those were afghans who worked for nato or nato agencies. a lot of afghans worked for the united kingdom and other allies. that number is much bigger. i know we are doing whatever we can to help get these afghans out. >> last question. >> do you know the extent of nato financed arms now possibly controlled by the taliban and is nato working to destroy any weapons to ensure they are not getting into those hands? >> nato has ended its military operation in afghanistan. nato ended its military mission in afghanistan because we agreed to do so this spring. that was part of a u.s. agreement with the taliban in february of 2020, where we agreed to end the u.s. presence. different nato allies like norway, they have done whatever they can for several months now to get all their soldiers out and to take back as much equipment as possible. each ally will speak for their own equipment. some of it has been destroyed. and some of it is still in afghanistan.

to get staff out, staff from nato allied countries, but also afghans who supported nato and nato allies over all of these years. we are working hard on that, 24/7. we have seen some dramatic stuff, but also some locally employed afghans have been evacuated out of afghanistan. we are working to speed that up to get more planes in and out with people leaving. then, some nato allies have also stated that they will not only focus on and provide support to those afghans who have worked for us over all of these years, but other afghans who are vulnerable were in a difficult position. we have seen public announcements by several nato allies, but the precondition for getting also these other afghans out is of course to have the airport up and running and we have no many nato allies helping to ensure exactly that. we have the united states, they are deploying more troops. we have turkey, who has been there for many years. we have norway running the hospital at the airport. the united kingdom and other allies are helping and supporting. during the meeting of the north atlantic council today, seve

i would like to ask about nato rule in afghanistan. nato is not only u.s.. don't you think the decision that you or nato took, it was wrong? how do you respond to that? when we saw the situation -- as an afghan woman, you see the situation -- there are thousands of women who don't know what is going on and what will happen to them. they always ask what it means in 20 years. nato and international communities. we are going back 20 years after we were in that place. i would like to ask how that is possible. the u.s. and the eu with their work of fascism and imperialism. after the second world war, the nato -- nato and the european union with all this vague intelligence. they are never able to defend it. how do you see the future? i would like to ask as a woman, please don't recognize the emirate islamic taliban without any conditions. please don't recognize the taliban and put us in the same situation, thank you very much. >> it was extremely difficult to make the decision to and the nato military presence in afghanistan. i share your pain, i understand your f

stoltenberg: nato does not recognize states. nato allies can do that. it was stated in the meeting today that diplomatic recognition is something which is -- it has to be conditioned on how the new government behaves and to what extent they live up to their international commitments. the message is reflected in the statement agreed by foreign ministers today. that is about the need for afghanistan to live up to commitments. the commitment in the agreement with the united states signed in february of 2020, or last year, where they stated they should not support or provide safe haven for international terrorist groups like al qaeda or isis. that's a very obvious and important commission, because nato, our main task in afghanistan has to be to prevent the country from becoming a platform for launching terrorist attacks against our own countries. for 20 years we have prevented such attacks from afghanistan against nato allied countries. we need to preserve those gains. we discussed how we can preserve those gains, including by stating clearly to the new afg

america and nato, it is also to appeal— america and nato, it is also to appeal to _ america and nato, it is also to appeal to russia _ america and nato, it is also to appeal to russia and - america and nato, it is also to appeal to russia and china. i america and nato, it is also to- appeal to russia and china. russia and china — appeal to russia and china. russia and china both _ appeal to russia and china. russia and china both have _ appeal to russia and china. russia and china both have their- appeal to russia and china. russial and china both have their problems with istamic— and china both have their problems with islamic minorities _ and china both have their problems with islamic minorities and - and china both have their problems with islamic minorities and the - with islamic minorities and the taiiban— with islamic minorities and the taliban are _ with islamic minorities and the taliban are politically- with islamic minorities and the - taliban are politically manipulative and sophisticated _ taliban are politically manipulative and sophisticated enough- taliban are po

