so the taliban went to war with the taliban let afghanistan in 2000. what we have seen with iran over the more recent years, particularly with its relationship -- particularly as its relationship with the u.s. got worse, it started to funnel arms to the taliban. i think that's was -- that was meant to poke the u.s. in the eye and present more strength to america's rival in afghanistan. for iran, its major interest and concern is the she a muslim community in afghanistan. they are the religious minority in afghanistan, a very vulnerable community. the taliban, many of the murder. i run will wordy -- worry about their security. i think they will look to get reassurances that [indiscernible] iran does have a potential asset in afghanistan. there is a shia built militia on afghanistan that iran cultivated to deploy to the middle east and fight in the wars there. iran has the option if things came to to reconstitute that afghan/shia militia and try to deploy to protect the shieh community. that is an advantage iran has. final point, it worries about the tal

the taliban have... with respect, mr zakhilwal, what we see right now is the united states has cut off all of afghanistan's dollar reserves. that's billions and billions of us dollars. we see the imf has also, for the moment, suspended all economic assistance to afghanistan. we see an economy that, until two weeks ago, was 40% reliant on international economic aid and assistance. that's all gone. you'd think if the taliban were serious about trying to get some of those economic lifelines restored, they might be doing more to reach out in terms of guaranteeing rights, guaranteeing political pluralism. we're not seeing it. yeah. and that's what we are trying to get them to understand, the severity of the economy of the country, the enormity of the responsibility on their shoulders, and they must... time should be of the essence, enough urgency to them and that a political settlement, absolutely something that the economy of the future of this country will depend upon. and we hope they realise the enormity

the american government lamed the taliban -- blamed the taliban for harboring al qaeda. the taliban says it has changed since it was last in power. we have more on how they may govern this time around. reporter: step-by-step, a return to rule. ever since the taliban signed a deal last year with the u.s., their old enemy, they have been emboldened. moments like this started to shift their international image. then suddenly, this summer, district by district, they were back in charge. these scenes were recently filmed for us in a province at the gates of kabul. scenes of an orderly transition, the taliban taking over, taking care of the people. but more grislyeos have been surfacing. alleged abuses and atrocities. whato you say to those who fear the return of the taliban? >> they should not fear because the government that will come after this will be acceptable to all. reporter: taliban rule that returns to afghanistan will be different than the one they govern so harshly in the lat 1990's. we have reported on the change, however imperfect over the last two decades. no on

there is a huge pakistani taliban presence, people disaffected by the pakistani taliban or who were in groups who crossed over into isis. this is seen as a for tile battle space -- as a fertile battle space by isis. >> let me get this straight. what you are saying also is the group, in your opinion, wants to establish a caliphate and also wants to reestablish some sort of relevance in afghanistan. >> they are already relevant. they just have to expand their operations. they have to take advantage of the strategic vacuum that has been created. they will want to expand into pakistan as well, where there is fertile ground. places on the western periphery of afghanistan that were formerly under the control at one point, from 2007 to the early 2010s, by the pakistani taliban. this is a battle space that they know. at the end of the day, isis in afghanistan are people from outside. this is isis parachuting people from the mothership. in the arab world, these are locals who are battle hardened, they know the terrain, and they are coming out under a new label and see they have a better opportu

-taliban talks in doha. meanwhile, former afghan president hamid karzai held talks today with the head of the haqqani network, a powerful faction of the taliban. this all comes as the taliban moves to secure its control of afghanistan. on tuesday, the taliban held a news conference where they promised amnesty for former government officials and pledged to eradicate opium production. the taliban also made promises to protect some rights of journalists and women. >> government offices will be activated soon and all employees, including women, returned to work and work in areas permitted by sharia law. we and you see that in the field of medicine, education, police, and other sectors of society. we need women because it is a necessity of society. amy: despite the taliban's pledges, many women across afghanistan have not left their homes since the taliban seized control. earlier today, the taliban opened fire on hundreds of protesters in northeastern jalalabad who marched through the streets holding the black, r

taliban has been. it is and the taliban has been. it is complicated — and the taliban has been. it 3 complicated because afghanistan is so important to iran, both economically and regard to the amount of trade but also because afghanistan is home to so many she a muslim. the islamic regime of iran is sheer. and that is key to understanding the difference between the taliban and the islamic regime of iran when it comes to their relationship. the taliban is here and the islamic regime of iran is sheer. and historically they have been better enemies. there was one key event where the taliban assassinated almost one dozen iranians diplomats and a journalist and it almost led to war between the two. instead, a run opted to co—operate with the us in order to topple the taliban. come 2001, the us led invasion in afghanistan and that calculation changed on iran's part. they began cooperating with the taliban and to stave off the us influence, so much so that the us officials accused iran of having supplied

