>> jesse: does your upper chest just go right to your hips? deign be deign yes. >> jesse: stand up for the audience. god help you. >> greg: is that an h.r. >> jesse: i didn't say anything. you of all people, geraldo. >> jesse: that's it for us. "special report" is up next for bret berry. >> bret: lower hipbone to the rib? >> dana: lowest rib and hipbone almost touch. >> bret: all right. thank you. good evening, welcome to washington. i'm bret baier. breaking tonight. [gunfire] >> bret: gunshots ring out near the airport in kabul. desperation only growing there as people attempt to flee afghanistan. these graphic photos appear to show the barbaric reality in afghanistan under taliban control. this is the group tries to sell itself as more compassionate; however, saying different things to different people. and now we are hearing of the

plan to evacuate americans from afghanistan by the end of the month is in question. in fact, president biden just moments ago said in an interview that american troops will stay beyond the deadline until all americans are out of afghanistan. that is new. the president insisting all in that interview that he was clear-eyed about the chaos that would ensue following the u.s. departure. >> you don't think this auto could have been handled, this actually could have been handled better in any way? no mistakes? >> no. i, i have, i don't think it could have been handled in a way that -- we -- we are going to go back in hindsight and look, but the idea that somehow there is a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, i don't know how that happens. i don't know how that happens. >> so for you that was always priced into the decision. >> yes. >> bret: today, joint chiefs of staff chairman general mark milley disputed reports that u.s. intelligence predicted a

swift taliban takeover in a matter of days. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is following it all for us from the pentagon. good evening, jen. >> good evening, bret. finger pointing has already begun. some of the images you are about to see are very disturbing. u.s. military continuing to land in kabul. more than 5,000 u.s. troops now on the ground after pulling out completely a month ago and shuttering their main air base. >> the tenth mountain division in full battle gear guarding the u.s. embassy just weeks after all u.s. troops withdrew from afghanistan. marines are helping process the paperwork of afghans and american citizens seeking to flee as u.s. bureaucratic bottlenecks force military planes to leave kabul half empty. british paratroopers are leaving the airport to help rescue their citizens as the taliban maintain a cordon and control all the checkpoints around the airport. u.s. troops are not. >> we don't have the capability to go out and collect a large numbers of people. >> the defense secretary and

chairman of the joint chiefs face the press for the first time since afghanistan fell to the taliban. complicating the evacuation, the military's decision to close bagram air base located an hour and a half north of kabul, the largest air base the had in afghanistan for 20 years. >> why did you abandon the bagram airfield? why did u.s. military pull out given the uncertainty? >> our tank was to protect the embassy. if we were to keep both bagram and the embassy going, that would be a significant number of military forces. >> u.s. officials privately tell us it will be, quote, very challenging to meet president biden's deadline of august 31st to fully evacuate u.s. citizens and their allies. the images of taliban beating those trying to get to the airport captured by photographers in kabul suggest otherwise. sadistic scenes of taliban striking drivers with rubber hoses and firing weapons indiscriminately targeting women not fully covered.

holly, a freelance reporter stuck in shareef has asked to ask the taliban to escort her to the border. she described what happened to the afghan national army. >> there are a lot of abandoned tanks and abandoned u.s. equipment. the other thing i thought was interesting after a lot of taliban actually wearing the ana military union glorms uniforms purchased by u.s. taxpayers now worn by the taliban. i just received heart breaking email from a long time friend of mine who runs an ngo in afghanistan. she says 20 years of gains vanished overnight. the world she says betrayed afghanistan, quote: legitimized the savages and brought them into power. i don't understand, she writes, i'm still in shock, afghans especially women will face a world of fear, destruction, misery and endless pain. bret? >> bret: i have gotten some of those emails and messages as well. jennifer, thank you. in moments we will talk to that freelance journalist holly mckay. she will give us an update live

