear could be the task of revenge against those who helped the American presence and America too has to stay focused on this huge downstream flow of tens of thousands of refugees at the air base. We were out. They couldn't tell us how many of the 39,000 were actually SIV applicants. A lot of questions to be answered. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Nick Paton Walsh in Qatar, thanks so much.

New this morning, Pakistani officials say they killed 11 alleged members of ISIS and arrested a senior leader of that group after a foiled terror plot. The deaths came after a firefight with special operations teams. Pakistan is also facing a potential refugee crisis as Afghans desperate to escape the Taliban flock to the border.

CNN's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward is there.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're here at the border crossing that separates Pakistan from Afghanistan.

[10:05:03]

And you can see behind me a lot of Taliban fighters, they're standing here under the white Taliban flag. That is the official flag at this border crossing. Now, what you're not seeing a lot of, if you come over here with me, are people getting into Pakistan. This is the line of Afghans who are waiting to get into Pakistan. But only people who have Pakistani documents or residency are being allowed in at this stage. And that has been a rule that has been in place for a few months now partly because of COVID regulations, partly because Pakistan says it can't cope with the flow of refugees.

Now, if you look over here, just behind me, you can see this grouping here of people who are very sick. I want to draw your attention to a particularly serious looking woman with a young boy. He has some kind of bandages with blood on them on his lap. And these people are basically appealing to Pakistan for immediate medical attention. Some people have been allowed through to go to hospitals.

But, basically, what Pakistan is saying now is we have more than 1 million Afghan refugees and we simply can't cope with any more.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, at the Torkham Border Crossing.

SCIUTTO: Where do all those people go?

Well, hours from now, President Biden will speak to the nation about the end of the America's longest war and his decision not to extend the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, even with some Americans still on the ground there. He claims the decision to stick to today's withdrawal deadline at least was unanimous among his military commanders. There's some wiggle room there and we're going to delve into it.

CNN's John Harwood joins me now from the White House. I mean, what is misleading about that is that we know some of his senior military officials opposed the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Perhaps at the final moments sticking to the deadline, a different decision, but it is not unanimous to withdraw all forces, particularly unconditionally.

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, it definitely wasn't. And, remember, Joe Biden has been arguing with generals about Afghanistan for more than a decade. He argued against the surge that President Obama ordered when he was vice president. He lost that argument. But now that he's the president, in position to dictate the outcome, he was not -- he thought that President Obama had been pushed around by the generals. He decided he was not going to do that. He's willing to take the heat for that decision. And he's been taking a ton of heat for it.

What I think that statement referred to was the decision not to extend the deadline for another week or two because of the presence of those 100 to 200 Americans. Instead, he's going to try to get them out by other means.

But here is the president's statement yesterday. He said, it was the unanimous recommendation of Joint Chiefs and all of our commanders on the ground to end our airlift mission as planned. Their view was that ending our military mission was the best way to protect the lives of troops, secure the prospects of civilian departures and those who want to leave Afghanistan in the weeks and months ahead.

Obviously, that was influenced by the suicide bombing that occurred last week. And Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser, echoed that statement this morning.

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JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: It is just that it has shifted from a military mission to a diplomatic mission. And we have considerable leverage over the Taliban to ensure that any remaining American citizen will be able to get out.

He got a unanimous recommendation from his secretary of state, his secretary of defense, all of his civilian advisers, all of his commanders on the ground and all of the Joints Chiefs of Staff that the best way to protect our forces and the best way to help those Americans was to transition this mission.

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HARWOOD: And, of course, Jim, what we're going to hear from the president this afternoon is an attempt to put all of the agony of the last couple of week news into some sort of perspective, explain his decision and acknowledge the big work ahead both diplomatically to try to influence the Taliban and its governance of the country and also to get out those Americans and Afghan allies who remain, who were not able to get out by yesterday.

SCIUTTO: Many of them can't right now. John Harwood at the White House, thank you.

With an estimated -- well, it's fewer than 200 Americans remaining in Afghanistan now, the Biden administration is vowing to keep working until every last person who wants to be out, every last American, is evacuated despite no U.S. military left in the country.