the taliban and — die and not just at the hands of the taliban and isis k, there will be from _ taliban and isis k, there will be from the — taliban and isis k, there will be from the us and uk france. how and where the intelligences _ from the us and uk france. how and where the intelligences coming - where the intelligences coming number one for those us strikes, those drone strikes considering looking forward, that there aren't going to be in neat forces, us forces uk forces or any allied forces uk forces or any allied forces in afghanistan of the question is, where is the intelligence going to come from? that is really interesting point and we've seen in the past couple of days, i was struck by the reports of this family that had been killed and no one seems to know exact facts. it doesn't matter but for the sake of the report, a large family had died in the age of the children and the exact place that the incident happened is a bit vague and it's because we don't know or have the eyes on the ground any more and yet, as you say, the uk government in the us government is saying tha

, ., ,., taliban? there will be a potent element. taliban? there will be a potent element as— taliban? there will be a potent element. as an _ taliban? there will be a potent element. as an economic- taliban? there will be a potent element. as an economic crisis taliban? there will be a potent i element. as an economic crisis in the country clearly as a result of what is happen. there's also a humanitarian crisis. the taliban want to be able to demonstrate that they can run a government and run it more effectively than they did 20 years ago. and to do that they will need external assistance. at the moment the existing government, still the legitimate government in many peoples eyes have money overseas particularly in the united states. and that money has been frozen. there is a deal to be done if they want that money released in support of their own efforts of governance in kabul. also, afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world and it's something like 60%, 70% of its gdp is an overseas aid. if they don't get any future aid an

interesting you say the taliban will have to - say the taliban will have to cooperate. that is not in the international community's hands, is it? it international community's hands, is it? , a, u, international community's hands, is it? , ., it? it is, if you have got british troo ts it? it is, if you have got british hearts in _ it? it is, if you have got british troops in there _ it? it is, if you have got british troops in there and _ it? it is, if you have got british troops in there and there - it? it is, if you have got british troops in there and there will l it? it is, if you have got british l troops in there and there will be thousands of us forces in there, and they have got a role in this as well. and there is more where they came from. we have to toughen up our approach here and go to them and say, listen, you are going to have to play ball here. we have got enough forces in kabul right now to make sure that happens. serra; enough forces in kabul right now to make sure that happens.— enough forces in kabul right now to make sure that happens. sorry to cut

will it include non-taliban or is it just going to be an exclusive taliban government? that is what they really want, and exclusive taliban government, no interference from wannab politicians. of course that would not be a representative government. [indiscernible] making sure they do not rise up in revolt down the road. amy: we have to leave it there but we hope to have you back soon as these developments are fast unfolding. ahmed rashid is a writer and award-winning journalist. author of several books including, "taliban: militant islam, oil and fundamentalism in central asia." and also thank you to ali latifi , journalist joining us from kabul. we will continue to cover this in the days to come. coming up, we go to haiti where the death toll has reached 1300 following a magnitude 7.2 earthquake. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break] amy: "the sun" by emerante de pradines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn now to haiti, where the government has declared a state of emergency after a major 7.2 magnitude earthquake

— rights will they have in the taliban context? the taliban is a more extremist _ taliban context? the taliban is a more extremist aversion - taliban context? the taliban is a more extremist aversion of l a more extremist aversion of these issues. we usually distinguish between islam as a religious tradition, as part of a complex and nearly 2 billion people strong faith community thatis people strong faith community that is culturally quite divergent and then political islam, where they have different goals which include terrorism, include political violence. we can talk about isis, we can talk about the taliban as having this revivalist tradition. so the idea that the taliban will be using a form of islamic law thatis using a form of islamic law that is faithful to islamic practice, which is supposed to be equality before the law, there is supposed to be equal rights between the sexes, inclusive governments. the idea that the taliban will be practising a kind of faithful notion of it law, i think is a bridge too far, it is quite a stretch, i think. bridge too far, it is quite a st

she fled the taliban | democrat country when taliban obviously. she fled the taliban i democrat country when taliban were in power more than two decades ago. she was a family courtjudge and activist. she was a family court 'udge and activist. , . ., ., she was a family court 'udge and activist. , ., , ., ,, , activist. they came and slapped my mother and — activist. they came and slapped my mother and my _ activist. they came and slapped my mother and my sisters, _ activist. they came and slapped my mother and my sisters, and - activist. they came and slapped my mother and my sisters, and they i activist. they came and slapped my i mother and my sisters, and they were looking _ mother and my sisters, and they were looking for— mother and my sisters, and they were looking for me and searching throughout the house. my plan to empower— throughout the house. my plan to empower women was not popular with the taliban, _ empower women was not popular with the taliban, because the column and -- taiihanm — the taliban, because the column and ——