inside afghanistan she is along the afghan uzbek border. warned president biden afghanistan could fall at a rapid pace and now biden's national security team is down playing reports of internal disarray. heard some of that there from jen. white house correspondent jacqui heinrich has another part of that story tonight. >> i'm seeing all over the news that there were warnings of a rapid collapse, that was widely estimated it ranged from weeks to months and even years. following our departure. it was nothing that i or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days. >> with the administration forced to negotiate with the taliban for safe passage of americans behind enemy lines, and the taliban armed with u.s. military weapons, chairman of the joint chiefs general mark milley shot down reports that president biden knew afghanistan

could fall rapidly but pressed on anyway. the "wall street journal" reported tuesday president biden ignored advice from top generals to keep a small force of 2500 troops saying military and intelligence officials expressed concerns both about the capabilities of the afghan military and the taliban's likely ability to take over major afghan cities. the "new york times" also wrote classified assessments by american spy agencies over the summer painted increasingly grim picture of the prospect of afghanistan takeover of afghanistan even as president biden and his advisers said publicly that it was unlikely to happen this quickly. the article also noted other intelligence may have painted a more optimistic picture but added key american decisions were made prior when intelligence expected the afghan government to hang on two more years in first sit down interview since the taliban took over the president denied there was a better way. >> i don't think it could have been handled in a way that there -- we're going to go back in hindsight and look, but the idea that somehow there's a way

to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, i don't know how that happens. >> secretary adviser jake sullivan said yesterday the president still has confidence in his intelligence teams even as members of the president's own party call for hearings on what went wrong. bret? >> bret: jacqui heinrich live on the north lawn, thanks. let's bring in panel early. mara liasson, jason riley "wall street journal" columnist and senior fellow at the manhattan institute. and we're just digesting interview. george stephanopoulos with president biden there. we will play again in just a second. ari, to see the president come out today in the middle of what has been three, four, five days of chaos in kabul and give that speech about booster shots and then walk out of the room as a former white house press secretary, what were your thoughts? >> i always try to put myself in

the shoes of why is the president doing what he is doing? he must have a good reason. when you hear the tone in those snippets of his interview with george stephanopoulos he sounds so exasperated with the questions he is getting. he sounded that way at that july news conference. why are you asking me questions it's a three kay weekend? i don't want to talk about afghanistan. joe biden strikes me as one of these people that's been around so long, has seen it all, heard it all, he knows it all. and so when he says to the military you are out. we're coming home. that's it. he doesn't want to hear all the complications the other problems that will ensue as a result of it. he just says i have heard all your excuses before, just bring them home. and i think he has checked out. i think that's the only thing he was interested in and that's why this has backfired so much. >> bret: i want to play the extended part of the first clip of the interview we got from abc and then there is another part we just brought in. mara, take a listen to the

longer first part. >> seen hundreds of people pack into a c-17. we have seen afghans falling. >> that was four days ago, five days ago. >> when did you think when you first saw those pictures. >> what i thought is we have to gain control of this. we have to move this more quickly. we have to modify in a way to take control of that airport and we did. >> you don't think this could have been handled, this actually could have been handled better in any way? no mistakes? >> no. i, i -- i don't think it could have been handled in a different way -- we're going to go back in hindsight and look, but the idea that somehow there's a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, i don't know how that happens. i don't know how that had happened. >> so for you that was always priced into the decision? >> yes. >> bret: now, mara, today the defense secretary said we do not have the capability to go out and collect americans outside of the airport. they have to get there yet, the state department sent out the

embassy alert today that ended with the united states government cannot ensure safe passage to the harmid karzai international airport and went on to say that they're asking the taliban to ensure that safe passage. >> yeah. i mean, the messages from the white house are so confusing. i mean, basically the message from biden today on abc is it had to be this way. there was no alternative and he seems to suggest, since he said it was priced in, that he knew it was going to happen. but then you have general milley saying that there was no intelligence that suggested that the afghan government and military would collapse in 11 days. you also have joe biden back on july 8th, when he was asked your own intelligence community has assessed that the afghan government will likely collapse, he said that's not true. so, was he blindsided? was he not blindsided? we can't get a kind of straight picture of what happened. and to say that this was the

