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Hurricane Ida Rescues; Taliban Spokesman Fighters Enter Kabul Airport; U.S. Complete Military Withdrawal From Afghanistan. Aired 2- 3a ET
Aired August 31, 2021 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:06]
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. military is out of Afghanistan after a 20-year conflict, but the war is not over for the civilians trapped in the Taliban (INAUDIBLE)
And Hurricane Ida has left this town in Louisiana underwater with people forced onto their roofs and even tree tops to escape. The town's mayor will join me this hour.
And why the E.U. is bumping the U.S. from its safe travel list. All of that and much more. Hello, welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.
CURNOW: Thanks for joining me. So, Afghanistan is certainly facing a new reality the U.S. has ended its longest war in nearly 20-year military presence in the country with the Taliban back in power. A Taliban spokesman says among -- it was a minor group seen entering the Kabul airport a little bit earlier. As you can see from these images, just hours after the U.S. withdrawal. Fighters also wasted no time checking out a helicopter left behind. The U.S. Central Command says some of the military equipment had been disabled.
And Taliban fighters celebrating there. The U.S. withdrawal by firing off weapons. But for so many, this isn't a time to celebrate. There's concern about what comes next for the country and those left behind. So according to the Pentagon, more than 122,000 people were evacuated from the -- from Kabul airport. But nearly 200 Americans and many more Afghan allies were not able to get out.
The U.S. State Department has now suspended its diplomatic operations in Kabul and will instead operate out of Qatar. In the coming hours, President Joe Biden will address the nation. But ahead of that the Secretary of State spoke about the withdrawal and pledges made by the Taliban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The Taliban has made a commitment to prevent terrorist groups from using Afghanistan as a base for external operations that could threaten the United States or our allies, including al Qaeda, and the Taliban sworn enemy, ISIS-K. Here too, we will hold them accountable to that commitment. But while we have expectations of the Taliban, that doesn't mean we will rely on the Taliban.
We'll remain vigilant in monitoring threats ourselves, and will maintain robust counterterrorism capabilities in the region to neutralize those threats if necessary, as we demonstrated in the past few days by striking ISIS facilitators and imminent threats in Afghanistan. And as we do in places around the world, where we do not have military forces on the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well, now that the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan is over, the U.S. government's saying a new phase of diplomatic effort begins. Well, Alex Marquardt now tries to explain what that might mean.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Just as the day of August 31st, the deadline to leave began in Afghanistan, the announcement was made.
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, or country nationals and vulnerable Afghans. Last C-17 lifted off from Hamad Karzai International Airport on August 30th this afternoon at 3:29 p.m. East Coast time. And the last manned aircraft is now clearing the airspace above Afghanistan.
MARQUARDT: Central commands General Frank McKenzie said the diplomatic sequel now begins led by Secretary of State Tony Blinken who insists the commitment to Afghanistan remains despite no diplomatic presence. The final hours of have been U.S. official say the most dangerous after a massive suicide bombing last week by ISIS-K that left scores dead including 13 service members.
Early Monday morning, five rockets were fired at the Kabul airport. ISIS claimed responsibility. The Pentagon says its anti-rocket defense system engaged and no casualties were reported. The vehicle used to launch the Rockets turn to ash. It came just hours after U.S. Central Command said a drone targeted an ISIS vehicle with a large amount of explosives. The airstrike was in a residential Kabul neighborhood. And CENTCOM said stopped an imminent threat on the airport.
MAJ. GEN. HANK TAYLOR, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, JOINT STAFF REGIONAL OPERATIONS: There was a secondary explosion that assess that what was there was going to be used in a high-profile attack.
MARQUARDT: But the multiple explosions also killed civilians. A relative told CNN at least 10 were killed from a single family. Seven were children under 10 years old. Neighbors described a massive bang to CNN. Then everything was engulfed in smoke. They tried to put out the fires with water and took the dead and wounded to the hospital. The Pentagon says it is investigating.
JOHN KIRBY, CNN PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Nobody wants to see that happen but you know what else we didn't want to see happen? We didn't want to see happen what we believe to be a very real, a very specific and a very imminent threat. to the Hamid Karzai International Airport and to our troops operating at that airport.
[02:05:15]
MARQUARDT: Until the final moments the evacuation flights continued, but slowed down. From Sunday to Monday morning 1200 people were evacuated on U.S. planes. More than 123,000 have come out so far including around 6000 Americans. Fewer than 250 Americans who want to get out remain according to the State Department.