they are scared from the taliban. amy: for more, we are going to be joined by three afghan women who have fled their country -- one left in 2017, 1 left last month but was planning to return, and one left friday for a brief visit to the united states. let's begin with nasrin nawa, who was in kabul until friday and joins us from lincoln, nebraska, where she is a fulbright scholar at the university of nebraska-lincoln. she is a former journalist with bbc persian based in kabul and her piece published monday in "the washington post" is titled "my taliban nightmare came true. i left, but my sister couldn't." in it, she writes -- "since before i left kabul a few days ago, i keep having the same nightmare -- my sister running, sweating and bleeding, followed by taliban fighters on the streets of kabul. then the nightmare came true." nasrin nawa, your sister is a journalist, like you. tell uaps atnewh htoped her on sunday after the taliban seized control and since then. >> she was out of the house like so many other people i

ih to have the prospect of life under the taliban-— the taliban. in saying this, i'm not askini the taliban. in saying this, i'm not asking you — the taliban. in saying this, i'm not asking you to _ the taliban. in saying this, i'm not asking you to tell— the taliban. in saying this, i'm not asking you to tell us _ the taliban. in saying this, i'm not asking you to tell us in detail i the taliban. in saying this, i'm not asking you to tell us in detail or. asking you to tell us in detail or anything about what happened to you, but it is fair to say you were tortured as a child by the taliban. giving your experience and others that you know back home and your part of the country and indeed what you have heard is going on at the moment, can you square what you went through and what they may be experiencing at the moment with the warm words, if you like, that we have heard from the taliban, the reassurances for respect for girls and the ability to continue with schooling and the desire not to punish anybody who was connected to the old regime? for

the united states, biden gave her -- by engaging with taliban, will have more leverage over taliban. if the united states does not engage with taliban, we're manufacturing a nonstate actor. dealing with a nonstate actor is always problematic, and we will blame ourselves something happened in that territory because we created the nonstate actor. lisa: should the united states recognize the taliban? ali: the united states has said many times they will recognize any government if they actually observe the international law, human rights, and we will see if the taliban actually live up to the promises they have made. currently in their public statements, they say the right things. but it depends what will happen, when they establish themselves more. now they are not in a situation that they can actually make statements that cause them to lose international support. on the other hand, the one thing that was very impressive, the discipline of their fighters. when they entered kabul and other areas, they actually had acted in the right way of treating the people in a more acceptable way. so

and that kind of context, can the taliban govern? will they be able to generate enough investments and funds to keep the basic level of livelihood in the country and supper revolts basically against them? i think that remains a question to be answered. right now what i observe, when i talk to people in many parts of the country, safford told to come back in most places -- staff are told to come back in most places but they may be told their salary is uncertain or cut. many were employed in education, receiving government salaries. half a million people. those people's future are in danger. the taliban have to be selective in terms of who they keep and they are likely to put their people who are already illogically aligned with them in positions who would undermine the competency of some of those is the duchenne's. the question you ask in terms of whether they will be able to find enough educated people to man the government and mix for the basic services are delivered, as we speak, that is bein -- that has been a challenge. it is har

taliban of 20 years ago. i think the jury is out. i think that there are a lot of, as joe biden said, the other day, the taliban has a lot of interests and not to be trusted, but their interests are aligned for the moment in trying to show the world that it is not the same organization. it was 20 years ago, i was surprised that mackenzie did embrace them as much as he did. there are so many other generals that have made exactly the antithetical case that you cannot trust the taliban at all. and people's lives and teachers are in very much in jeopardy, particularly any one that stood by us. it was interesting. the general also made a big point about the challenges that isis is going isis k is going to put on the taliban describing it them as the biggest challenge for the taliban going forward. how. how much of a worry is isis for not just the tele body for the world at large molina, i think isis k is a very big challenge. not only there, but i think you know where they are in yemen where they are in other plac

and whether they recognise the taliban was reminding you that when the taliban were the government enough kindest . on the end of the 1900 ninety's and 2000 until 2001 after after 911, they didn't have international diplomatic recognition. they were only recognized by 3 countries by saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, and pakistan, and of the un seat stayed with the representative of the old government of afghanistan and not with the taliban. now will that be different this time? i think it depends very much on whether countries like russia and china is big players, members of the, the p 5, the 5 permanent members of the security council decide to recognize the taliban this this time around. and what would happen at the un is it would then go to something called the credentials committee of the general assembly. and then the general assembly itself may vote on whether the taliban actually take the seat in new york. but i think there's a possibility, and remember we've seen delegations of the taliban going to both moscow and to beijing in recent months. i think there's a possibility. t

