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; Storm Carves Path Of Destruction Across Louisiana; Rescue Operations Underway In Flooded Communities; Afghan Interpreter Recounts Family's Harrowing Escape; E.U. Bumps U.S. from Safe Travel List Due to COVID Concerns; Thousands of Evacuees Housed at U.S. Air Base in Germany. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired August 31, 2021 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm John Vause. Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, U.S. troops have now left Afghanistan, so too expectations of a better future, hopes of a more open and tolerant society and two decades of progress on women's rights.
More than a million homes and businesses in Louisiana could be without electricity for weeks after Ida caused catastrophic damage to the state's power grid.
And the E.U. sends a message to unvaccinated Americans. Stay away. You're not welcome here.
The Taliban once again ruling Afghanistan unchecked for the two decades long security presence of U.S. and NATO forces now over. A cause for celebration for Taliban fighters as the last U.S. military transport took off from Kabul just before midnight, local time.
But there are grave concerns for a few hundred Americans who have not left and presumably tens of thousands of Afghan allies and their families who were left behind.
For the Taliban, the hasty and chaotic withdrawal by U.S. troops has handed them a motherlode of high tech and sophisticated weapons, including these helicopters left behind at Kabul's airport.
U.S. Central Command says some of the military equipment was disabled. President Joe Biden will address the nation in the coming hours what will most likely be an attempt to explain why he was so determined to stick to Tuesday's deadline, when so many urged him to extend.
And while this day had all the imagery and symbolism of an ending, the U.S. Secretary of State insisted America's work in Afghanistan will continue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: A new chapter of America's engagement with Afghanistan has begun. It's one in which we will lead with our diplomacy. The military mission is over. A new diplomatic mission has begun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: For the Taliban, this day was born of a military offensive which saw them sweep across the country in less than two weeks and insurgency that was both stunning in speed and success.
But now comes the hard part, governing a country in desperate need of now frozen foreign aid, a humanitarian crisis made worse by severe drought and where the coronavirus is spreading unchecked.
Sam Kiley has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A C-17 taking the last American boots off Afghan ground. The end of America's longest war celebrated in Kabul with live ammunition blasted into the sky.
GEN. KENNETH MCKENZIE, U.S. CENTCOM COMMANDER: I'm here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third country nationals and vulnerable Afghans.
KILEY: 2,462 U.S. service members and civilians have been killed over the last 20 years. And Brown University's cost of war project estimates that tens of thousands of Afghan civilians have died since the U.S. led coalition invaded the country.
The financial cost of the U.S. estimated at $2.5 trillion, also according to Brown.
The Taliban now in control of the last U.S. footprint, Kabul International Airport. The death toll was still climbing as the clock ticked down towards the end of the war.
10 members of the same family were killed in an earlier U.S. drone strike against an alleged ISIS terror team it had been posing an imminent threat to the airport. Six of them were children.
The Pentagon saying that there were significant secondary explosions, indicating a substantial amount of explosives in a vehicle hit by the drone.
With just hours left ahead of the withdrawal deadline, evacuations totaled over 123,000 down to 1,200 in the final 24 hours before the U.S. left.
[00:05:00]
KILEY: The Taliban for 20 years, just a militant force, must now figure out how to govern.
In Central Kabul, the economy has ground to a halt and Afghans is struggling to withdraw money from banks, many of them are still trying to leave.
The Taliban pledged this week that even after the coalition is gone, anyone with a passport will be able to go. And the U.N. says that more than half a million Afghans have been displaced this year alone and warns of the mass movement of refugees out of the country by land.
And that desire to leave is unlikely to wane, even with promises of moderation from Taliban leaders.
For now, the Taliban focus will inevitably shift to fighting terrorists from the more radical ISIS-K.
For America, this war is over. For Afghans, another may have already begun.
Sam Kiley, CNN, Doha.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Live now to CNN's Anna Coren who's covered Afghanistan for years. She was recently in Kabul, and she joins me now.
So, Anna, it seems we're learning more about how the Taliban intends to govern, I guess, with reports that Afghan focusing, he was dragged from his home and shot in the head and killed, presumably part of a band on music. What else do we know?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, there are reports that the Taliban has banned music. We are yet to actually hear this from the Taliban leadership but certainly, when they were last in power, they did ban music. They also banned women for being part of the workforce, from girls going to school. So, this is something that we are going to have to see how the Taliban is going to govern.
You know, John, they have 38 million people they now need to look after. And when they came in to Kabul, you know, on the 15th of August, they said, we are here to govern for all Afghans. Well, now is their opportunity to step up and do just that. They have enormous challenges ahead.
You know, the former government of Afghanistan was virtually propped up by foreign aid. So, this is something that the Taliban is going to rely on. Of course, it has the drug trade, the opium trade, the methamphetamine trade. But that is not going to sustain a nation of a 38 million people.
So, foreign aid is going to be important. And this is where the United States perhaps has some sort of leverage with the Taliban.