Those Americans who wanted to leave were not able to reach the airport, the military was ready to get them out until the last minute, but in the words of General McKenzie, we did not get everyone out. We want it. It has been an extremely dangerous situation around the Kabul airport over the past few days. On top of the Americans, there are thousands of Afghans who are also desperate to get out.
This is now a top priority for Secretary of State Tony Blinken who says that the U.S. has gotten assurances from the Taliban that people will be able to leave. Alex Marquardt, CNN at the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Well, Anna Coren has covered Afghanistan for many years and has recently returned from Kabul. She joins me now. And a hi. So you heard Tony Blinken there. You heard Alex Marquardt explain about this new era of diplomacy. What will that look like after 20 years?
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's an interesting landscape that the Americans are now venturing into. It's the end of a chapter for America, you know, the end of their 20-year war, a failed war in Afghanistan. Will they be returning one day in the future? Will they be sending Special Forces in later on to take out terrorist targets? This is all yet to play out. But, you know, the future is an uncertain one.
The Americans are going to have to work with the Taliban. You know, the Taliban itself has huge challenges ahead. They now have to govern for 38 million people. You know, it's one thing to fight against the enemy, the Americans, but it's another to govern for the people. And when they came into power, when they came in to Kabul and took over on the 15th of August they said they were there to govern for all Afghans.
We know that half of the country is malnourished. That is according to the United Nations, we know that Afghanistan is suffering a huge drought. We also know that ISIS-K poses a huge threat not just to the outside world, but certainly to the Taliban. So there are huge challenges ahead for an organization that has been on the battlefield for the last 20 years. There are also deep fissures within the Taliban leadership that we are learning about. You have the political wing, the more moderate wing that is in communication with the outside world and certainly with the Americans. And then you have the more hardline elements in charge of the security, you know, the Haqqani Network, the Haqqani brothers. They are obviously clashing as to what sort of government that should be formed. But we saw images just a short time ago of the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid out walking into the airport that only hours ago had been occupied by U.S. forces, you know, before they flew out around midnight.
These images to us from the media agency AFP. And let me tell you what Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban had to say when he spoke to AFP. He said congratulations to Afghanistan. This victory belongs to us all. We want to have good relations with the U.S. and the world. We welcome good diplomatic relations with them all. Now, we have to remember that the Afghan government, the former Afghan government, was propped up by the international community.
You know, at least 60 percent if not more of its funding came from the outside world, from America, from the international community. This perhaps is the only leverage that the United States has in dealing with the Taliban. The Taliban obviously have used other ways and means of having income. The drug trade, the opium, methamphetamine, that has been a huge business, but now they have to govern for 38 million people.
They want to be legitimate as we heard from the spokesperson we just have to see how this all transpires.
CURNOW: Anna Coren, thanks so much. Bob Baier is a CNN Intelligence and Security Analyst and former CIA operative. He joins me now from Colorado. Bob. Hi. Good to see you. So, the war is over for the US. Is it over though in Afghanistan?
BOB BAIER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Oh, Robyn, I don't think so. I think what we're going to see is a civil war and it's hard to tell who's going to win.
[02:10:07]
BAEIR: The Taliban is going to go up into the Panjshir Valley where the Tajiks live. There's also going to be fighting between the Shia, the Hazara and the Taliban. They're different sex, of course. And with the Uzbeks as well. So I think we're going to see a prolonged civil war. And that's not to mention that the Taliban is not a unifying -- unified organization. You've got the Haqqani Network which is particularly vicious.
You've got the Islamic State which is sort of allied in a way with some elements. So this is all going to play out. Let's not forget that the Taliban are not a, you know, an organized army or police force. And as hard as they try, they're going to have a hard time dealing, taking control -- complete control of Kabul, Herat, Kandahar and the rest of the cities.
CURNOW: You said they're not an organized army or police force. But also what they need to be is an organized political force that has to govern, has to get into the nitty gritty of bureaucracy is getting banged up and running, sorting out the economy, figuring out what to do about civil servants and salaries and all that stuff that makes a country work. Do you think that is going to be their undoing in many ways?
BAIER: Well, if they want money --
CURNOW: Before they've even started because they haven't even -- they haven't even managed to consolidate power in Kabul yet.