i between the taliban right now and the taliban— between the taliban right now and the taliban 20 _ between the taliban right now and the taliban 20 years _ between the taliban right now and the taliban 20 years ago. - between the taliban right now and the taliban 20 years ago. those . between the taliban right now and the taliban 20 years ago. those in power— the taliban 20 years ago. those in power 20 — the taliban 20 years ago. those in power 20 years _ the taliban 20 years ago. those in power 20 years ago _ the taliban 20 years ago. those in power 20 years ago killed - the taliban 20 years ago. those in power 20 years ago killed people. the taliban 20 years ago. those in i power 20 years ago killed people and i don't _ power 20 years ago killed people and i don't know— power 20 years ago killed people and i don't know when _ power 20 years ago killed people and i don't know when they _ power 20 years ago killed people and i don't know when they will _ power 20 years ago killed people and i don't know when they will start - i don't know when they will start again _ i don't

yes, for example, a taliban spokesperson... i studied l a taliban spokesperson... i studied charlie a law, —— sharia law. women cannot be activists, politician, singers, musicians, reporters, journalistic. basically, according to this law, women's don't have any right. for many other women in afghanistan, i've been in contact with women in kabul. they say they will not suppress women and they can continue working, but my own mother, she's been a teacher for 20 years. she was asked to go back home, and all women in afghanistan have been sent back home. you can see that how much, the difference in what they say and what actually they're doing on the ground with the people. not only in kabul. they are keeping a good face in kabul. we saw a female prevent centre —— presenter... it's completely different. how much these people are organised and they're listening to their leaders. they don't. �* listening to their leaders. they don't. . , ., listening to their leaders. they don't. �* , don't. and you left the country ourself don't. and you left the country yo

we have been saying the taliban will be judged by i the taliban will be judged by the taliban will be judged by the words and their actions but their words are in trouble. they have insisted that women and girls will be educated separately than men. in afghanistan, that will inevitably, because of the reality of afghanistan, because of the shortage of teachers, because of the fact that there are no women's colleges, because there are so few female teachers, that, by definition, means that there will be an unequal level for women and girls education in afghanistan. secondly, they have made it clear they are not going to allow women to work in many areas but we also agree at the same time, that the taliban are cut off from the international system then that will lead to even further degradations of women and girls rights and human rights of all afghans. the international community will need to figure this out. this is the irony, isn't it, then? you are suggesting the international community is going to have to valley round, whatever that looks like, to p"°p up whatever that looks like,

is still "in talks because cope the taliban as confidently stated, the taliban has not told us that they interfere with the safe passage with people to the airport. with what concern says? what leverage to we have from the weekend position that the presidents put us in question marks before we've a joint statement from countries. this is one of our top concerns. at the end >> swe've a joint statement from of the statement, we are keeping track then what? we have so many issues and problems over there right now. there's not a lot of confidence that the administration has anywhere near under control. the state department sent out a short time ago that the emergency communication center going to americans that are still stuck by the thousands of them there in afghanistan. in all caps, this alert to them and says that united states government cannot ensure a passage to the international airport. they're telling them to go there, but sang we think we can get you safe passage. taliban is working with us come up. we cannot guarantee it, but try to get there. desperate young man. >> emily: there

as the taliban search, the u. s. deployed more than 5000 troops to the airport. chaos in the streets as the taliban took over the country and the capital after just 11 days, the airport overwhelmed as thousands tried to flee some desperately clinging to the outside of us cargo planes only to plunge to their death. the airport later secured the united states military decided the best solution was to work with the taliban, which was then in charge of deciding who stays and who goes into the airport. but then suddenly, americans were told to stay away from the airport in attack was imminent, and it came to suicide bombers believe to be isis k. more than 170 afghans dead. along with 13 members of the us military, american service members who gave their lives. so overuse word but is totally appropriate here were heroes. dear vacuum options continued the promise to get every american out. every afghan who help us broken us officials say they will continue to try and get everyone out. but they say a will not be a job for

— the taliban? they've been fairly muted _ the taliban? they've been fairly muted in _ the taliban? they've been fairly muted in terms - the taliban? they've been fairly muted in terms of i fairly muted in terms of commenting on the taliban specifically, but they have been very positive about the us exit. the president has gone so far as to say this is an opportunity for lasting peace and security, reviving life, and security, reviving life, and yet when it comes to the taliban, he has refrained from criticising them, which already is an important factor here. so it does seem like what they are trying to engender is some sort of cooperation, because the challenge ever iran as they want to preserve those economic ties, so much passes through the border, fuel, water, that they depend on, but the key challenge is security. they want to make sure that shieh muslims are protected. the taliban and so far has seemed to allow that. it made a show of allowing the muslim celebration of but sure to be celebrated in kabul. few people went out of fear, but they want to make sure that she and mus