only way things could have unfolded, i think, is just not a good enough answer. >> bret: well, here is some more answers and i will let you assess whether they are good enough or not. another long clip from the abc interview. let's take a listen. >> and are you committed to making sure that the troops stay until every american who wants to be out -- >> -- yes. >> is out? >> yes. >> how about our afghan allies? we have about 80,000 people -- >> -- well, that's not. >> is that too high. >> that's too high. >> how many. >> the estimate we are getting is between 55 and 60,000 folks total counting their families. >> does the commitment hold for them as well? >> the commitment holds to get everyone out that, in fact, we can get out, everyone that should come out. and that's the objective. that's what we are doing now. that's the path we are on and i think we will get there. >> so americans shoulded understand that troops may have to be there beyond august 31st? >> no. americans should understand we are going to try to get it done before august 31st. >> but if we don't the troops will stay. >> if we don't, we will determine at the time who is

left. >> and? >> and if there are american forces -- if there is american citizens left, we will stay until we get them all out. >> we got there eventually, jason, but, what did you take from that? >> bret, i think that the taliban is lying to the u.s. government about its intentions and i think the u.s. government in terms of the biden administration is lying to the american people about its hands being tied as mara was just referring to. there is no reason we should believe anything that the taliban is telling us, part of the trump administration agreement the taliban was supposed to break ties with al-qaeda. they have not done that according to a u.n. report. as part of that same agreement, they were supposed to enter peace negotiations with the afghan government as we can all see, they are taking over this country why force, the biden administration has decided to turn afghanistan over to some of the worst terrorists on the planet.

they are trying to present surrender as courageous. some act of courage. and i don't think the american people are buying it. >> bret: there was a hunger, ari, to get troops out. but how we got them out and what we did to get them out was the key part. there is some amazing video today coming out of afghanistan of women, mothers handing over their children over the fence to try to get them into the airport even though they know they can't get there we didn't hear that and there is some of that video right now. we didn't hear that empathy, that emotion, at least not yet from president biden. >> and this is where he says that chaos was inevitable and he was clear-eyed about the chaos. bret, he wasn't clear -- eyed he was two faced. he said the confidence in the afghani military. he said they were strong. 300,000. best equipment, best trained. why didn't he say at that time no, this will be chaotic. he didn't level with the

american people. he took two totally different stands, depending on what was happening on the ground in afghanistan. and what's happening on the ground of afghanistan is he blew it. instead of having the proper sequence of a withdrawal which should have been civilians first, equipment second, troops last, he had troops come out first, which is why civilians are now in danger and our equipment has been captured and the troops had to go back. he blew it. >> bret: last thing quickly, mara, what do you think the long-term political impact is this week for this president? >> well, i can say right now it doesn't look good. because he is presiding over a debacle but over time i think it depends on what happens in afghanistan. does al-qaeda get another safe haven? do they launch attacks from there? what kind of images are we going to see about the treatment of women and girls? and, you know, the american people sometimes have a very short attention span if afghanistan settles down, maybe he won't suffer great damage.

right now i think there is no other way to look at this than a bad thing politically for biden right now. >> bret: all right, panel. stand by if you would. we will come to you later in the show. thank you. up next, when a covid-19 booster shot will be available to you. and why some fully vaccinated will have to wait. we will explain. first, here is what some of our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. fox 40 in san diego daniel march is asking an appeals court to retroactively grant him early release as a juvenile. march was 15 when he stabbed and mutilated an elderly couple in their bedroom. he was sentenced to 52 years to life before a state law barred young violent teens from being tried as adults. fox 2 in detroit and this jaw-dropping scene of a joy rider chained to the roof of a speeding escalade. one onlooker clocked the vehicle going at more than 80 miles per hour. holy cow. this is a live look at new york. fox 5 is covering a big story there tonight.

sharks in the hamptons, fewer than a dozen were spotted about 200 yards from shore. although they were seen. chevrolet beaches were temporarily closed today because of those big sharks. no injuries reported there. thankfully. sharks do swim in the water. but it's interesting to see them. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. ♪ ♪