BAIER: Well, exactly. I mean, they're going to need money from the IMF, in order to do that, you're going to have to get the compliance of the United States, you're -- they're going to have to, you know, deal with heroin, they're going to have to deal with terrorism. And they're going to have to make a lot of compromises with the West if they want aid. And once they make those compromises, the zealots, the crazies are going to say, look, you sold us out. So, you know --
(CROSSTALK)
CURNOW: Well, ISIS-K is already saying that. We've seen -- we've seen that on the -- on the perimeter of the Kabul airport already. So that -- is this an indication of what the Taliban is going to have to deal with now that the Americans have gone?
BAEIR: They're going to have to deal with it. And I think there's almost inevitable, there's going to be a power struggle within the Taliban from the political side, the military side. There's -- Pakistan is going to get into the middle of this, its Intelligence Service, ISI, the Russians are going to be on top of them. It's going to be a nightmare. They've had the easy part so far, moving into Kabul now that really, you know, tough. And like I said, it's going to be a civil war.
CURNOW: What Joe Biden argue that this was perhaps inevitable trying to nation build, try and keep Afghanistan together is not the role of America. That withdrawing had to be done. It has been messy, it has been chaotic. Perhaps this exit strategy was bungled operationally but from a foreign policy perspective, from a national security perspective, this is the right decision. This is perhaps what the White House would argue.
BAIER: Well, I think they'd be right. I mean, we could stay there another 50 years at, you know, $20 trillion. How many lives last both -- on both sides. Afghanistan has never been a unified nation. It's never had a unified army. It's always been tribal and ethnic groups. No one's kept control of the Ottomans have tried, the Persians have and on and on. No one's ever done it since the Mongols.
So taking a contract army and contract trainers in Afghanistan and hoping to make a nation and throwing billions of dollars at it. There was never, ever a chance. And I won't say anything else categorical about the Middle East, but that is just the way it is. So, it was always a hopeless cause. They only made one mistake that I could see with drawing is they should have held on to Bagram, which is defensible.
You fly in as I'm sure you have into Kabul or take the road to Bagram and Bagram is defensible. They should have moved the embassy there. It should have been more orderly. This was a tactical mistake. I don't know the White House had to do with it.
CURNOW: Well, that's what I was going to ask. Many people are blaming the Biden administration. Would you say this is a pentagon failure here?
BAIER: It's a Paragon failure. Absolutely. Because you never put troops like that without any protection in front of locals massing thousands and thousands of them and you know, their suicide bombers. We made the same mistake in Beirut in '83. not protecting the Marines, we lost 241. We didn't protect the embassy there. And these young men and women should have never been put in that situation.
And I think and I keep hearing this from inside the military, and I'm not advocating in one way or another to be some sort of court martials going on here.
CURNOW: What you're saying, do other veterans agree with you because there has been certainly a lot of backlash, but also from the Gold Star families who lost their children last week at Kabul airport.
[02:15:04]
CURNOW: Do you feel that the military will have to answer some hard questions? Or do you feel like this is more politically expedient to blame this president?
BAIER: You know, we should figure that out because it's a failure, no doubt. And if that decision were made in the White House by the President, he should acknowledge it or who in the White House made it. If it's Miley that made it, Joint Chiefs of Staff, it's their problem. If it's the local commander, it's theirs. But crowd control with soldiers with M4s. They were a sitting targets and that should have never happened.
And there should have been alternatives. And of course, it was -- it was Bagram or they should have had a much narrower perimeter. It, you know, this is just a horrible mistake.
CURNOW: Bob Baier, always good to get your perspective. CNN Intelligence and Security Analyst and former CIA operative. Thanks so much for joining us.
BAIER: Thank you.
CURNOW: You're watching CNN. Still to come. We hear from the mayor of a Louisiana town about the desperate search for survivors.
Plus, the death toll is rising in Mexico after Hurricane Nora swept by a popular beach Resort City.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CURNOW: Take a look at this. You're looking at video from a Coast Guard flight over Grand Isle Louisiana, which is a tiny, tiny barrier island just a few miles from where Hurricane Ida made landfall on Sunday. Now it shows widespread flooding as you can see here on the island and significant damage to many homes. About 40 people rode out the storm there but appear to be safe as they flashed thumbs up signs to the helicopter on a flyover.