Here is the Pentagon press secretary, John Kirby, on CNN this morning.

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JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGONN PRESS SECRETARY: I don't foresee a military role at this time. But, of course, that is going to be a decision by the commander-in-chief. What I could tell you is we're going to remain committed to getting them home as fast and as efficiently as possible. Though the military mission has ended, the United States commitment to them has not.

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SCIUTTO: Does that work? Joining me now, General Wesley Clark, he's former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, and Robin Wright, she's a distinguished fellow for the Woodrow Wilson Center, columnist for The New Yorker, spent a lot of time in that part of the world, knows it very well. General Clark, let me begin with you because I want a reality check what is, in effect, the administration plan going forward and that is depending on cooperation from the Taliban, depending on perceived leverage over the Taliban in the form of humanitarian aid, financial, aid to continue to get not just Americans remaining in that country out but also Afghans, many thousands of Afghans who worked for the U.S. and, therefore, face a threat. Is that practical? Does that work?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, we'll have to see, Jim. It might work. It might work to some extent. It might not work at all. We know there is a hit list out there. We have got people frightened to death in Kabul, hiding in their attics and so forth and really disappointed because of the last flights that were supposed to make it out with these people did not make it out because of Taliban interference. So we know we have a problem there.

But I would say this, that we'd also sort of run through our military options. There was nothing more we could do with that vision in Kabul. It was too close to the people. ISIS was around us. The risks were too high for the people trying to get to the airport as well as for our troops and restarting the war, it would have sacrificed all of the diplomatic leverage. And so this is the logical recourse for the administration and I hope it will work.

SCIUTTO: Robin Wright, you wrote in The New Yorker, it is not just an epic defeat for the United States, the fall of Kabul may serve as a bookend for the era of U.S. global power. As a practical matter, where is U.S. credibility today in the Middle East among both allies there, but also adversaries?

ROBIN WRIGHT, COLUMNIST, THE NEW YORKER: I think the United States is facing a real test of its credibility. It is a true point in the early part of the 21st century. The United States looked coming out of World War II as if it could beat anybody. The sophisticated Nazi war machine, the Japanese Empire, and yet today we have been forced out by a rag tag militia that had no air power, no tanks, a very small force.

And this is -- we have so much to prove going forward, whether it is dealing with the tragedy of the Afghans and Americans left behind or really ensuring that Islamic extremism does not spread. Al Qaeda is back. It was a force multiplier with the Taliban sweeping across the country. You now have a threat from ISIS Khorasan, that this is again an arena that will become the hotbed of Jihadism.

We all fell for good with the end of the ISIS caliphate a few years ago and now we have an alternative that may attract yet again tens of thousands of Jihadist from around the world.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And the U.N. has already tacked some of that, so that many thousands have already made their way to Afghanistan.

General Clark, how about outside of the region? Because we know Russia and China watch U.S. military action like this very closely and Russia and China both have territorial expansion ambitions, Russia in Eastern Europe, China in a place like Taiwan. Do they judge the U.S. now as a less credible adversary, as less likely to defend its allies? CLARK: Well, certainly, they would like to portray the U.S. that way, and they attempted to do that when this Taliban takeover first occurred. But I think in retrospect, they can't make that call. President Biden has been very firm. His statements have been very powerful and he's been very effective in terms of setting a deadline and following through on that deadline. And he's been backed up by very credible, capable military force. We got in quickly. We established what needed to be done. We brought a lot of people out and strike at a couple of ISIS strongholds and the government looks strong.

Now, the real test for American credibility is mostly, Jim, at home. They're looking at the American domestic scene. They're asking how much domestic strength does President Biden have. Could he really rally the United States to face a challenge in someplace like Ukraine or in the South China Sea, in Taiwan or would it just collapse in the sort of raucous criticism that we saw with the situation a few weeks ago in Afghanistan? This is the critical test for American credibility. Pull the country together, keep the economy going, keep the dollar strong, create jobs and we're back on top.