and people are very uneasy about the return of the taliban. despite all of the assurances from the taliban, that this is not the taliban of all. that there are guarantees about education for girls about women's rights and so on. there is still still a lot of needs, but i think gradually that has been an acceptance that well, the taliban is back and we have to make due with it. it has caused, as i said, panic. and if people have been able to get out of afghanistan, get hold of a passport, we've seen an awful lot of that, a real desperate attempts by people to get out of afghanistan, but then accepted by most people that yes they, they don't have that option. so they have to make the best of it and we'll be talking to people on the streets. they have been speaking to us saying, well maybe it's not that bad. if we have some sort of power sharing agreement or bring them back into government in one form or, or another. but you shows you just how quickly this scenario of change that's all out of date. and that was just people talking to days ago. because of course, there's nobody seemingly for t

does he cut a deal with taliban taliban the -- with the taliban? is there any issue with the withdrawal? can it be conducted in an orderly fashion? in the coming days and weeks, i expect al qaeda and other terror groups, keep in mind the united nations called the deputy mayor of the taliban and military strategist who is the man with the plan to take over afghanistan. host: there's also a call for a human emergency meeting. guest: this is all perfunctory. the time for diplomacy and a stern word of statements has long passed. diplomacy and a stern word of statements, that's what got us here. the u.s. officials thought there was a diplomatic solution when the taliban always had a military solution. host: bill roggio, you can find his reporting and his work. we appreciate your time. guest: thank you for having me. it was a pleasure. host: we are going to take a short break. woman come back, we will continue talking about afghanistan. -- when we come back, we will continue talking about afghanistan. was leaving afghanistan a mistake? yes, no, unsure an

and we don't know are countries going to recognize the taliban, will the talibans gamble that it can somehow do enough to persuade the international community to give it international aid and legitimacy. we really don't know and we're waiting to see. this is almost an unpress depadented event. 20 years after going to war for one specific cause and that cause has been abandoned by the west and handed back to the very enemy that they fought back in 2001. so, you know, it is all the words, all the attempts to cover themselves in some kind of honor will not protect the west from what is going to unfold. and it is going to be very difficult to watch what happens to the afghan people again. >> it most definitely will. thank you for your analysis and your incredible reporting. >>> and coming up here on cnn newsroom, afghan civilians have the most to lose with the taliban takeover. thousands have already fled the violence this year and we'll have more on their plight. >> i can't believe the world abandoned afghanistan. and our friends are going to get killed. they will kill us. our women are

will it only be the taliban? but there's also talk of curfew tonight, for example, this top off, you know, majors preventing looting and careless in the city. this is still a city of at least 6000000 people who are, you know, thousands of st. and then there are galaxy. and that the how much because i didn't actually airport where, you know, hundreds of the women and children tried to get on to any plan that they could. and they were fired by the american forces. dad, at least 5 fatalities. more than 50 people have been wounded and on the parameters of the airport. it is the taliban who present. so it is not only chaos, but it's also tragedy. you know, that's how one of the looks after 20 years of massive investments by the u. s. and other than blood integration, just a few hours ago, the total news agency said on twitter, this office had been seized by members of the taliban. do we know what the situation is there now? was told was the office of the start of the most popular and b television station. i saw the ta

look, the afghan army are not as motivated as the taliban. they're not as organized as the taliban. the taliban are much more battle hardened and experienced. and they have a lot more discipline than the afghan army. there's a lot of reasons for this that we can sit and discuss until the morning, but the fact of the matter is that they are a much stronger force, and without the support of nato and u.s. troops, the afghan army simply doesn't have a fighting chance against the taliban, so this shouldn't come as a huge surprise that it fell. yes, maybe the timing of how quickly it happened is surprising, but that it ultimately happened shouldn't come as a shock. a lot of people here in iran, regular people and the government people, also saw that coming. the afghan army just wasn't a match for the taliban, if they're not being supported by u.s. troops, u.s. intelligence, and u.s. air force. yes, the afghan commandos do a certain job, but they don't really make up the 300 strong afghan personnel. >> all right, ali arouzi in tehran, thank you. we want to go to pentagon correspondent cour

what is the taliban's attitude to it? well, the taliban has a new attitude. we just recently heard the spokesman saying that the taliban wants to bring afghanistan to a drug—free state and that is a nice in ambition, it is something the taliban also stated in the 1990s, even as it taxed the opium economy was deeply involved in it, as it has been in the past 20 years. there was no easy exit out of the poppy. it is the blood life of the economy, a tremendous number of people depend on it, it brings the taliban hundreds of thousands of dollars or at least tens of millions of dollars, rather, or hundreds of millions of dollars a year. and more importantly, it employs very many people. for the past 20 years the two principal sources of employment