And Ida is now a political depression. It's a tropical depression. A lot of politics -- sorry, moving north from the U.S. Gulf Coast. But the monsters almost certainly left behind untold devastation. More than a million homes and businesses in Louisiana are facing another night without power along with tens of thousands more in Mississippi. And officials in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana say it's likely it'll be a month before the lights come back on.
We also know at least two people were killed in the storm but Louisiana's governor says that number will surely rise. The National Guard is helping with search and rescue efforts. And President Joe Biden says federal aid is on the way. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to stand with you and the people the Gulf as long as it takes for you to recover.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: New Orleans Mayor says she's grateful that we didn't have another Katrina but like that epic storm 16 years ago. There's certainly no quick fix for the damage left behind. Brian Todd reports from just outside of New Orleans. Brian?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:20:06]
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Louisiana reeling tonight from Hurricane Ida's brutal impact. Officials are warning the danger is not over.
JEFF LANDRY, LOUISIANA ATTRONEY GENERAL: Stay where you are. Don't try to come home today. Everyone who comes back only puts more pressure on 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, ST. TAMMANY PARISH PRESIDENT: We've just been through a horrendous night with winds, rain, gusts, water coming up, rivers rising, power outages. It's incredible.
TODD: The category four storm brought pounding winds and devastating flooding that top rubes in some places.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say it was 185-mile an hour winds, 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, SLIDELL, LOUISIANA MAYOR: In about a three-hour period, we had probably five to six-foot rise in the (INAUDIBLE)
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 a 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, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: They're already seeing the power outages across the area. And the threat isn't over.
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, NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: I think we have to be realistic at the same time and prepare people for a worst case scenario just like hurricane Laura and 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 healthcare 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 other services. Check out this line here in Chalmette, Louisiana, a line here to get gas at a shell station. It 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 of the crisis in sight. Brian Todd, CNN Chalmette, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CURNOW: Tim Kerner is the mayor of Jean Lafitte, Louisiana. He joins me now on the line. Tim, hi. No doubt you've had a hellish 24, 48 hours. What's the situation like right now?
TIM KERNER, MAYOR OF JEAN LAFITTE, LOUISIANA (via telephone): Yes. So right now the water has receded about 2-1/1 feet which is -- which is good news. You know, today is all about rescues. Tomorrow we're going to -- we're going to continue that effort. And we're also going to try to make a big push to get that water out. So you do an even better job but, you know, devastating day seeing the effect of the storm.
CURNOW: How many people have you rescued? Who needed rescuing?
KERNER: We went in in the midst of the storm. When most, you know, policemen, mercy management and National Guard would go in and we rescued 27 people who are on the verge of drowning and things like that. And then today we rescued I think close to 80 people. Now and it's a little bit of a different situation now, when the water stopped and began to enter -- begin to receive -- became a little less of -- less of a life threatening situation.
So people, you know, we had more time to get to people and people are a little more comfort knowing that they were safe in the location they were at.
CURNOW: Where did you have to rescue people from? The roofs of their homes. And what kind of condition where they're in? Where they -- you said there --
(CROSSTALK)
KERNER: -- you know, one man was in a tree, hanging on from a tree when his house ripped the sheds and the current took them, you know, we saw a bit of everything that night and then today it was, you know, on roofs or, you know, some people that were elevated higher up.
[02:25:09]
KERNER: We saw a little bit everything. I was one of 80 rescue boats. So, you know, we bought one guy who was in pretty bad condition (INAUDIBLE) sworn and -- but he's OK. And then there was one fatality and we found before of an elderly woman who drowned which is certainly heartbreaking inflammation and something I hope we don't see anymore.
CURNOW: What's the power situation like and how long do you think it's going to be before you actually get power?
KERNER: Well, you know, right now we're a little far away from that. We're still filled with water. I mean, there are no roads, there is no grass and it is water with houses poking out and -- or, you know, highways or rescue waterways now. And so, the first step is rescue second step, get the water out and third step is going to be trying to get back to power and trying to, you know, give these people some relief.
CURNOW: You talk about relief but it's going to be very, very hot in the coming days. How does that impact all of the work that you're trying to do there on the ground or (INAUDIBLE) is left of the ground as most of --
(CROSSTALK)
KERNER: The impacts are -- the impact are very seriously. You know, we do have a great team. I know energy or electric company is actually sending out people on boats, on airboat to begin, you know, working on power poles and getting them ready for -- when that water comes out, they get so doing electrical work. So I mean, the Parish, the state, and all of us, we're trying to do our best to work as fast as possible.