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♪ >> people under undergla north carolina after remnants of drops fred counting. officials say task force members are searching by land, air and waterways to find survivors. recovery crews did rescue at least 15 other people earlier today. now to northern california the wildfires there at this hour. testifies stating small towns in their paths. the dixie calder fires continue to prompt evacuation orders while utility purposely plaque blacked out as many as 51,000 customers to try to prevent new blazes a state of emergency in effect for el dorado county where officials are considering closing the entire el dorado

national forest. soon many of you will be eligible to receive a covid-19 booster shot to reinforce your protection against the delta variant of the virus. white house correspondent peter doocy has more on the third dose rollout and why some fully. >> plan for every adult to get a booster shot. >> that's because delta variant cases are rising declining. >> we are seeing concerning evidence of waning vaccine effectiveness over time and against the delta variant. >> but a third dose means protection gets a big boost. >> a boost to mrna increases antibody by at least so fold and likely much more. >> international charity has a concern fewer doses donated to impoverished countries. the one campaign the biden administration decision to authorize booster shots for all

americans threatens to widen the gap between the haves and the have nots. the top republican in the senate is signaling continued support of vaccinations. >> when my turn comes, i'm going to take it. >> single shot johnson & johnson recipients must wait for updated guidance beginning september 20th, adults receiving pfizer and moderna third shot as long as it's been 8 months since second one. >> we will be able to get a booster at roughly 80,000 places across the country. >> nursing home workers won't have a choice. any nursing home without a fully vaccinated staff can't apply for medicare or medicaid funding. >> if you visit, live or work in a nursing home, you should not be at a high risk for contracting covid from unvaccinated employees. >> officials here are having a rough week. facing hard questions about foreign policy, plus they have always felt like their pandemic policy ideas are winners, so, even though this announcement was not urgent, here we are,

talking about covid and not just kabul. bret? >> bret: peter doocy in the white house briefing room. peter, thank you. a bitter battle over mask mandates is reaching a flash point in florida. two public school districts are under sanctions tonight for defying a state order banning mask mandates in schools. and just minutes ago the state's largest school district phil keating is in broward county tonight with the latest. >> in florida's broward county, the first day back to school is over. for second grader adrian alexander it was pretty good to be back. >> hot. >> the mask was hot? >> yeah. >> but you wore it? >> yeah. >> was it okay? >> yes. >> the national mask versus no mask argument hit broward hard tuesday night as well as alatch that county in gansville. ron desantis executive order that school district mandates

mask was parents must have the final call for their child, not the district. both are only allowing the opt out option with a doctor's note, which led the state board of education last night to unanimously sanction both districts without specifying exactly what that means. >> every school board member and superintendent have the duty to comply with the law whether they agree with it or not. >> miami-dade the largest school district in the state finally decided today on what its policy will be starting monday, students must wear masks mandatory unless they have a doctor's note. parents may get the opt out option later if covid numbers start dropping punishment by the state as well. this came after a meeting with medical experts who based on the data in a county with surging daily new cases and test positivity above 20% advised a mask mandate. >> we don't have a choice. if we care and love our children and our society, we have to take the actions of going to smolder

this horrible raging fire? in tampa held an emergency meeting this afternoon. it has a mask mandate with the parent opt out. 13% of whom did. after 8 days of school. nearly 9,000 students are now in quarantine and the case count is 20 times higher than this time last year. and in orange county schools around orlando, which began dallas last week, more than 1,000 teachers have now tested positive for covid-19. are back at home in quarantine. and just minutes ago, the hillsborough county school board voted to end the parental opt out option. at least for the next 30 days and yet another challenge to desantis. bret? >> bret: phil keating live in broward county we will stay on that one. up next, afghanistan's exiled president on why he chose to flee the country and did the ends justify the means? plus, trying to reestablish our

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and that's the kind of change you notice. talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent, a breakthrough eczema treatment. finding new routes to reach your customers, and new ways for them to reach you... is what business is all about. it's what the united states postal service has always been about. so as your business changes, we're changing with it. with e-commerce that runs at the speed of now. next day and two-day shipping nationwide. same day shipping across town. returns right from the doorstep, and deliveries seven days a week. it's a whole new world out there. let's not keep it waiting. ♪ >> bret: ashraf ghani the exiled afghan president who escaped when the taliban took over says he had to leave the country in order to stop more violence as correspondent trey yingst shows us the taliban's grip over the region has been anything but peaceful.