And we're also hearing reports, John, officials within the Taliban leadership, you have the more moderate political wing of the Taliban and then you have the more extreme hardline element, the Haqqani Network now in control, basically, the security within Kabul and of Afghanistan.
So, that is why we are hearing reports that a government is actually yet to form, that they are having issues within the leadership.
But you know, for tens of thousands of Afghans now stranded there who are hoping to get out of the country, as you know, we just heard in Sam Kylie's report, there is going to be a rush to the borders, to Iran to Pakistan and we are already seeing that of people boarding buses, hoping to illegally cross into these countries.
We know obviously that the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution about this safe passage zone. Obviously, Russia and China abstains. No surprise there. But as far as the council is concerned, they would like this to form.
It is now up to the Taliban, whether they want to play ball, whether they want to have this sort of relationship, international relationship, diplomatic relationship now with the United States, with the -- with the international community.
We know that the U.S. State Department is no longer going to have an embassy in the United States that is being relocated to Doha, Qatar.
So, we are moving into a very interesting phase as to how obviously the Taliban is going to govern and how they're going to interact with the international community, John.
VAUSE: Anna, thank you. Anna Coren live for us there in Hong Kong, we appreciate it.
Lieutenant General Mark Hertling is a CNN Military Analyst who served for four decades. Rising to the rank of Commanding General U.S. Army Europe and the Soviet army. Good to have you back. Good to see you.
LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to be with you, John, tough day.
VAUSE: Yes, it has been a tough day, I guess for a lot of people looking at those images. So, I was wondering what your reaction has been? You know, the last U.S. soldier out Commanding General -- Major General Chris Donahue from the 82nd Airborne, seeing the Taliban roaming through, you know, the airports (INAUDIBLE). What were your thoughts?
HERTLING: Yes, I just a little while ago saw the picture of General Donahue walking up the ramp of the C-17 and that was striking.
First of all, from a leadership perspective, the last guy out was the commander of the NEO operations. And he did in my view, a magnificent job under very tough and complex and non-permissive conditions, so kudos to General Donahue and all the 82nd Airborne troopers, the Marines, the Air Mobility Command, and the NATO forces that were all there at the airfield.
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HERTLING: But at the same time, you see the pictures of the Taliban celebrating the departure, walking through the airfield with CH-47s, even though as General McKenzie mentioned in his press conference today, those have all been disabled, they'll never fly again but it's still tough to see that.
And also, I was privy to a list of all the things that had been provided to the Afghan National Army over the last couple of years. And it's a significant amount of stuff.
And as we're seeing the Taliban walking around Kabul, they're all sporting the enforce and some of the night vision goggles that were provided to the Afghan army. And now, all of those things, over 300,000 rifles, a couple hun -- a couple 100,000 machine guns, some helicopters that weren't destroyed, even though they'll probably never be able to fly them, radios, night vision goggles, all -- it's tough.
It's tough to see that when you're giving those -- that kind of equipment to a partner on the battlefield, and then, unfortunately, seeing it fall into the hands of what was once our enemy.
VAUSE: Yes, that's the interesting part. I guess is, you know, the military presence is over. But the evacuations will continue, at least that's their plan, according to the Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby listen to this, here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, PRESS SECRETARY, PENTAGON: For Americans and other individuals that want to be able to leave Afghanistan after our withdrawal is complete, that the State Department is going to continue to work across many different levers to facilitate that transportation.
And as I say -- as I said earlier, right now, we do not anticipate a military role in that effort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, they'll have the civilian flights leaving Kabul airport at some point. In other words, what a steady stream of targets of opportunity for terror group like ISIS?
HERTLING: Well, it certainly could be. And, you know, you're talking about the security of an airfield, or multiple airfields where civilian flights are going on, and that doesn't even address the capability of reestablishing an air transportation route commercial aircraft.
I know, when I was in Iraq, it was one of the things we were attempting to start up with the Iraqi government, they now have very good airline service throughout Iraq and internationally, but it took a while.
It took a while to get people in the towers to do the air traffic control, all those things. And it's got to be certified by an international body.
So, you're probably not going to see international carriers from other countries coming in to any of the airfields in Iraq any time soon. And I won't define soon, whether it's weeks, months or years. But you're also probably not going to see a whole lot of Taliban supported airline travel.
So, it certainly is going to be a challenging problem set for our State Department and others to continue the airlift of people.
VAUSE: Yes, but we also had a situation at Kabul airport, it was a -- it was the focus of a rocket attack Monday, five rockets were intercepted by C-RAM, which is automated defense system, which basically shoots off a whole of basically rapid fire to intercept.
So, that now leaves a situation that that C-RAM isn't going to be working in left in place, I assume. So now, security for not just the airport, but for Kabul, for the entire country is now up to the Taliban.
You know, this is a group that, you know, was being dropped -- was being hit with Daisy Cutter bombs 20 years ago to try and flush out Osama bin Laden. They're now, what, partners in security? Are they able to secure the country? Do they even want to?