So, this has been a devastating -- one of most devastating storm in our history. But I know we're all going to make an effort to really knock out this people's expectations and try to get back a lot sooner than what people think. And we're going to do our very, very best to do it.
CURNOW: What are the facilities like in terms of hospitals or at least where people can take shelter? And with that in mind, then how are they doing with food and water for example?
KERNER: Yes, so there's a shelter nearby and that's where we're sending people and we're giving them food and drinks. And, you know, the hospital is in good condition. (INAUDIBLE) stays protected in the in the levee district. As far as the government facilities in our areas, immediate areas (INAUDIBLE) there are none, you know, our schools are wiped out, our town hall is flooded, you know, our doctor's offices are flooded.
It's, you know, we -- it's almost a total loss. But it isn't, you know, we -- a lot of people -- we have a lot of people alive and we still have a home standing and we're going to come back from it but it certainly devastated by now.
CURNOW: How high was the water? Have you ever seen water that high?
KERNER: I've never seen water that -- I've never seen one of that high. I've never seen a current pushing so fast and just be so relentless it took, you know, certain point 9-1/2 feet. And then that'll force about eight feet, 8-1/2, it pushed in one area and created such a major swell and then once that swell started moving it, you know, it would take off a little bit but it's still, you know, nothing that we've ever seen or even dreamed of seeing before.
And just, you know, just mega powerful storm (INAUDIBLE) in the absolute worst spot and, you know, it's a once in 100 year storms that they say and that you hope you never have to face and, you know, unfortunately, we are the ones that have to face it this time.
CURNOW: The mayor of Jean Lafitte in Louisiana, Tim Kerner, thank you very much. Good luck.
KERNER: Thank you. CURNOW: Well, two people are confirmed dead from Hurricane Nora in Mexico. It made landfall on Saturday as a category one storm not far from the beach Resort City of Puerto Vallarta. Official said teenager was killed when a hotel partially collapsed in the flooding caused by that storm. The second victim was killed in a landslide.
And in California, the governor has just declared a state of emergency in three counties due to the Caldor fire. That fire which started more than two weeks ago has injured at least five people and forced thousands of others to flee their homes. Nearly 800 square kilometers of burns and hundreds of structures have been destroyed. We'll monitor that story and much, much -- and a lot more after the break. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Of course, we're also going to follow the Taliban which are now in charge of Afghanistan. How will they govern their presence at the airport in Kabul may hold those first clues.
[02:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: Welcome back to our viewers around the world. It's 32 minutes part the hour. I'm Robyn Curnow, live in Atlanta.
So, U.S. President Joe Biden will address the nation in the day ahead, now that the last American troops have left Afghanistan. The U.S. says, it is working with allies to reopen Kabul's airport, as soon as possible. Pledging a "relentless effort, to get the remaining 1 to 200 Americans and countless Afghans out of the country."
Now, in the past 18 days, the U.S. Air lifted out more than 79,000 civilians in the largest noncombatant evacuation in its history. Take a look at this video shot by an L.A. Times correspondent that shows Taliban fighters entering a hangar at Kabul Airport, examining U.S. helicopters left behind. The U.S. military says some equipment was removed from Afghanistan and other assets were disabled.
Now, outside of the airport, the sound of celebratory gunfire there as the Taliban moved in. Meanwhile, the U.S. plans to move its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan to Doha, Qatar for now. As mentioned, not all Americans who wanted to evacuate were able to. And the head of U.S. central Command says there was a lot of heartbreak associated with the departure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. KENNETH MCKENZIE, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMEND: We did not get everybody out that we wanted out. But I think if we would have stayed state another 10 days, we wouldn't have gotten everyone out that we wanted to get out and there's still would've been people who have been disappointed with that. It's a tough situation.
ANTHONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If an America and Afghanistan tells us that they won't stay for now and then, in a week, or a month, or a year, they reach out to say, I have changed my mind, we will help them leave. Additionally, we worked intensely to evacuate and relocate Afghans who worked alongside us and our particular risk of reprisal. We've gotten many out, but many are still there. We will keep working to help them. Our commitment to them has no deadline.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: I want to go live now to CNN's international security editor, Nick Paton Walsh. Nick is at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Hi, Nick. What can you tell us?