this is difficult for nato. that is the reason why we need to be honest and be clear eyed and also ask hard questions about what are the lessons learned. >> stoltenberg primarily blames the afghan government and armed forces for failing to repel the -- the telephone advance. others say there is plenty of responsibility to go alone starting with the west's intentions to change afghanistan. neither the united needs designated states nor nato afghanistan well enough when we were setting these goals. things like the geography, the demographics, the history, the economy of afghanistan. coco they retired -- >> doug lute is a retired u.s. general as well as an ambassador to nato. he says one big mistake the military alliance made ironically was its focus on the military fight. >> afghanistan collapsed, our government and afghanistan collapsed not becausef military failu where w could put all this focus but because of politics. we over militarized our approach to afghanistan. two others will be drawing conclusions from

nato is not a nation, so nato does — thank you. nato is not a nation, so nato does not _ thank you. nato is not a nation, so nato does not recognise _ thank you. nato is not a nation, so nato does not recognise states, i thank you. nato is not a nation, so | nato does not recognise states, but of course nato allies can do that and it was clearly stated in the meeting today that... diplomatic recognition is something which has to be... there have to be conditions on how the new government behave and to what extent they live up to their international commitments, so the message is reflected in the statement agreed by foreign ministers today and that is about the need for afghanistan to live up to commitments, for instance a commitment in the agreement with the united states signed in february 2020 four last year, where they clearly state that they should not support, provide a safe haven for international terrorist groups like al-qaeda or isis. so that is a very obvious and important commitment because nato went into afghanistan, our main task in afghanistan was to be to prevent the c

, and nato has been in an existential crisis ever since the cold war ended. it was devised, if we all remember, as an adversary to the soviet bloc and the communisty bloc, and when communism collapsed and there was no more soviet union to oppose, the obvious question is what is nato for? and within ten years of communism collapsing, we had 9/11 and the rise of islamist terrorism, and so nato became, basically, a counterterrorism outfit, and that was its impetus, that was its raison d'etre. so that's why biden can say the reason that we were able to pull out of afghanistan, that we wanted to pull out of afghanistan, was that we felt we had solved the terrorism problem in afghanistan. we killed bin laden, we'd got rid of al-qaeda in afghanistan, so if we could get out, that's got nothing almost to do with the original conception of nato, which was to act not only as a military adversary, but as an ideological adversary to the soviet union. and now we seem to be in this peculiar vacuum where there is an entirely new global dynamic, and it's not ideological at al

bloomberg spoke with the nato secretary-general who said nato remains continued to aiding anyone at risk leaving the country. >> to ensure that afghanistan doesn't once again become a safe haven for international terrorists. the reason why nato allies joined the united states going into afghanistan in 2001 was a direct response to a terrorist attack on the united states and hundreds of thousands of canadian and european asian -- european soldiers have assisted. we have kept it from being a safe haven for terrorists. so we will monitor the new rules in kabul closely and make clear that the nato allies have the capability to strike from long distance if they try to reestablish themselves. tom: i want to focus on the important support missing -- mission, the italians and the germans with norman alliances and the turkish flag in the middle providing support to afghanistan. turkey is in a unique position. explain nato's position with erdogan and the new afghanistan. >> nato ended its existence in afghanistan as the united states did i would like to commend all those who served their peer thei

now you have nato member states who is suggesting the way this has happened has diminished nato in europe in the eyes of the world. he said this kind of troop withdrawal caused chaos. chaos causes additional suffering. this era is over. unfortunately the west and europe in particular are showing they are weaker globally. that is from the latvian defense minister, a nato member. >> whatever happens in afghanistan europe and north america has to stand together. it is our national security interest to work together especially in light of shifting global balance of power with the likes of china and more assertive russia. all makes more important that europe and north america stand together and also for the united states to have friends and allies in nato is extremely important for united states because no other major power house has friends and allies as the united states has in nato. >> there is a suggestion among some that nato was pushed into this by the united states. that somehow now this was something that nato might not have done had the united states not been -- president biden, been