HERTLING: Well, you know, it was interesting, John, I heard our colleague Clarissa Ward talking about exactly that in an earlier CNN program tonight. And it just reminded me of that great line from the musical Hamilton where Washington turns to Hamilton and says, combat is easy, young man, governing is harder.
So, what you have now is the Taliban evolving into a governance role. And the question is, are they prepared for that? Are they going to have the funding for it? Is the economy going to stage? Are they going to have the support of the people? How much terror groups are -- in many ways, are the terror groups going to affect their capability of wanting and having to govern? So, all of those are factors.
VAUSE: Yes, it's not a great place to have a power vacuum right now, given the different groups of today, and the turbulence, so we'll see what happens.
As always, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. Thank you so much, sir.
HERTLING: My pleasure, John, thank you.
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, a former Afghan interpreter who worked with the U.S. recounts his family's harrowing escape from Afghanistan.
Also ahead, Katrina was bad, Ida is looking worse in terms of catastrophic flooding and damage. Details when we come back.
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VAUSE: Hurricane Ida is now a tropical depression moving north from the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the monster storm has left behind untold devastation. More than a million homes and businesses in Louisiana are facing another night without power. Over tens of thousands more in Mississippi. And officials in St. Charles Parish Louisiana say it will likely be a month before electricity is restored.
So far, Ida's death toll stands at two, but Louisiana's governor says that number is certain to rise. The National Guard is continuing with search and rescue efforts. And President Joe Biden says federal aid is on the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to stand with you and the people of the Gulf as long as it takes for you to recover.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: New Orleans mayor is grateful Ida wasn't another Katrina but will that epic storm 16 years ago left New Orleans underwater? This time, now it was those outer lying areas which have been left devastated by Ida.
CNN's Brian Todd reports.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Louisiana reeling tonight from Hurricane Ida's brutal impact. Officials are warning the danger is not over.
JEFF LANDRY, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF LOUISIANA: Stay where you are. Don't try to come home today. Everyone who comes back only puts more pressure on the government services.
TODD: Buildings and homes destroyed. Roadways blocked. Trees and power lines down. They continue to cause dangerous conditions throughout the state.
MIKE COOPER, PRESIDENT, ST. TAMMANY PARISH: We've just been through a horrendous night with winds, rain, gusts, water coming up, rivers rising, power outages and it's incredible.
TODD: The Category 4 storm brought pounding winds and devastating flooding that topped rubes in some places.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say it was 185 mile an hour winds, and I believe it.
TODD: The storm so powerful, it temporarily reversed the flow of the Mississippi River. Desperate search and rescue is underway today.
GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D-LA): But I don't want to mislead anyone. Robust search and rescue is happening right now. And I fully expected that death count will go up considerably throughout the day.
TODD: Local officials deployed boats throughout the day to conduct water rescues for people caught in the quickly rising water. The city of Slidell hit hard by flooding that officials expect to continue.
GREG CROMER, MAYOR OF SLIDELL, LOUISIANA: In about a three-hour period, we had probably five-to-six-foot rise in the bayou.
TODD: Ida's path of destruction widespread. U.S. Coast Guard aerials show the storm severe impact in Grand Isle, Louisiana.
EDWARDS: This is going to be very long ordeal in terms of getting everything cleaned up. And certainly, getting everything repaired.
TODD: More than one million people across Louisiana are now without power after the storm, including the entire city of New Orleans.
DEANNE CRISWELL, ADMINISTRATOR, FEMA: We're already seeing the power outages across the area. And the threat isn't over.
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TODD: Overnight, the city experienced an outage in its 911 emergency call system as the storm crossed the state. One major electrical transmission tower in Jefferson Parish that supplies power to New Orleans collapsed into the Mississippi River.
Entergy Louisiana reported that all eight major transmission lines providing power to the New Orleans area are down. City officials are bracing themselves for what could be weeks without power.
JOE GIARRUSSO III, NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCILOR: I think we have to be realistic at the same time and prepare people for a worst-case scenario just like Hurricane Laura in Lake Charles, where it took weeks.
TODD: Hospitals already hard hit by COVID-19 in Louisiana, now battered by Ida. One clinic lost part of its roof and generator power in the storm. Another health care system had to evacuate 165 patients from facilities damaged in the storm.
Another sign of the desperate straits that people around here are in for power for gasoline and other services, check out this line here in Chalmette, Louisiana, aligned here to get gas at a shell station that stretches way, way down the block down here. People have been waiting in line, 2-1/2, three hours to get gas.
We talked to the owner a short time ago, he may run out of gas in the coming hours but people here desperate for gasoline and power and no end to the crisis in sight.
Brian Todd, CNN, Chalmette, Louisiana.
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VAUSE: On the line now is Royce Duplessis, a Louisiana State Representative for the 93rd district. That includes downtown New Orleans and the famous French Quarter.