We're going to hopefully pick up nick in a moment. We're trying to reestablish communications there with him. I know we said Anna Coren has spent several weeks in Afghanistan earlier this month and she has an exclusive report now on one of the people she met in his journey out of the country. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[02:35:00]
COREN (voiceover): His family, piled into a taxi with just a bag of belongings. Abdul Rashid Shazad hopes this was farewell to Kabul's dust covered streets.
ABDUL RASHID SHAZAD: We are heading to the airport, hope to make it and survive.
COREN (voiceover): The 34-year-old, former Afghan interpreter knew that their chance for escape was slim.
SHAZAD: That is a Taliban vehicle right there with the white flag.
COREN (voiceover): But, as the father of three young boys, the alternative was not an option.
SHAZAD: That's Ali Akbar, that's my wife right there. This is me and this Ali Abbas, and that's Ali Omid right there.
COREN (voiceover): Once at the airport, Rashid realized that he had made a mistake. His eldest child nearly trampled in a chaotic sea of humanity also desperate for a way out.
SHAZAD: That's the marine gate right there. There is no way to get inside.
COREN (voiceover): This was the family's second attempt at the airport within days. And as darkness fell, reality set in.
SHAZAD: With this crowd, it's impossible.
COREN (voiceover): We met Rashid last month in Kabul while doing a story on Afghan interpreters who had worked with 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 that 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.
COREN (on camera): These guys were your American brothers.
SHAZAD: American brothers, yes.
COREN (voiceover): 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.
SHAZAD: 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 (on camera): 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.
Before dawn on Sunday, 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.
SHAZAD: We are at the back gate of Camp Baron. We are so close to that gate. If they just get to the gate, they can see us. They can see us from the tower.
COREN (voiceover): In less than an hour, British paratroopers let them in.
SHAZAD: Hey Anna, we are good. We are inside now. Thank you so much.
COREN (voiceover): 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.
SHAZAD: The Americans asked just for U.S. Visa and U.S. passports. That is it.
COREN (voiceover): A frantic seven hours ensued as a 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.
SHAZAD: We are at the airport terminal. We made it. We are really excited.
COREN (voiceover): For almost two days they waited patiently at the airport as thousands of fellow Afghans were airlifted to a new life.
SHAZAD: Another aircraft about to take off. Lots of marines there.
COREN (voiceover): Then it was their turn. Exhausted, but happy. Aboard a C-130 to the U.S. base in Bahrain.
SHAZAD: We are in Bahrain, Bahrain.
COREN (voiceover): Less than 24 hours later, they were on the move again.
SHAZAD: Someone knocked on our door and they said, pack your stuff up, you've got a flight now. We are so excited, we still don't know where we were heading to. So, hopefully, it's the U.S.
COREN (voiceover): And sure enough, their wish had come true.
SHAZAD: Our aircraft is landing in D.C. That's Washington. We are this close. Everybody is excited.
COREN (voiceover): In the space of four days, they were on U.S. soil.
COREN (on camera): How does it feel to be in America?
SHAZAD: We are so lucky that we are saved. It is beautiful to be here. We are the luckiest people, you know.
COREN (voiceover): Housed at Fort Lee Military Base Virginia while his SIV is processed, Rashid was reunited with a seal team member who he had not seen for nine years. A second chance at life for an eternally grateful family whose hearts may remain in Afghanistan but his future now lies a world away. Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
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CURNOW: Thanks, Anna, for that story.
Well, marine veteran, Elliot Ackerman, served several tours of duty in Afghanistan before becoming a successful author. He joins me now live from Italy where he has been helping people evacuate from Afghanistan.
Elliott, hi. Good to have you on the show.
You heard Anna's story there. It's a good news story. It is a heartwarming tale. So many others though are not as lucky.
ELLIOT ACKERMAN: That is absolutely right. You know, many, many others did not make it this far and we left behind thousands of our Afghan allies, say nothing of the U.S. citizens. You know, and these are people that we made promises to over successive decades and to see them abandoned this way, frankly, kind of somewhat casually, it is one of the most shameful things I've seen in my life.
CURNOW: And you've actively been trying to help along with many other veterans around the U.S. and around the world.
ACKERMAN: We have been and it's very disconcerting to see that the haphazard way this evacuation was undertaken has led to so much of the burden of this evacuation, falling onto veterans, journalists, activists, really anybody who has had experience working in Afghanistan and built relationships with Afghans.