of the taliban unclear. that's also unclear. and i was told the president is about to have a video call with his minister. the president is giving off the idea that they're still very much here and in control. the taliban ars are not in the city. it does sound likely they are looking at some sort of negotiations here to prevent a taliban onslaught into kabul. officials went onto say, our aim is to avoid harm to the people of kabul. our aim is to make sure there is no violence. i have to tell you of the insurg insurgency stacked up in kabul, the only way to be achieved, this goes back to the broader question of where they want to go and what they want to do. the u.s. rested on this and quite happy ily being need of t palace. it will be problematic for them. inevitably, these negotiations given happening with the threat of reports, reports of many more provinces and cities falling as well. some troubling reports unconfirmed but adding to the sense of panicking here. it may not be as secure at this point. that

it isjust— really is taliban to point out. it isjust as — really is taliban to point out. it isjust as slick really is taliban to point out. it is just as slick our version of what we know— is just as slick our version of what we know of— is just as slick our version of what we know of that taliban. you take both of those _ we know of that taliban. you take both of those boxes, _ we know of that taliban. you take both of those boxes, journalist. we know of that taliban. you take l both of those boxes, journalist and female. what did you make of that? i agree with henry. they have just got better at slick delivery. at one of

the taliban does not trust the pakistan intelligence agency. the taliban has become powerful. it has relationships with other countries, including iran. it also has, because of this international legitimacy it has gained with its travel toguest:. this kind of military independence that he gained makes it less reliance upon back standing -- upon pakistani support. host: this on twitter from jordan, an independent film maker showing an independence day protest in kabul. he said they marched past taliban soldiers with some of them screaming back at the protesters. some of the video filmed by that filmmaker. what does that seen -- scene tell you? guest: that is a striking development and it shows you, tells you that afghanistan of 2021 is not the same as the afghanistan of 1990 six or even 2001. there are these -- afghanistan of 1996 or even 2001. that have come of age and have freedoms at the time they did not have the five years that the taliban ruled from 1996 to 2001. they will not accept a taliban government without protest. there is a notion that the afghan flag have been re

-- fell to the taliban on sunday. we bumped into these men in kabul. who we met ur weeks ago. >> [speaking foreign language] reporter: then, the city was refuge for tens of thousands of people who fled fighting in villages. now, we have learned, in recent days, mortar shells landed in these camps. we do not know what happened to the people we met there. most of the north of the country has been taken over by the taliban. those who have escaped to kabul are staring at uncertainty. fears that the capital, t, could fall within weeks. bbc news, kabul. laura: humanitarian disaster is fast unfolding in afghanistan. more than a thousand civilians have been killed in fighting between the taliban and government forces. in july, the areas controlled by the taliban were shown in red, with contested regions in yellow. now even more territory has fallen to the taliban. including nine of the country's 34 provincial capitals. our afghanistan correspondent has been given rare access to newly captured taliban territory. a warning, you

the taliban says it will be inclusive on weapons. a member of the taliban political office. i'm a connie was pictured meeting national reconciliation chairman abdullah, abdullah and the former president hammock cause i didn't cobble the counterbalance co founder and political chief has returned to afghanistan. abdul ghani brodder arrived to a crowd of supporters in kandahar the birthplace of the taliban, brought to lead the groups negotiators and talks with the us and the afghan government. he was free from a prison in pakistan at the request of the united states 3 years ago. when after taking part in cobble, the afghan taliban is now and talks with the pakistani government come out. hydro has more on that aspect from the town of tour come in pakistan. a sunnier of delegation comprising of his, of our leaders in august on, at the moment. they've already had an important round of dogs with the country's military leadership. they have met the bugs on the prime minister. bog. it's gone is stretching on the point that has to be an inclusive government. the taliban have already s

he shows a taliban setting up a roadblock. between jamal about uncouple, people are reportedly being checked for documents with men who don't have any bid of being off if they're muslim. and. 2 now the taliban ramped up the offensive in april, following jo biden's confirmation that he was pulling out american troops. look at the numbers right here. you can see in just a matter of months, the group has successfully swept across the entire country. let's take a look now at how all of these events unfolded the despite the fears of many african citizens, the taliban says there's nothing to be afraid of. a representative of the group still viewed as a terrorist organization by many countries around the world has taken a moment to address the nation. i'm going to diplomatic institutions that function properly for the past 20 years should continue to function as a representative of the afghan people. i ask you to continue your work to establish diplomatic relations with the afghan people, the process of power transition if peaceful a