Representative Duplessis, thank you for your time. I imagine you're very busy right now. In fact, you've left New Orleans, you're in Baton Rouge, I think. How many people are still left behind in the City of New Orleans? How many have left? ROYCE DUPLESSIS, LOUISIANA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Hi, John, we don't have a firm count on the number of people in New Orleans that has been attempted over these past several days. But it's my guess based upon conversations I've had with the mayor's office and others that we are estimating somewhere around roughly 200,000 people give or take. But again, that's just an estimate, John.
And I just -- I just left New Orleans. I was there all throughout the storm. I just left New Orleans. I came up to Baton Rouge about an hour away to the state capitol. But I'll be right back there first thing in the morning.
VAUSE: Absolutely. We know that you've been there because you were posting images on your Twitter account from just about a few hours of what the situation was like in the French Quarter.
And what we saw there was water covering the streets. It wasn't as bad obviously as Katrina, but it was plenty bad enough.
DUPLESSIS: Yes, well, one of the great things, John is that the -- we didn't have a levee failure like we saw during Hurricane Katrina, this storm was actually stronger, and lasted longer than Hurricane Katrina.
The difference this time was that we had a levee system that actually worked. A federal levee system that was invested in after Katrina, so that's why we didn't see the widespread flooding. And we were spared a lot of the devastation that we did not think.
Now the issue right now is going to be power, there is some wind damage, there are downed trees, downed power lines as you would see with any Category 4 hurricane, but right now, the issue is going to be trying to restore the power.
VAUSE: We have reports in some parts, officials are saying it could take up to a month for electricity to be restored. What is the timeline for New Orleans?
DUPLESSIS: So, the utility leaders are now assessing the damage today, with the first day they were really able to get out there with the sunrise. We have eight transmission lines that all feed into the New Orleans area, all eight of them are down.
So, we know that it's going to take some time, I've gotten estimates of seven to 10 days for some areas, up to three weeks for the harder hit areas. So, we're looking at anywhere from a week up to a month for some areas, give or take. But right now, we have not gotten any definite timeframes.
But that is the big issue of concern and a big issue of grief for most residents, because they don't know whether or not they should stay, or whether they should leave and those who want to leave, many don't have the resources to leave. So, it's a really scary situation for many people who are there.
VAUSE: And for people who are remaining in their homes for whatever reason it is, if they don't have electricity, we're coming into a very, very hot period of time. It's already hot there now. And they'll do this without any way to cool themselves. Obviously, air conditioning won't work. And this is really one of the biggest concerns that the health officials have.
DUPLESSIS: It's huge. You know, we are in a -- the weather, as you pointed out, we are very -- a high temperatures in terms of heat. So, you have people that risk of heat exhaustion, heat strokes, not getting the services that you need.
You have -- don't forget, John, that we're also dealing with another spike in COVID. You know, we have a rise in COVID cases that we're trying to deal with so our hospitals already at capacity.
So, now, that you add on top of this, the fact that we are in very hot temperatures, no air conditioning, no way for people to really move around safely. It's a very scary situation that we're in right now. But we are just asking everyone just to remain calm. And to be patient while we get through this.
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DUPLESSIS: You know, one of the silver linings of having been through something like Hurricane Katrina and I lived through Katrina 16 years ago to the day when this happened yesterday, was that having been through that, it gives you a frame of reference, that gives you a mentality of being able to survive some of the harshest circumstances.
But no one would ever want to have to go through this. But it does give you something to look back upon to know that you've been through some of the harshest conditions, and it helps people survive during this time.
VAUSE: Just very quickly, do you have a concern -- an immediate concern over the next 48 hours? Is there something which you urgently need, you know, within that time zone, what's your biggest fears right now in the short term?
DUPLESSIS: Yes, what I'm hearing, the big need right now is that you have residences that need diesel fuel to power generators that can give them that immediate boost. Those are some of the major needs of what I'm hearing on the ground right now.
It's getting access to generators and the fuel that can -- that can -- that can accelerate those generators, until we get the large-scale transmission lines back up and running, we need access -- we need those generators going.
VAUSE: Representative Duplessis, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your time right now.
DUPLESSIS: Appreciate it, John, thank you.
VAUSE: Thank you. Take care.
Well, for more on how you can help victims of Hurricane Ida, please head to our website CNN.com/impact. We'll take a short break, when we come back, escaped from Afghanistan,
what one interpreter who worked with the Americans had to go through just to get his family out of Kabul.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
America's longest war is over. But the Biden administration says the U.S. remains committed to helping Afghans and Americans who still want to leave the country.
The last U.S. military flight, a C-17 took off from Kabul's airport just before midnight local time. The end to a U.S. airlift which saw more than 122,000 people evacuated over 17 days.
U.S. President Joe Biden will address the nation on Afghanistan in the coming hours.