>> i left to prevent blood shed in order to make sure that the huge disaster is prevented. >> talking from the united arab emirates ashraf ghani spoke out for the first time on camera since taliban took control of his country while also denying reports that he left with $169 million in cash. >> details need to be provided those who think i left the country. my message is to not judge if you have not details. ghani tried to reassure the afghan people of his decision to flee saying he plans to eventually return and achieve peace for the country. the scenes in kabul today were anything but peaceful. taliban fighters fired into the air outside the city's airport as civilians tried to flee their country for the third straight day. assurances by the taliban inclusivity and amnesty f no

international -- >> already bloody incidents are happening throughout the country. in kabul taliban fighters stop people at checkpoints beating some and detaining others. one photo shows a bleeding child being carried away as a young woman lies on the ground. the taliban is facing resistance in some cities. including jalalabad with protesters gathered to tear down afghanistan flags as they raised the afghan flag killing three people and injuring more than a dozen others. >> i'm standing here in front of you. you can hit me with bullets, kill me. i will my life for this flag. there is my flag. my government will soon be back. god willing. >> tonight there are more chaotic images coming out of the airport in kabul.

once again the situation on the ground not exactly hatching up with what those officials in washington are saying. bret? >> bret: that's why we need watch it trey yingst live in our middle east newsroom. trey, thanks. the scramble to get americans out of afghanistan more complicated by the moment. you heard what the president said in thatizens are being told to shelter in place. others have been informed ahead to the kabul airport but they can't be provided security. with none knowing if they will actually be granted safe passage past taliban checkpoints. state department correspondent rich edson has specifics. [gunfire] >> the state department is telling americans to get to kabul's airport though acknowledges, quote: the united states government cannot ensure safe passage. contacts in kabul say there are taliban checkpoints across the city. and taliban are arbitrarily letting some people pass, denying entry to others, or just beating them.

an afghan also a former u.s. contractor says he was attacked while taking video near the airport. telling fox news the taliban saw me and took my mobile phone and they beat me very, very bad. >> in afghanistan, we are hearing the flights are leaving, that are not completely full, are half full, is this a problem with people getting to the airport? what is the hold up? >> we are opening the aperture to see to it that there are people there present with the increasing lid capacity that the u.s. military has provided so that there is not to the extent we can help it a single unused seat on these aircraft. >> for days the state department has detailed a series of international statements calling on the taliban to respect afghans' basic rights. >> the united states and the international community will be vigilant in monitoring how any future government in afghanistan ensures the right in that

country have come to expect says the u.s. will accountable. knowing about these statements addition to relying on taliban leadership. looks like changed deputy secretary of state kabul out of the tens of thousand sands. bret? >> rich edson at the state department. thanks. freelance journalist holly mckay u.s.s. border spent a lot of time over those years. holly, thanks so much for being here, we have a delay. it does freeze up some times. like to toss it to you to say paint a picture for our audience

about what you are seeing about this takeover. >> it's really are. [lost audio] >> just happened so quickly. people were slowly going into their homes or going to the bank and collecting all their money, yet, when i talk to penal, everybody was guaranteeing no. [frozen audio] last few days a what we are seeing is people are starting to see it as a new normal. people are coming out there. are a lot of announcements being made over. [broken audio]qa today. >> bret: yeah. as we mentioned this is freezing and coming to us live from inside of afghanistan. you do take some risk in broadcasting from there and doing stories from there.

are you worried about the taliban not being the taliban they talk about now what they used to be what used to seeing on some of these images. >> i have actually spoken a lot of the taliban members, both older members the leaders as well as the younger members. and i think as. [broken audio] foreigner about thoughts on women and basically say that they expect women to be out in a burqa. , however, i was not. and they also said that they expect slack law something should have your hand cut off is how they described it to me. other than that, they are really going on a p.r. blitz and really want to say to the world are to me [inaudible] when i questioned them about it and offered to

help me if you would believe, bret. >> bret: i hope that continues, holly. as we mentioned it was tough kind of back and forth froze up. we wish you the best. please stay safe. we will check in with you in coming days. >> thank you. >> bret: up next, new signs of rising violence along the southern border here in the u.s. we will have a live report from there. ♪ ♪ millions of vulnerable americans struggle to get reliable transportation to their medical appointments. that's why i started medhaul. citi launched the impact fund to invest in both women and entrepreneurs of color like me, so i can realize my vision and give everything i've got to my company, and my community. i got you. for the love of people. for the love of community. for the love of progress. citi.