SCIUTTO: Robin Wright, this is the first of other critical decisions that Biden has to make in the region. He'll have a decision later this year on what to do with the U.S. military presence in Iraq.

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There is a continuing, though small military presence in Syria fighting remnants of ISIS there, following, of course, the failed withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. Do you see the Afghanistan withdrawal decision as the first of several from this administration?

WRIGHT: Obviously. As the United States pivots to Asia, particularly China, I think you'll see a much diminished footprint in the Middle East. And the danger is that the region today looks far more unstable with more either failing or failed states than when the U.S. went in in 2001 in Afghanistan and 2003 in Iraq. This is a region that is in profound trouble.

And we are aligning ourselves in many ways increasingly with the kind of most conservative shakedowns (ph) in order to have some kind of military position still in the region. We're relying on countries like Saudi Arabia to provide their air bases, Qatar to head for the Central Command, Bahrain for our naval fleet, that these -- this is a part of the world where Joe Biden likes to talk about standing for human rights and these are some of the countries that have the worst human rights practices.

So this plays out. This will ripple like so many, not just the Middle East but I think across the world and the fundamentals of Joe Biden's foreign policy.

SCIUTTO: And U.S. defense and human rights more broadly, as you say. Robin Wright, General Wesley Clark, thanks so to both of you.

WRIGHT: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Still to come this hour, a 20-year-old Afghan YouTuber said she wished the Taliban takeover was just a bad dream and she was killed in the terror attack near the Kabul airport. Her heartbreaking story just ahead.

Plus, more than a million homes and businesses are without power in Louisiana. They could stay that way for weeks. We're going to be there live.

And surging COVID infections are pushing hospitals in many states to the breaking point, at least five states almost completely out of ICU beds. We're going to take you to one of those states just ahead.

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SCIUTTO: Well, this morning, more than a million people across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are waking up to another day with no power. And for many of them, it might stay that way for days, even weeks, all this, the result of Ida, which slammed into Louisiana as a category 4 hurricane. Now, crews are assessing the damage in some of the hardest hit areas including in New Orleans, where we're hearing, sadly, reports of looting.

CNN's Nadia Romero and Ryan Young are following this.

Nadia, I want to begin with you. So, power could be out for weeks there. How do police manage to keep the city safe?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And this is so unfortunate, Jim. This is something that tends to happen after you have a natural disaster. There is always just a little element in the community who decides to come out and take advantage of the situation.

So we didn't see this the night of the storm or the day after, but last night into the overnight hours, there were reports of break-ins and potentially people going in and trying to steal those items because businesses are left vulnerable, right? They don't have power. It is pitch black throughout the city. And so we've seen police cars stationed on different corners just monitoring, just making sure that people aren't walking around, they're not where they are not supposed to be going in and out of businesses, breaking in and out. So that is something that we saw just in the overnight hours to prevent that.

And the power is out here in New Orleans and for so many other parts of the gulf coast, more than a million people without power. And it could be that way for weeks, as you mentioned, because of this. You can see this large tree that came down during the storm right on top of all of these power lines and on top of these houses. And the people would live here are used to having storms, right? They're used to be in the gulf coast. But they weren't expecting all of the wind that Hurricane Ida brought to them. And so now people are trying to deal with not having power and having to repair themselves, repair their home and to find a way to feed themselves when they don't have power and the food in their fridge is going bad.

So I want to introduce you to two neighbors. This is Robin and Jennifer. They decided to hunker down during that storm and then, boom, something happened.

Jennifer, talk to me, you live in the white house behind us where the tree came down. What happened during the storm?

JENNIFER RINEY, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Well, I was on the phone with a friend who was helping to fix their window and I heard this just magnanimous crash. And I was like, I will call you back in five minutes and came out to the window here and saw the whole one side of the tree. I texted my neighbor, told them the tree came down. So, there was one limb still up. And then I said -- 30 seconds later, I texted them back and said, no, sorry, it just went down on to your patio.

So, it was pretty, yes, traumatic but like it happened all, first the big part fell, then the second part fell and then it was done.

ROMERO: And I see your windows open and you have a ladder that's right in front. So is this your new entryway?