The last to board a U.S. plane out was Major General Christopher Donahue, Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. and its allies are working to reopen the Kabul airport as soon as possible. He's promising a relentless effort to help Americans and Afghans who want to leave.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This has been a massive military, diplomatic and humanitarian undertaking. One of the most difficult in our nation's history. An extraordinary feat of logistics and coordination under some of the most challenging circumstances imaginable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: These images, shot by a "L.A. Times" correspondent, shows Taliban fighters entering a hangar at the Kabul airport, examining CH- 46 Sea Knight helicopters. U.S. CentCom (ph) says some military equipment was removed from Afghanistan, and other assets were disabled.
CNN's Anna Coren back with us again. Actually, I should say she's covered the story extensively. And you've also been working your contacts. You have a story about an Afghan interpreter who managed to get out, but boy, it was hard.
, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, we've all been witnessing those distressing scenes outside the airport these past few weeks, as thousands if not tens of thousands of people desperately wanted to get out. Well, while we were in Afghanistan last month, we met an Afghan
interpreter and his family. And through the help of CNN and some incredible people on the ground, we were able to make a difference. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Don't ask me that.
COREN (voice-over): His family piled into a taxi with just a bag of belongings. Abdul Rashid Shirzad hoped this was farewell to Kabul's dust-covered streets.
ABDUL RASHID SHIRZAD, INTERPRETER: We are heading to the airport, hope to make it and survive.
COREN: The 34-year-old former Afghan interpreter knew the chance for escape was slim.
SHIRZAD: That's the Taliban vehicle right there. With the white flag.
COREN: But, as the father of three young boys, the alternative was not an option.
SHIRZAD: That's Ali Akbar. That's my wife right there. This is me, and this is Ali Abbas. And that's Ali Omid right there.
COREN: Once at the airport, Rashid realized he'd made a mistake. His eldest child nearly trampled in a chaotic sea of humanity, all so desperate for a way out.
SHIRZAD: That's the marine gate right there. There is no way to get inside.
COREN: This was the family's second attempt at the airport within days. And, as darkness fell, reality set in.
SHIRZAD: With this crowd, it's impossible.
COREN: We met Rashid last month in Kabul while doing a story on Afghan interpreters who'd worked for the U.S. military, only to be left behind. A number of them had recently been executed by the Taliban, and Rashid, among others, feared they would also be killed.
Rashid had spent five years working for the U.S. Special Forces, SEAL commanders describing him as a valuable and necessary asset, who braved enemy fire and undoubtedly saved the lives of Americans and Afghans alike.
(on camera): These guys were your American brothers.
SHIRZAD: American brothers, yes.
COREN (voice-over): But at the end of 2013, his contract was terminated after he failed a polygraph test. So when he later applied for an SIV to the United States, his application was automatically denied.
Rashid and I kept in touch after I left Afghanistan. And, in a matter of weeks, the country had collapsed and was now under Taliban rule.
SHIRZAD (via phone): I don't want to be killed by the Taliban. They're going to cut our heads off if they find my location. Please help.
COREN: CNN evacuated staff from Kabul with the help of a security team on the ground, working with British paratroopers inside the airport. The channel established was now an opportunity for Rashid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN team.
COREN: Before dawn on Sunday the 22nd of August, Rashid, his family, and another nine people were picked up at a location near the airport. They were driven close to a Taliban checkpoint, near the Baron Hotel back gate, manned by the British.
SHIRZAD: We are at the back gate of camp Baron. We are so close to the gate. If they just get to the gate, they can see us. They can see us from the tower.
COREN: In less than an hour, British paratroopers let them in.
SHIRZAD: Hey, Anna, we are good. We are inside now. Thank you so much.
COREN: But celebrations were short-lived. U.S. Marines would not allow Rashid and his family past the checkpoint, because they did not have a visa.
SHIRZAD: Americans asked just for U.S. visa and U.S. passports. That's it.
COREN: A frantic seven hours ensued as messages and phone calls between London, Hong Kong, Atlanta, Virginia, and Kabul, were made, coordinating with security on the ground. Once his identity was confirmed, they were through.
SHIRZAD: We are at the airport terminal. We made it. We are really excited.
COREN: For almost two days, they waited patiently at the airport as thousands of fellow Afghans were airlifted to a new life.
SHIRZAD: Another aircraft about to take off. Lots of marines there.
COREN Then, it was their turn. Exhausted, but happy, aboard a C-130 to the U.S. base in Bahrain.
[00:35:07]
SHIRZAD: We are in Bahrain. Bahrain.
COREN: Less than 24 hours later, they were on the move again.
SHIRZAD: Somebody knocked on our door, and they said, "Pack your stuff up. You've got a flight now."
We are so excited, and we still don't know where we were heading to. So, hopefully, it's the U.S.
COREN: And sure enough, their wish had come true.
SHIRZAD: Our aircraft is landing in D.C. That's Washington. We are this close. Everybody is excited.
COREN: In the space of four days, they were on U.S. soil.
(on camera): How does it feel to be in America?