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(burke) this is why you want farmers claim forgiveness... available now, in 4 vibrant style colors. [echoing] claim forgiveness-ness, your home premium won't go up just because of this. (woman) wow, that's something. (burke) you get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. [echoing] get a quote today. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ >> bret: stocks were off 2 3, the s&p 500 dropped 48. the nasdaq fell 130 today as migrant encounters at the u.s. mexico border hit 21 year high, border patrol agents are coming under fire. literally. in recent weeks. story from la jolla. >> from across the rio grande

into texas, from across the border into california, shots have been fired at least twice in the last two weeks at border patrol agents. adding to the stresses the agents faces a they deal with the daily flow of migrants and the threat of covid no one knows agents but officials believe it is almost certainly members of the drug cartels and smuggling gangs who largely control the mexican side of the border. the shootings are among a total of 388. since october of last year. no one was injured in the most recent incident but they have sparked real concern that an agent could be killed gunfire continues. border patrol chief raúl ortiz sent a clear message late tuesday saying, quote: we take these threats and acts of violence seriously and will do everything we can to identify

and bring those to justice who have sought to harm the men and women of the border patrol. in another reminder of the dangers border patrol agents face every day, the chief of the rio grande feal sector announced that two more members of the violent ms-13 gang were taken into custody yesterday after crossing the border. and the migrants crossing day and night tell us they, too, are abused by the gangs, cartels and smugglers physically emotionally and financially. >> she has heard of women being abused bad people in mexico. >> and the department of justice proposed new screening rules for asylum seekers today. suggesting u.s. citizenship and immigration services agents should adjudicate many of those cases instead of judges.

the doj says it will speed up the asylum process. bret? >> bret: jonathan hunt along the border in lajoie a thank you. up next our panel is back for more on the afghan troop withdrawal and how the biden administration is defending its strategy despite bipartisan criticism. first, some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. hospitals in haiti are overwhelmed as thousands of victims of saturday's 7.2 magnitude earthquake continued to poor in for treatment. tropical storm grace also complicating recovery efforts there. even with foreign aid earthquake nearly 2,000 people. -- a polish olympian has her silver medal returned after auctioning it off to pay for 8 month old's heart surgery. a polish supermarket chain bid 125,000s for the javelin thrower's middle this year was

made the first time she made it to the winner's podium. and pope francis shows off his mini soccer skills. the pontiff played a round of foosball in the hall of pontifical audience apparently he is pretty good. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be right back. ♪ as someone who resembles someone else... i appreciate that liberty mutual knows everyone's unique. that's why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. oh, yeah. that's the spot. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪

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♪ be. >> and we are the united states military and we fully intend to successfully evacuate all-american citizens who want to get out of afghanistan. they are our priority number one. there was nothing that i or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days. >> i would draw a distinction bar between extracting someone in extremist condition or circumstance verses going out and collecting large numbers of american citizens. >> you have the capability to go out and collect americans. >> we don't have the capability to go out and collect large numbers of people. >> bret: defense secretary and the chairman of the joint chiefs today and there you see what is happening with the airport and trying to get americans and

others to that airport to exit. the president did say in that abc interview as we played earlier that they will stay beyond august 31st to get as many people out as they can. but it's still complicated. how the world sees this, here is just one glimpse of this. this is from ian bremmer who we know political scientist and group he tweets the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan is, quote: the greatest debacle that nato has experienced since its foundation. that's from armen lashshet german's likely next chancellor. you hear something like that and realize it has much broader implications. >> it does, bret. of course we have the capability to do it. the question is do we have the political will to do it. and that's why i say that this administration is being dishonest with the american