nato is| ten days until the deadline. nato is asking for an extension. yes. ten days until the deadline. nato is asking for an extension.— asking for an extension. yes, nato is askin: , asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking. i — asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking, i think— asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking, i think there _ asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking, i think there is - asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking, i think there is a - asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking, i think there is a fair - is asking, i think there is a fair bit of pressure on the americans to put pressure on the taliban. the last thing that anybody wants is a shooting match at the airport. that is the worst case scenario.- shooting match at the airport. that is the worst case scenario. would it come to that? _ is the worst case scenario. would it come to that? one _ is the worst case scenario. would it come to that? one would _ is the worst case scenario. would it come to that? one would hope - is the worst case scenario

nato was not consulted. the nato secretary-general was surprised. >> jack kingston, it is your view if we go back way before biden and trump and back to the bush administration in 2001 after the taliban fell 20 years ago? there are those who say the campaign was lost a long time ago going back as far as that because of the approach the united states took to all of this. what do you say to that? >> i think once we were there with the idea of we need to fight the war against terrorism on their territory not in the united states, which is one of the themes george bush said over and over again, we needed to convince people that effort is succeeding. if you look at troop loss, in 2019, it was the third highest year since 2013. 2013, you lost about 100 troops. 2015, 54. 2000 19, 22. the reason why i am bringing that up is you had reasonable stability. you did not have huge battles, huge warfare and slaughter. there was a grind appeared am not saying it was good because of that. i'm saying american congress did not

nato, nato as we move into 2022. all of that but trust up against the question -- buttressed app i guess the question of immigration and refugees across europe. how can nato support its nations in continental europe confronting a new round of mass refugees and migration? sec. general stoltenberg: our main task is to help to stabilize our neighbors. that is the reason why we are working with partners in north africa and the middle east to help stabilize countries in our neighborhood. if our neighbors are more stable, we are more secure. we also have some presence in the aegean. where we hope to make agreements to stabilize migration. one for all, and all for one. this is important for europe, but also for the u.s., in the world with a shifting global balance of power. with russia and china. it is a huge advantage for the united states and its 29 friends and allies in nato. no other major power has anything like that. therefore, a strong nato, europe and north america standing together, is important both for america an

i've spoken with our nato allies. we spoken with nato allies, the secretary state or national security via he's been in contact with his counterparts throughout the world. and our allies, as has the general are see me, i keep calling them in general. but my secretary of defense, the fact of the matter is i have not seen that matter of fact the exact opposite i've got. now donald trump has said that this is the greatest strategic error in us history. he called it capitulation. donald trump has said that joe biden owes america an apology. the world is now looking on and watching the scenes in cobble. the white house is certainly under quite a bit of fire. jo biden's poll numbers are dropping. many are looking on the situation and afghan. stan and saying that the united states seems to have pretty much dropped the ball here. and i'm hoping that will washington's allies are also counting the cost of events after their 20 year campaign in afghanistan, as simon right now explains betrayed, abandoned fend for themselves. for

michael, george robinson who is nato's secretary i robinson who is nato's secretary general at the start of the century and who was the man who effectively convened the meeting that said we are going in because one country has been threatened and i nato member by the attacks on 9/11, so we are all frightened, so we alljoin in. he says he thinks the decision by america now has undermined the organisation and raises real question marks about its credibility and alliance. given what janet was saying there we are now entering a much more dangerous phase where there isn't a straightforward division and where we can't guarantee are rely on the people we thought we could rely on. the neck, that was for me. this is this thought we could rely on. the neck, that was for me. this is— that was for me. this is this is the roblem that was for me. this is this is the problem with _ that was for me. this is this is the problem with not _ that was for me. this is this is the problem with not being _ that was for me. this is this is the problem with not being in - that was for me. this is this is the pr

nato leaders could have stum ed the us? nato leaders could have stumped up _ the us? nato leaders could have stumped up 2500 _ the us? nato leaders could have stumped up 2500 troops - the us? nato leaders could have stumped up 2500 troops easily l the us? nato leaders could have| stumped up 2500 troops easily if they are choosing to and have chosen not to so that means this is not just the us decision it it is a french and german and spanish and british decision, it is a decision ljy british decision, it is a decision by nato not to maintain this is no decision by nato not to evacuate those people who served alongside us which is frankly shameful. this is notjust which is frankly shameful. this is not just about interpreters which is frankly shameful. this is notjust about interpreters or guards, this is about people be trained in special forces to serve alongside us and helped us understand the territory through our agencies and our diplomats. this is the people who on our encouragement said schools for girls and these people are all at rest now. the real danger is w