we never talk about moderate taliban, but i do want to talk about pragmatic taliban. some of them have been in the past and today show they can be pragmatic. >> they are in a difficult neighborhood. they might want alternative points of contact as well. >> you cannot rule it out. i agree. after all is said and done, that is what happened with vietnam. it is going to take time. it took 20 years in vietnam for us to recognize them and for them to recognize us and all of that. but what? we just have to wait and see. everybody says this may not be the same taliban as it was 20 years ago. the leaders have changed. you have secondary and tertiary leadership that has changed. it ain't going to happen quickly. we just need to be seen where they are, watch developments, and i would only recommend reaching out once we have a better sense of where they are. i think premature efforts to do so, we might regret later, soliciting where they are. >> don't forget that until a couple of years ago, the tallest building in ho chi minh city was citibank. >> i totally agree. it took a whil

the taliban are back. unlike iraq, we were in afghanistan for one reason for 20 years to ensure that never again would its soil be used to attack our homeland. well, the guys that sheltered the al-quaida fighters are back. al-quaida is coming back with them. we've seen this movie before. it's not hypothetical. we have turned afghanistan back to our mortal enemy. >> martha: with that in mind, this is from jake sullivan, the national security adviser when asked about hypotheticals. what if the taliban doesn't keep their promises at the airport? what the if the assurances are false? here's what he said. >> will u.s. troops stay until everyone is out or will they leave? >> i'm not going to comment on hypotheticals. we're going to get as many people out as rapidly as possible and take that day by day. >> martha: it's unbelievable that that is the situation that we're in where we can't promise to get everybody out using the forces of the u.s. military. >> we have to be very careful, martha. we're all products of

the taliban came in. and they, i don't know if it'll be for the next 20 years, they are now the ones who will benefit from that same kind of psychological boost. the initial war lords defeated the soviets, we defeated the united states. so, there were two scenarios here as things started to deteriorate. one that it would collapse into a civil war, i actually didn't think that would happen because some of these old war lords, these two thistle guys, they don't have the people they think they have. or that the taliban would take the country and that is what they have done. >> richard, in terms of the u.s., and the re-deployment of troops, back to the airport, what do you think is going to happen at the airport? as we understand from the pentagon, 35 u.s. troops, they're as of by the end of the day today, heading towards 6000. obviously the main effort is to consolidate american assets, at the airport, including the ambassador in whatever embassy staff remains. but also to facilitate these evacuations. what

but we don't know how well taliban leadership controls taliban rank and file. and as you have been saying all through your excellent coverage today, we don't know what happened on those front lines. did the taliban who were close by to where this bomb came through, were they sympathetic to isis-k? you know, i don't know and, so, that's the kind of integrity of the chain of command we don't really have a clear feeling for within the taliban movement >> 20 years ago on the night this war began, on another network you were my first guest. could you have ever imagined these 20 years >> no. but i also want to applaud those who did so much to protect us. >> yeah. >> because we have been pretty safe here at home. and it's a remarkable accomplishment, despite all the tragedy and sadness and cost overall. >> not one attack. not one. >> not one major attack. a few shootings inspired by jihadist movements abroad. abro. but not but nothing like 9/11, and a total of about 100 fatalities here in america >> thank you. >> thank you, shepard. >> richard engel, man, you talk abo

in the areas where the taliban has taken control. on thursday, the u.s. embassy in kabul said it had received reports of the taliban executing members of the afghan military who had surrendered. has the i.a.w.j. faced a crisis like this before? >> never this-- this kind of countrywide basis where all of the women judges appear to be at risk. we need to be able to help them, to have real options. whether they will be safe. we cannot decide for them what they will do. but it is very clear, i think-- you've heard it in the interviews-- they have been quite direct in saying that if they stay, they think they will be killed,s and that their families will be killed. and the question is how can they make it to a place of safety? right now, as far as i can tell, there is no coordinated mechanism for the women judges >> sreenivasan: that's all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. for the latest news updates, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. stay healthy and have a good night. >> pbs newshour weekend

s. relationship with the taliban. but before i get into that, i think it's important just to step back for one second and just remind people what we just heard. a historic moment at 329 p. m. eastern time here in washington, general kenneth mackenzie, the head of central command, uttered 12 words that essentially ended the u. s. is a 20 year occupation of afghanistan is 12 words where i am here to announce the completion of our withdraw from afghanistan. and that was some of the 1st words that he uttered in this. in this briefing here. very interesting briefing. he said that it was the last 5 military aircraft that left a 100 cars, a international airport. he said that the commander on the ground was on the very last plane, as well as ross wilson, the us ambassador to have dennis den they were on the last plane. and those planes are now out of afghanistan airspace. he said the also that, that, that a lot of the military assets that the u. s. had at the airport have been destroyed . and that in terms of handing over to