people. this claim that oh, this is a civil war, and we just need to get out of there. that is not why we went into afghanistan. we did not go into afghanistan to secure women's rights or political freedom or any of that. went in there one purpose to make sure it did not become a safe haven for terrorists to launch attacks on america and its allies. that mission is clearly not been accomplished and the biden administration's withdrawing not only incompetently but prematurely and that is what is going on there. this is a question of political will, not capability. >> bret: this is wendy sherman state department shortly after that briefing from the defense department. >> we have seen reports that the taliban, contrary to their public statements and their commitments to our government are blocking afghans who wish to

leave the country from reaching the airport. we expect them to allow all-american citizens all third country nationals and all afghans who wish to leave to do so safely and without harassment. >> bret: do they really think, ari, from the podium from the state department that the taliban encircling the airport are going to be listening to wendy sherman? >> yeah, this is the same administration that said if you don't follow the rules, you won't have international legitimacy as if the radical islamists who now are running afghanistan care what a bunch of christians, buddhists and hindus around the world think. they are going to do what they want to do. this is a western fantasy that statements like this exhortations have value. military strength has value. leverage has value. and the amazing thing now is the united states of america an island protecting an airport is now dependent on the tender mercies of the taliban at the outskirts of that airport.

that is the reality in which our military faces the world today in afghanistan. it's an amazing situation that the united states has found itself in. >> bret: mara, after we heard the defense department defense secretary heard messages from the state department and we heard what the president said to george stephanopoulos. what do we conceivably think the president's speech tomorrow on afghanistan delivering is going to be? >> well, i don't know. we know what he said the other day felt no regrets about his decision he focused on the policy, not the execution because he knows most americans are with him on the basic decision to withdraw. where he is running into trouble is that he hasn't been able to withdraw competently or successfully. and that is the real problem here is that americans have soured on this war. they have figured after 20 years and trillions of dollars and $86 billion in training the afghan military that it just

wasn't worth it that's quite different with what is happening on the ground now. i think the biden administration's first task is to try to get ahold of this withdrawal and get people out safely do and it really quickly. >> bret: just quickly jason, just ironic that on twitter the taliban spokesman still has a place but the former president of the united states does not. >> yes, you are right. and it's not just twitter. i mean, youtube is disciplining rand paul, senator rand paul who is a medical doctor for questioning masks. amazon does not want to publish people who question the transgender movement but will plush people or sell books from people who promote nalts is i i ideology. so there is a tremendous inconsistency here on these platforms in terms of enforcings rules. and if they don't want congress to get involved. they need to come up with some consistent policy. >> come back tomorrow's headlines.

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and that's exactly why you should join. ♪ >> bret: finally tonight, a look at tomorrow's headlines with the panel. mara? >> my headline is taliban's promise of tolerance undercut by their actions. i think in this case it's better to see what they do than listen to what they say. >> bret: all right. jason? >> bret, i think we are going to see reports that not only large sums of money but large numbers of young jihadists from places like afghanistan and elsewhere are going to be flocking to afghanistan to help the taliban retake the country. thanks to the biden administration's incompetence here, terrorists all over the world are going to see afghanistan as a safe haven. >> bret: ari? >> my headline is a different headline and it's a happy headline. yankees sweep red sox if season ended today, sox out of playoff

picture happy headline. >> bret: some boston people are very sad about that but that's good to end on. something different. thank you. tomorrow on "special report" we will continue to follow the developments in afghanistan and with this administration. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight and for trusting us. that's it for this "special report," fair, balanced and still unafraid. "fox news primetime" hosted by will cain starts right now. hey, will. >> will: ari fleischer with silver lining for yankee fans in the new york metro. thank you,. >> bret: bret you bet. >> will: good evening and welcome to "fox news primetime." ♪ ♪ >> will: i'm will cain and president joe biden today in a blatant attempt to distract from his debacle in afghanistan stepped up to the podium and announced a slew of mandates, masks, vaccine and booster shots to the american people. >> it only makes sense to require vaccine that stops the spread of covid-19. we need to make sure children are wearing