RINEY: That is how I have been getting out for the first couple of days because there is no way to get out through here, especially with the lines down. I don't want to take any chances. I have been able to start going through the back but the oak tree in the back has fallen and so I'm a little nervous about keeping to go through there because if that comes down while I'm trying to get over the air-conditioner, because it is hanging, yes.

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ROMERO: So hazards. You've been helping, Jennifer, you're a great neighbor. You've been helping her get in and out of her house and feeding her but you don't have power either. How are you able to --

ROBIN GASPARD, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: We have a generator.

ROMERO: You have a generator going? Is that what I'm hearing in the background?

GASPARD: Occasionally, we'll turn it on just to keep the refrigerator going, charge phones, get a little fan going.

ROMERO: A little bit of circulation in the house. How do you think that you and your neighbors are going to fare if it takes weeks, especially knowing that the gas lines are so long for people who are trying to fill up their generators, if they do have them?

GASPARD: It is scary, because we have also three homes down the bayou that are damaged. So, my husband is at Lou's (ph) trying to purchase things so we can go repair. We have a lot of roof damage down there.

ROMERO: So, a lot to still work on over the next couple of weeks, still repairing. Robin an Jennifer, thank you for talking with us.

Jim, that is the story that you're going to hear across New Orleans and across Louisiana, as people are still trying to pick up the pieces and help themselves out over the next couple of weeks. They still may not have power. Jim?

SCIUTTO: It takes a long time for these community to come back. We've got to remember that big effect.

And Ryan Young knows this, numbers of schools, they've had to cancel class, Tulane University, and everybody is excited to come back to the school year, hopefully post-pandemic to some degree or at least with more opening. What are you seeing?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. As you could imagine, Jim, you think about these kids who had sort of their high school senior years canceled, they finally get to come back to school. We talked to a lot of freshmen who were excited about returning and then they have to ride out a storm. And a lot of them, this is their first hurricane.

The line so far has stretched way beyond this. We're talking about 1,200 students who had to be evacuated from this situation. The buses are on this side. They've all been lined up and this operation is moving pretty smoothly right now as they move these buses down and get these students out. They're going to take them to Houston.

We've heard stories about the fact that some of these kids had to ride out the storm where the windows breaking out and having to deal with this for the first time. And we met these students a little earlier. And just the idea, what's been like for the last 24 hours to deal with this storm and what has been going on here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is been very scary. But I believe Tulane did a great job at communicating through emails and giving us food before and after. And, yes, it is been a really scary experience but I'm glad to go home.

YOUNG: And what year are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a freshman.

YOUNG: What is this like to deal with this in terms of your first year on campus and everything that's going on?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was terrifying because no one really knew the severity of it. And so it was kind of downplayed a lot and then it just all of a sudden was coming towards us and no one really knew what to do, I feel like.

YOUNG: And power is out still, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Power came back at about 3:00 A.M. last night. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I woke up and I just heard the A.C. blowing. I was like, oh, this is new. This is great, yes.

YOUNG: And you guys are headed to Houston, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

YOUNG: Okay. So, thank you so much.

So, you hear that, Jim. Look, they're headed to Houston. Power has been out for much of this area. What they've done with this whole operation here, as you see all of the kids lined up with their stuff, they came with their suitcases, and what they're going to do is move them to Houston. Some are going to fly home, some are going to stay in Houston. They're checking them in.

The whole idea is some of these buildings were damaged but they want to move them out. Also around this campus area, we've seen trees and power lines down. The whole idea with this sweltering heat, and, I mean, it is hot already, Jim, you don't want the kids sitting in the heat. I feel sorry for so many of the people who have to be stuck and have to deal with this for weeks because we have no idea when the power is coming back on.

SCIUTTO: God, I hope they get back to school soon. Ryan Young there, Nadia Romero, thanks so much to both of you.

Coming up next, the number of COVID infections in children is now five times higher than it was just a month ago. I'm going to speak with a doctor about the dilemma that poses both for parents and for schools.

And as new figures come on a busy news day, here is what to watch for.

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