SHIRZAD: We are so lucky that we are safe. It is beautiful to be here. We are the luckiest people you know.
COREN (voice-over) Housed at Fort Lee military base, Virginia, while his SIV is processed, Rashid was reunited with a SEAL team member, who he hadn't seen for nine years.
A second chance at life for an eternally grateful family, whose hearts may remain in Afghanistan, but whose future now lies a world away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: You know, John, happy endings are so rare these days amongst all the misery and heartache. So it was so wonderful to know that Rashid was safe, that they are adapting to American life, that the kids are well, his wife is well.
They are extremely worried for their family members and for the other interpreters who have been left behind. This is something that is weighing extremely heavily on him, John.
VAUSE: Yes. That is one happy story. There are so many which are not at this point. So thank you. Anna Coren, live for us there in Hong Kong.
Kiana Hayeri is a photographer who was based in Kabul for the past seven years. She is with us now from Mexico City. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. How are you? How are you doing?
KIANA HAYERI, PHOTOGRAPHER: Hanging in there. Thanks, John. Thanks for asking.
VAUSE: Yes. The U.S. military, the airlift is over, and I understand you've been trying to get some Afghans out, as well. Are you continuing with that effort? Do you expect it to be a lot harder from this point on?
HAYERI: Yes -- yes and no. I think, in one sense, it's going to be -- it's going to be easier, because it's one system that we're dealing with, whereas before it was the Taliban and the Americans at the same time. So in that sense, it's going to be easier. There are a lot of uncertainty. As we speak right now, I have somebody who is on her way out, so I'll be up all night watching out for her. VAUSE: Good luck with that. You know, you boarded a flight out the
same day that Kabul fell. Can you describe what those final hours were like, what was happening, and just how hard was it to get to the airport?
HAYERI: I was among the lucky ones to get to the airport. I think I just -- I got to the airport. A few hours afterwards after I reached the airport, it got very difficult.
And I was on assignment that day. I left the house around 4 a.m., and I had a couple of shoots. And I think around 10:30, I was trying to get back to my apartment to start filing. And there was a huge -- like, traffic was insane. At some point we got out of the car and started locking.
And there was a -- there was a strange vibe in the city, so we did some shopping knowing that things are changing, bought some groceries, went home. And then I went out to photograph the banks, which was -- We heard there were lineups, like hundreds of people trying to withdraw money, and were all going to the bank. There was a lot of traffic.
After I finished my shoot, which was probably, like, half an hour, or 45 minutes, on the way back, same route, the streets were deserted, like no cars. There were just armored vehicles, pulling people over, zipping through the streets. And hundreds on of each people on each side of the street going back and forth.
And -- and as I was going to the apartment, I saw people were ripping off posters of women at the beauty salons and that. That is, like, one moment (ph) that has to this day stuck with me.
And then I got to my apartment. When I got upstairs, I heard from my housemates that Taliban has marched into the city. And within, like, half an hour, I got a phone call from "The New York Times" that I only had half an hour to leave, to pack and leave.
So I left with one of my neighbors to the airport. Getting there was OK. There was some traffic, but then the road leading up to the military zone, the street was completely blocked. So we eventually got out of the car and walked with our bags to the gates. But people who arrived a few hours after I did, they never got into the airport.
VAUSE: There seems to be hanging over the capital in the days before it fell a sort of dark cloud of mix of fear and terror and desperation. I think you documented families selling everything they owned for just a few hundred dollars, destroying anything that might link him to the west. It seemed like just days of desperation.
HAYERI: They did it because of anything that would link them up to the west. They thought, because they wanted to leave, they were so desperate to get out. And usually these dealers, they -- it's very easy to sell them.
[00:40:10] But they had reached a point where they had bought so many things and nobody was buying off of them that they stopped buying from people, so that's the way (ph), to find a case like that.
VAUSE: Yes. You also spent a lot of time with young Afghans in the weeks before Kabul fell. These are ones who have grown up under what is, you know, sort of the relative freedoms offered by U.S. protection. They've lived their lives on social media. They've seen American movies. They have a certain degree of expectations and freedoms. What are their expectations now?
HAYERI: I'm in touch with many of them. Sadly, a lot of them have left. Some of them are stuck behind. They're filled with fears. They don't know what future stands (ph) for them. A few of them have seen death and destruction around them. They were -- One of them was at the explosion scene when it happened on Thursday. Yes, I mean, I don't know. The future is very dark.
VAUSE: And one of the things that the Taliban has said is that women will be allowed to work. And I understand that a lot of them, from what we have been told and from what a lot of women have told you, that yes, they'll be allowed to work, because there's no one else left who knows how to run the country?
HAYERI: I shouldn't make any comments on that. Yes. I have no answer to that.
VAUSE: OK. Well, I'll leave it there. And I'm glad you are out. Do you plan on going back at any point?
HAYERI: Yes, soon.
VAUSE: OK. Well, I wish you all the best of luck. Kiana Hayeri.
HAYERI: Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thanks.