So, had we had a more well-planned more deliberate evacuation process, this was avoidable. You know, this was all utterly avoidable.
CURNOW: The Taliban says the airport will be reopened in a few days, that people with visas will be able to leave. Do you believe it will be that simple? Do you believe them at all?
ACKERMAN: Well, the Taliban is also flying a captured black hawk helicopter with a dead body strung beneath it, above the skies of Kandahar. So, no, I don't believe the Taliban. I think it's a fantasy to believe in the Taliban. I think the administration seems to want to the Taliban because it's convenient for them. But to do so is the height of falling. It's the same type of magical thinking that led us into this catastrophic withdrawal in the first place.
CURNOW: Obviously, a lot of blame is being thrown about. One of our previous guests, a veteran as well, said the exit was an operational failure, that blame needed to be laid at the military for not having a safe exit strategy for troops and for civilians. Do you agree or do you see this more as a political failure?
ACKERMAN: I put the blame for this at the very top. I mean, listen, I was working and in conversation with folks like Congressman Seth Moulton and Peter Meijer, and Jason Crow, as far back as April. Immediately after President Biden announces withdraw. And they were pleading with the White House to begin a deliberate evacuation process, they sent letters. They received no answer in return.
And listen, it doesn't take a strategic visionary to see that this was going to be extremely challenging. You will need to understand a little bit of the history of Afghanistan to know why these withdrawals have played or you only need to look at a map to recognize that Afghanistan is not, for instance, Vietnam with hundreds of miles of coastline from which to evacuate people from. It is a landlocked country.
So, why then would you begin to shut down your air bases and be left at this late juncture with a single point of regress at Kabul Airport, and that is what led to this being such a disaster?
CURNOW: There is this image, quite a powerful one, of the last soldier walking out of Kabul Airport onto his plane. What does that image mean for you? What does it make you feel?
ACKERMAN: Well, as much as, you know, we're talking a little bit about the -- kind of the operational incompetence that we have seen here with this withdraw, I would go a little broader. Just a little bit of strategic incompetent -- not a little bit, I think quite a bit of strategic incompetence. You know, we've seen this image before. I mean, unfortunately, I think oftentimes in the United States, people have a very short attention span, but I recall in 2011 when the last soldier drove his striker fighting vehicle across the border from Iraq into Kuwait, and we announced that that war was finally.
Then lo and behold, we left a power vacuum in Iraq. And three years later, American troops were back in Iraq to fight the Islamic State. So, I think we are very much going to see the exact same type of dynamic playing out in Afghanistan. So, yes, at this moment, the troops are out of Afghanistan. But American might be done with Afghanistan, sadly, I do not believe that Afghanistan is done with the United States.
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CURNOW: There's been so much uncertainty. And to sort of follow on from that comment, how do you see the next months' playing out as the volatility certainly seems more and more problematic in Afghanistan, the Taliban have a lot to try and stabilize and many analysts saying, you know, that's really not going to happen?
ACKERMAN: I certainly agree with those analysts. I don't think the Taliban is going to have an easy time governing all of Afghanistan peacefully. They weren't able to do it in the 1990s and now you have an Afghanistan 20 years later that is more modern, you have a world that is more open. So, I don't think the Taliban is going to be seen able to successfully do that.
You also have many warring factored (ph) inside of Afghanistan. So, all the conditions are set to incubate the types of extremism that came out of Afghanistan and before September 11, 2001. And sadly, I think the United States is less safe because you are going to have far -- and really, the western world is less safe because we're going to have far less insight to what is actually occurring inside Afghanistan. You know, we've turned it into a black hole. And I think it is too predictable that something is going to crawl out of that black hole and strike at the western world.
CURNOW: Elliott Ackerman, thank you for your perspective. Thank you for joining us here on the show.
ACKERMAN: Thank you.
CURNOW: So, still to come, South African researchers put a new COVID variant under the microscope, looking for answers before it spreads further. Plus, bumped from the safe travel list, the spreading COVID variants have forced the E.U. to restrict travelers from high-risk countries, including the U.S. Those details are also ahead.
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CURNOW: Researchers in South Africa are closely watching a new COVID variant first detected back in May, which has now spread to seven other countries. And they're calling it C.1.2. And the scientists are not sure just how dangerous it could become. So, far the variant has shown signs of increased transmissibility and the ability to evade some immune responses. Well, for now, it's too early for C.1.2. to be designated a variant of interest.