nato troops leave.- fear it'sjust going to get worse when nato troops leave. kate, on that story. _ when nato troops leave. kate, on that story. l'm — when nato troops leave. kate, on that story, i'm assuming, - when nato troops leave. kate, on that story, i'm assuming, it's - when nato troops leave. kate, on| that story, i'm assuming, it's hard to tell whether she is. she would've drawn together all the pictures and people should have spoken to her on the telephone. my colleague was telling me earlier in the week about the context she's had because she's involved in charities for women in afghanistan. she is afghan by birth, and she was saying girls screaming almost hysterically down the phone or on social media, convinced they're going to die. i can't put it in a more bluntly than that. i heard an mp for wheeldon, one of her colleagues said she is sitting there waiting to be killed. some of this may be overblown because none of us know quite what the taliban leadership will do, but we know they have limited control over the people at least who adhere to th

we are a key player in nato. we are chair of the g7. every one of those platforms could and should have been used to prepare for the withdrawal of forces, and to rally international support behind a plan to stabilise afghanistan through the process and keep us safe. i will give way in a minute. did the prime minister use those platforms in those 18 months to prepare? no, he did not. what did he do instead? we debated this, he cut the development budget, which was key to the strength and resilience of democracy in afghanistan. he makes a great deal today of the money he is putting in, but £292 million was spent in afghanistan in 2019, and £155 million in 2021. that is short-sighted, small-minded and a threat to security. i will give way in a moment, but i am going to go through this list. the right honorable gentleman failed to visit afghanistan as prime minister, meaning that his last trip as foreign secretary, in 2018 was not to learn or to push british interests, but to avoid a vote on heathrow. hundreds of thousands of british peop

i not too often live on in tablet, block nato. it's our we move east. the reason us had jimmy is a dangerous is the lie. the sovereignty of the countries, the exceptionalism that america uses and its international war planning is one of the greatest threats to the populations of different nations. if nato were disbanded, shareholders in the united states and elsewhere in large companies would lose millions and millions or is business and business is good. and that is the reality of what we're facing, which is fashion. they have paper well they have no bitcoin as a matter of fact, they shut their bitcoin mining down. not sense. they burg their treasure fleet 500 years ago under the main dynasty as a country made such a bone headed and stupid mistake. ah ah ah, ah, the router you may see the behind me flying into that into the 1000 vitality, but a celebrating victory. historic images then from the night's last just gone and ca, ball is the last u. s. plane leaves. i've got a son in the hands of the battery people washington promised to overthrow 20 years

countries and nato emissions. there's evidence that that is already happening. they've got to stop thinking about labors of improves that they can possibly try to exert on the taliban to keep them to rein them in to keep them from sort of reverting to taught mr. stoughton, but keeps talking about the gains over the last 20 years. and doing whatever they can to try and preserve those games, you're talking about things like development aid. i mean there's not really an awful lot they can do that. i think the chief thing that they can wrestle with must wrestle with is whether to recognize this group. and mr. stoughton books and diplomatic recognition has to be conditioned on how they behave and how they live up to the commitments of those commitments. he outlined as a, setting up an inclusive government, including women and minorities, protecting human rights, the rule of law and making sure the country doesn't again, become a haven for terrorists. and in the end, nato can say these things, but it's now peyton live i

her tension is growing between russia and nato in europe. after a series of incidents between the military forces. moscow says nato spy planes have stepped up. attempts to gather intelligence in the black sea region. andrew simmons spend a day with british war force, a pilot station in the romanian coastal city of constantia. ah, they call them q r a's quick reaction alerts from the physical sprint to the thrust of take all within minutes. these nato fighter jets can intercept or track russian warplanes is the latest incident, the top left of this cockpit, or russian fighter jet, intercepted of the romanian coastline. it's close with the room for mistakes. tens of meters would seem quite close to $21.00 that's on initiated since a relative procedures. it's totally normal. it's been set to in that range. but raffles, commanders, there's nothing normal about what's happening. probably in my senior since then we've had, i think anytime you fly inside a flight, information region of another country, not following the norms without flight plan, t