VAUSE: Pleasure.
HAYERI: Bye.
VAUSE: Well, a lot more coverage of the crisis in Afghanistan in just a few moments.
But first, the E.U. taking new steps to curb the coronavirus outbreak. And that includes restricting entry for visitors from a number of high-risk countries, including the U.S. Details after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The European Union is removing the United States and other countries from a safe travel list because of the number of rising COVID cases. That's likely to lead to confusion and headaches for millions of unvaccinated visitors.
CNN's Melissa Bell has more now, reporting from Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bad news for American tourists hoping to travel to the European Union. A new recommendations from the E.U. that the United States and five other countries should be removed from the list that allows people to go about unessential travel.
Essentially, the United States and other countries have been put on the list in June, which meant that those who could prove they were vaccinated or, in some countries, those who could show a negative PCR test were able to come to the European Union.
Now, there have been some frustration within European countries and amongst European leaders that the principle of reciprocity had not been applied. That is, American tourists have been able to come to most parts of Europe these last few weeks. The same has not been true even for vaccinated Europeans heading to the United States.
[00:45:09]
And yet, Europe says this is all about infection rates and the situation regarding the COVID pandemic in various countries, with the average infection rate in the United States now above that of the European Union.
Important to note that this is only advice that the E.U. is giving to member states. Although it has so far set the stone for how European member states go about deciding who they do and who they do not let in.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Juliette Kayyem is a CNN national security analyst who served as the former assistant secretary at Homeland Security for the Obama administration. It's been a while. It's good to see you.
You have a piece in "The Atlantic" this week, with the headline, "Vaccine Refusers Don't Get to Dictate Terms Anymore." And it seems the world is beginning to turn here.
We have this recommendation now coming from the E.U. that member states, you know, basically put these restrictions on travelers coming from the United States.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, picks up on more details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Today's announcement by the E.U. impacts people who are unvaccinated and not people who are vaccinated. We continue people to encourage people to get vaccinated and the fastest path to reopen travel is for people to get vaccinated, to mask up, and slow the spread of the deadly virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Are we at that final realization that freedom to refuse a vaccine is not without cost? You know, freedom is not free?
KAYYEM: That's exactly right. That is exactly right. And it's -- it's -- it's not right to call it a mandate, because that always conjures something, like, someone dragging you from the street corner putting a needle in your arm.
Basically, what you're seeing is adult society waking up and saying, we're done with -- with the critics. We're done with the vaccine deniers. We're done with the vaccine hesitant. We're done with the anti-vaxxers. You can believe what you want, but we are moving forward without you.
And you see the E.U. decision really does target unvaccinated Americans, allows member nations to exclude them, or have greater restrictions on it.
And you're seeing across the United States with employers and schools and others. Basically, the moment the FDA gave the final approval, you saw what had been a trickle turn into a tidal wave. And -- and the goal is, get more people vaccinated. That people will start to see there are consequences for them waiting.
VAUSE: You know, there was one paragraph in particular I want to read it: "The vaccinated have for too long courtyard of the pandemic. In theory, unvaccinated people should be taking greater precautions. A recent poll conducted for the Associated Press found that vaccinated adults have been more likely to adults are more likely than unvaccinated ones to wear masks in public settings, refrain from unnecessary travel, and avoid large group settings.
It is a good point. But it seems to me that this is a little politicization of the pandemic, if you like. Many of those who are not vaccinated are essentially COVID deniers. So how do you get them back to reality?
KAYYEM: So the data is actually really interesting. It is the largest pool in the United States of the unvaccinated are what they call vaccine hesitant. They're putting up lots of barriers. They're not stuck to their positions.
About 20 percent are anti-vaxxers, and we can do without them. In other words, we don't need them in terms of heard immunity.
But we definitely need more adults, in particular because our children are not vaccinated at this stage.
And so the goal is, with any of these rules that are coming into place, whether they're employer rules, whether they're institutional rules, rules about whether you can go to certain concerts and is essentially we are going to try to get you to understand what the cost is.
And I think what's important is that we finally start to have some time pressure on the vaccine hesitant. I think that they are not seeing the need to get this done, essentially, by winter.
And while there are partisan political divisions, I do know there are some interesting changes in many states, universities, that would not be considered conservative. Nashville and country music has been remarkable in terms of having vaccinated-only concerts.
So I think a lot of people who lost people are beginning to realize we need to put these vaccination mandates in place.
VAUSE: The big picture here, you make the point that this is a global crisis. It's a global emergency. Get a grip. You know, when the ship is sinking, you don't get to choose the color of your lifejacket. Sometimes one size fits all just has to be the reality.
KAYYEM: I think that's very -- I think it's helpful to have people who are not doctors in this space. As you know, I come from homeland security and planning, and so I've been hearing doctors and public health people who might be, you know, nicer than people like me, you know, trying to urge people, trying to convince them that can't they just listen to the science.