Meanwhile, Israel says it is now the first country to offer COVID booster shots to anyone older than the age of 12. More than 2 million Israelis have already received their third vaccine dose. Israel is battling a resurgent wave of COVID infections, but numbers show the new round of shots seem to be working. The virus transmission rate has been declining as booster roll out ramps up.
And the W.H.O. says Europe could see an additional 236,000 deaths from COVID by December. The group's director for Europe said Monday, that's just one projection. Vaccine rates have slowed. And the highly transmissible Delta variant has now reported in nearly every country in the block. The World Health Organization said several countries are seeing an increase burden on hospitals and complicating matters, restrictions vary across the region while seasonal travel is picking up.
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And it is about to get tougher to visit Europe. The European Union is removing the U.S. and other countries from the safe travel list due to rising cases. And that's likely lead to confusion and headaches for millions of visitors. Here is Melissa Bell with more on that from Paris. Melissa.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bad news for American tourists hoping to travel to the European Union, a new recommendation from the E.U. that the United States with five other countries, should be removed from the list that allows people to go about an essential travel. Essentially, the United States and other countries have been put on that list in June, which meant that those who could prove they were vaccinated were in some countries, those who could show a negative PCR tests were able to come to the European Union.
Now, there have been some frustration within European countries and amongst European leaders that the principal (INAUDIBLE) 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. 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 tone for how European member states go about deciding who they do and who they do not let in. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
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CURNOW: Meanwhile, in response to Europe removing the U.S. from the safe travel, list the White House sought to make a key distinction.
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JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Today's announcement by the E.U. impacts people who are unvaccinated and not people who are vaccinated. And we continue to encourage people to get vaccinated, and the fastest path to reopening travel is for people to get vaccinated, to mask up and slow the spread of the deadly virus.
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CURNOW: You are watching CNN. So, still ahead, China cracks down on how much time kids are spending playing video games. But enforcing the new rules might not be so easy.
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CURNOW: So, kids in China will have their video game time greatly reduced, not by mom and dad, but by the Chinese government. It is all part of a crackdown on what Beijing calls a gaming addiction. Anyone under 18 is now limited to just an hour of online gaming per, on weekends and holidays, between 8:00 and 9:00 pm.
Well, Steven Jiang joins me now live from Beijing with more on this. What's the thinking behind this and how can it be policed?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Robyn, we kind of saw it coming. Remember just a few weeks gone major state media outlet described video games as spiritual opium. And as a result of that, billions of dollars in market value were wiped out for some of China's biggest gaming companies. So, these are the latest rules are almost the other shoe dropping.
Now, this is not even the Chinese government's first attempt to limit playtime for minors. Back in 2019, they already limited people under 18 to playtime to only 90 minutes a day and three hours at most during public holidays and they have also longed required real name registration and login for all video games. But apparently, all of these restrictions are not enough, according to officials, because they have received so many complaints from parents who say gaming addiction has severely affected their kid's ability to learn and to study, as well as their mental and physical health, not to mention causing a potential social problem.
[02:55:00]
So, that's how the authorities are framing their latest decision in terms of addressing people's concerns and protecting children's welfare. Now, the enforcement is mostly going to be carried about gaming companies, which, of course, have pledged to strictly implement these new rules. But, of course, this is not without controversy because South Korea, for example, is actually in the process of getting rid of its so-called gaming curfew because of the lack of effectiveness.
And even though there's a lot of supportive and sheering voices online, many other people see this move as another sign of the ruling communist party trying to really reinserting itself into every aspect of pre-post private life, especially for young people just in the past few. They have banned after school private tutoring, there they're cracking on celebrity worshipping, especially among young. And now, of course, these gaming rules, leaving many people asking sarcastically, what are young Chinese people supposed to do now during their spare time? Robyn.
CURNOW: OK. Thanks for that. Steven Jiang there live there in Beijing. Thanks for that update.
So, a group of heavily armed bank robbers terrorized a small city in Brazil on Monday, strapping people to the tops of their getaway cars after raiding several banks. We know at least one suspect and two locals were eventually killed in a police -- shootouts with the police. Now, officials say the group also left a trail of explosives across the city. And residents are warned to stay inside until they could be deactivated. This is the latest in a series of increasingly violent bank heists in Brazil.
So, thanks for watching CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow. I'm going to hand you over to Rosemary Church. Rosemary picks up in just a moment.
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