i not leash too often on and have let lock. nato to it's ours, we move east. the reason us hedge him, some dangerous, is the last, the sovereignty of other countries. the exceptionalism that america uses and its international war planning is one of the greatest threats to the populations of different nations. if nature, what is founded, shareholders in the united states and elsewhere in large companies would lose millions and millions or is business and business is good. and that is the reality of what we're facing, which is fashion rather driven by shaped by those in the me. there's thing we dare to ask me. ah, in the headlines here on our pants, national smoke couldn't be seen. call this warning off to an american defense system, reportedly intercepted at 5 rock kids targeting the site. it comes just a day off the u. s. carried out and running strikes on a would be suicide format, which allegedly killed 9 people, including children. the one out in.

nato has no official mission there. it is more or less everyone is depending on the americans and british forces. they are also securing the green zone's in kabul, all the embassies are but everybody is worried about the pace. it is not a matter of months, only a matter of weeks. they are tried to hurry up things as fast as they can. >> thank you so much. let's take a look now at some of the other stories making headlines around the world. the death toll from floods and landslides in northern turkey has risen to 38. rescue crews are searching collapsed buildings and homes for survivors. officials say 300 people may be unaccounted for. roads and bridges are down and dozens of places are unaccounted for. russia has declared a state of emergency for northeast siberia because of wildfires. there are currently 117 active fires. smoke has also engulfed a city. the area has had months of hot, dry weather. vote counting is underway in zambia following a close presidential election. the government continues to restrict access to

yes, it's important to know to a subtle difference and approached by nato. we heard that from the secretary general, and what president biden said in justifying his decision to continue with the withdraw. president biden said, didn't acknowledging the fact that his administration was taken aback by the speed of the taliban at bonds. he also made very clear his belief that the mission of gun this done was one of narrow focus. it was not primarily about nation building, it was about destroying a terrorist threat to the united states. that mission, president biden says, has been accomplished. he's no longer prepared to preside over yet another us will the president to do so. and he insist if he will be the last but president by didn't, insisting that there was a failure by the can force is also a failure of political leadership. now what is happening at the moment is that the department of defense says confirm that there are at least 3 us spaces being set up to start coping with the afghans who worked for us forces within afghanistan to process them in the unit

nato whojoe biden has not because it — really nato whojoe biden has not because it was nato after all following the collapse of the twin towers _ following the collapse of the twin towers back in 2001 that evoked article _ towers back in 2001 that evoked article five and did go shoulder to shoulder— article five and did go shoulder to shoulder with the us to sacrifice blood _ shoulder with the us to sacrifice blood and — shoulder with the us to sacrifice blood and treasure in this pursuit. so they're — blood and treasure in this pursuit. so they're right. it is woeful, it is shameful and it is very bad but unfortunately the taliban have been very clear that any extension beyond the 315t— very clear that any extension beyond the sist of _ very clear that any extension beyond the 315t of august will be regarded as a violation and we know that as head _ as a violation and we know that as head of— as a violation and we know that as head of the cia, the been having the meeting _ head of the cia, the been having the meeting yesterday with the cohead of the taliban. we don't know w

i have spoken with our nato allies. we have spoken with nato allies, the secretary of state, our national security advisors have been in contact with

nato working there right now. we had a message from the nato secretary general saying... clearly there are fears of violence around the airport and given events are moving so quickly, international security efforts based around that airport, so that update from nato which we will keep across any other updates. i want to show you other pictures which demonstrate exactly what is going on. this from france. we've had pictures from the french ambassador to afghanistan so let's pause to take this in there. there are no words on these pictures by just absorbing them gives you an idea of what exactly has been happening in the last few hours. it is extraordinary. pictures taken inside a helicopter moving from the embassy, so out of the green zone to the airport, france saying it is moving its afghan embassy closer to kabul airport. and it's going to stay operational, they say, to help the evacuation of all french citizens so extraordinary pictures on the ground centred around the airport. i want to finish with one final message which kind of sums up in lots of ways many of the co