And you know, we've been doing that for eight months, and I think what we need is a course correction, which is essentially, right, that you're -- that we see it as the crisis that it is, like the ship is sinking. And you either put the life vest on or you are going down, but you're not bringing down those who put the life vest on down.
[00:50:11]
And I think that is what I talk about. We've got to shift the burden of this pandemic onto the unvaccinated, because the vaccinated are, as you said, you know, behaving in ways that reflect their fear that we're never going to control this pandemic. And that's not -- that's neither fair nor accurate.
VAUSE: I think you're nice enough, Juliette. So thank you for being with us.
KAYYEM: I worry sometimes. It's been a long two years. Thanks.
VAUSE: You're welcome. Good to see you. Thanks.
KAYYEM: Good to see you.
VAUSE: Well, kids in China will have their video game time greatly reduced, not by Mom and Dad but by the government. Anyone under 18 is now limited to just an hour of online gaming per day on weekdays and holidays between 8 and 9 p.m.
It's part of Beijing's crackdown on gaming addiction. Gaming companies are responsible for monitoring all of this. There remain doubt rules can actually be enforced.
Video game stocks worldwide fell on the news. China's gaming market is expected to generate more than $45 billion this year. Well, a group (ph) of bank robbers terrorized a small city in Brazil
on Monday, strapping people to the tops of their cars to use as human shields while they made a getaway.
Officials say the group also left a trail of explosives across the city after raiding several banks.
At least one suspect and two locals were killed in shootouts with police. It's the latest in a series of increasingly violent bank heists across Brazil.
Well, they made out of Afghanistan, but that was just the first step for thousands of Afghan evacuees, now camped at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. We'll have a closer look in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The U.N. Security Council has passed a resolution calling on the Taliban to allow safe passage for anyone trying to leave the country.
Notably, China and Russia abstained from the vote. Beijing's delegate did not mention the U.S. but blamed other countries for trying to impose their will on others.
The British representative argued world powers need to hold the Taliban to account.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WOODWARD, U.K. PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED NATIONS: This resolution shows that there is a minimum standard that the international community expect the Taliban to abide by. And the Taliban will be judged by their actions on the ground, not the words coming out of the presidential palace. And the Security Council, of course, has tools at its disposal to hold them to account for those actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: For many Afghans who have made it out, there's another choke point in their journey to a new life. Thousands of Afghan evacuees thought their time at a U.S. air base in Germany would be brief, but for now, it seems they're going nowhere, living in a tent city which was never meant to grow so large.
Atika Shubert reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As we get into his car, Brigadier General Joshua Olson, commander of the 86th Air Lift Wing and installation commander at Ramstein Air Base, grapples with the sheer number of new arrivals.
BRIG. GEN. JOSHUA OLSON, COMMANDER, 86TH AIR LIFT WING: This is now my family. At least until they get off our air patch, you know, and we're able to put them somewhere else. But it's my family, and I've got to figure out how to protect them.
SHUBERT: More than 20,000 men, women and children have passed through here since August 20, fleeing Afghanistan after the Taliban took over. That's more than double the population of the German municipality that hosts the base.
[00:55:09]
And so many children. Olson says about 6,000, including at least three born on the base. Something never encountered here before.
OLSON: We had airplanes stacked up. And they're like, we don't have enough diapers, we don't have enough -- and I'm like, Oh, my gosh, who would have thought that, right?
SHUBERT: Ramstein Air Base has always been a gateway for those in uniform, a place to heal for wounded service members, to prepare for what the military calls a dignified transfer for those who gave their lives.
Now Olson wants the base to provide the warmest welcome it can. An army of civilian volunteers is also helping out, sorting donations from the wider community.
OLSON: You know, it's the kid that puts the ball back over. It's the kid that plays the ukulele. It's the -- you know, when you get out of the way and we watch just the pure humanity and the love of people and the connection to little kids and kinder.
SHUBERT: But as we pass more and more tents, it's clear the numbers coming in from Kabul far outpace the number flying out, and the strain is showing.
(on camera): Did you think it would get this big?
OLSON: Never. Not even close. And I knew -- I mean, I knew what we could build. And I knew we're like OK, when we thought it through. But the chaos and the mayhem of -- you know, we were like we can get to ten right away, and we've had that capability. But when we were at 10, there was 15 coming in, and we're like, that math doesn't work out so well.
SHUBERT (voice-over): The delays are frustrating to all. Olson says he wants to get this new family off to a fresh start as soon as possible.
OLSON: You think about our -- our, you know, parents and grandparents that got on a boat and came across and went to America for that, and all the things that they sacrificed. And you look at all the things. And we've forgotten that in a lot of ways. And the sacrifices, not only, you know, for the last 20 years that the military has borne for -- for a lot of these new Afghan-Americans' freedom.
SHUBERT: That freedom will have to wait a few more days. Until then, Olson says he's doing the best he can. Atika Shubert for CNN at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. I'll be back with more news after a very short break. You're watching CNN.
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