the taliban spokesperson had no announced the taliban were set to conduct a clearing operation and having a indefinite curfew which seems to be a reaction to today's protests. that all shows that the taliban apparently don't like this and are not afraid to act decisively against it. >> we will see what develop means occur with that clearing operation. taliban cofounders -- this teledyne co-founder is one of a number of leaders that have returned from exile. tell us more about him and what part he is likely to play. >> he was the guard of the taliban and then he was arrested anspent years in a pakistani president which beat at his health. he was then released to move forward peace talks. he was up on his valise. he presided over negotiations that led to the u.s. telemann agreement signed in february of 2020. subsequent negotiations between the taliban and then -- the then african government. it is unclear what exactly it means. there has not been any official statement since he returned. the taliban have ousted the former government. to all the deputies, their whereabouts are unknown. it i

surrender to the taliban. you understand exactly what's going on. >> sean: clearly we have no control, the taliban has control of the perimeter.l, we've been telling the storiesic about people trapped behind enemy lines, i'd like to think that joe had the urgency to send in enough troops even in a taliban-controlled kabul and escort every american and get them out of there alive and it would be nice if we kept our promise to our allies that are facing certain death the minute we leave. >> two observation as to why they are blatantly lying to us. this is not just bungling. they are intentionally lying. here is by. they say we don't know how many people we have there. jen psaki and all the others are saying they are calling texting, emailing. you have their email address their phone number to text them and if you were able to give p them a phone call, you know who they are and if you can count you can count how many people you're calling. we know how many are there. and then biden makes my ridiculous comments, t

but we don't know how well taliban leadership controls taliban rank and file. and as you have been saying all through your excellent coverage today, we don't know what happened on those front lines. did the taliban who were close by to where this came through, were they sympathetic to isis-k? you know, i don't know and, so, that's the kind of integrity of the chain of command we don't really have a clear feeling for. >> 20 years ago on the night this war began, on another network you were my first guest. could you have ever imagined these 20 years >> no. but i also want to applaud those who did so much to protect us. >> yeah. >> because we have been pretty safe here at home. and it's a remarkable accomplishment, despite all the tragedy and sadness and cost overall. >> not one attack. not one. >> not one major attack. a few shootings inspired by jihadist movements abroad. but not 9/11 and a total of about 100 fatalities >> thank you. >> thank you, shepard. >> richard engel, man, you talk about eyes and ears on the ground he sat down with a spokesman for the tali

the taliban have taken power. and the biden administration faces a new urgent mission evacuating thousands of americans and afghan allies stuck on the ground. the pentagon has sent nearly 6,000 u.s. troops to protect kabul's airport to allow for flights out of the country and the u.n. report shows the taliban are already carrying out a door-to-doorman hunt seeking reprisals against afghans who were allied with the u.s. on friday, the president acknowledged the danger of this mission. president biden: i cannot promise what the final outcome will be. and it will be without risk of loss. but as commander in chief, i can assure you that i will mobilize every resource necessary. pete: what's the latest in afghanistan? how did we get here? and what's next? joining us tonight with more insight are four top reporters on this story. peter baker, the chief white house correspondent for "the new york times." and here in the studio with me anne gearan the white house correspondent for "the washington post." vivian salama the

form an alliance to drive the taliban away, but now the taliban seems to be focusing on that region and one of the cities they captured overnight is about 200 kilometers out of kabul. anchor: it was overshadowed by events in a nearby city. let's look at these pictures, set to show government pictures -- government officials leaving. heavy fighting is now underway in a major southern city. the taliban's advance is shocking, militants emboldened by the u.s. withdrawal have taken more territory in the past two months then at any time -- than at any time since they were ousted from power in 2001. militants now control 65% of afghanistan. our correspondent in the country has been given rare access to new the captured taliban territory and sent us this report. >> new territory. new weapons. all captured in this unprecedented taliban advance, caught in the middle of the families across the country. how can you justify this fighting but it is causing the deaths of thousands of ordinary afghans? >> [speaking non-english language] reporter: you are the ones who started the fighting, though. >

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we all got to get taliban source. now saying that as many as 11 people have been killed at cobble airport, including foreigners, and also suggested that children may of also been injured. as kimberly, also concerned from us from the us. we are also getting the same from the pentagon, that 3 us personnel has also been injured in that blast, which happened just over an hour ago. the germans and the turks. nothing has happened to them though they were close or in the vicinity of the blast they seemed to be okay. let's cross over to charlie angelo in our london broadcast central, the very fast moving story. charlie, as the sunsets that can stand the turks and the german saying there, okay, americans have 3 injured the taliban now saying that as many as 11 have been killed . of course, many phone calls, i'm sure going from european capitals to the us and vice versa. yes, well the one half in the u. k. defense ministry is that that's still trying to establish exactly what has happened, whether or not has it affected any of