it is being called the worst the buckle in nato's history. the fall of afghanistan to the taliban, turning out to be the biggest crisis of jo biden's presidency. so far he's facing criticism from us politicians and afghan veterans, they say the ultimate beneficiary of the billions of dollars spent on afghan forces is the taller bond. the u. s. president is adamant he made the right decision and blamed the afghan government and military for not being willing to fight for themselves. we have a lot to discuss with our guest, surely before us this report from she advocacy in washington. joe biden attempted to keep public opinion focused on a promise kept up to 20 years. the u. s. was finally leaving f honest on i stand squarely behind my decision. after 20 years, i've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw us forces. but neither the president or any administration official has been able to address the chaotic matter of that withdrawal. despite biden's proclamation that the buck stopped with him, he lashed out both of th

this is how nato soldiers have presumably decided to keep people away. so, but why need is a need as high as the very, very dense and simply, you know, there's, there's no way to cross it. and given the desperation of people, he has some of the people here that the, to get out. that is the only thing keeping the matt also while there, we heard ceaseless shooting, it was odyssey was endless. every, every 10 minutes, 10 minutes wouldn't pass without gunshots either inside the airport. so this is american. nato troops firing warding shots, presumably toward away people who tried to climb over the fed. that to take a shortcut into the airport. then we had the taliban outside of the main jackport at the main drive into the, into the airport at the terminals. them also foreign warning shots, much less controlled fashion. so when we were driving out of the apple, we had a taliban father running in foreign warning shots as a behind him. it's a miracle. no one was heard. look a little ways away from the airport. we saw blood in the guy and a lot of lot of people

he made a unilateral decision, he did not consult with nato allies. he said, i'm going to do this, and i'm sorry, i'm going to have to disagree it on the vietnam analogy as well. president ford did not unilaterally decide to withdraw us troops from afghanistan. us troops withdrew 2 years before this, the fall of saigon. what happened was, the u. s. was committed providing logistic, a congress passed a law that said that won't happen. i refer you to the louis sorely book, a better war for the details on that. so what you had here was a different situation entirely. how to unilateral decision by the president, which i think history will show in the fullness of time, did not consult with. and he, cutty, in the career oxy and the kindergarten the state farm. it's because he was worried that he would get rolled as happened in 2000 and made a unilateral decisions without consulting with allies, that created a condition that just snowball beyond any recognition. but that being said, nobody expected it to happen this quickly. and i don't really fault him for

he’s nato security meeting council. he's to blame for— nato security meeting council. he's to blame for what _ nato security meeting council. he's to blame for what is _ nato security meeting council. he's to blame for what is going on in afghanistan right now? —— who is to blame? i afghanistan right now? -- who is to blame? .. afghanistan right now? -- who is to blame? ~' . , ., ., blame? i think the decision and the timin: to blame? i think the decision and the timing to withdraw _ blame? i think the decision and the timing to withdraw is _ blame? i think the decision and the timing to withdraw is not _ blame? i think the decision and the timing to withdraw is not right. - timing to withdraw is not right. there appears to have been a miscalculation of the mist —— afghanistan and of their troops on the other side. i think over 20 years there has been a failure to build the political settlement that was needed, but now, the urgent question is what do we do in response to this request this morning for international assistance and response. britain needs to lead

but america's departure has upset many in nato. it has been cold and embarrassment to the alliance. 0ne german politician called it the biggest buckle the organisation has suffered sense is founding. as well as damaging relations with allies in europe, the botched departure has raised question about the credibility of the united states, the reliability of this country and nato of course pumped troops and money into afghanistan, it helped liberate the country from the taliban back into thousand one. many nato members did not want to see american troops withdraw altogether yet they have done so and it has left nato members scrambling to get there nationals and afghans who supported them out of the country. a lot of nato members think thatjoe biden would help ease some of the abrasive edges that donald trump had brought to the surface during his tenure but in actual fact it has left them head scratching really over the future relationships with america now. david willis, thank you. foreign aid has started to trickle into haiti, five d

when you say they have _ and nato allies. when you say they have been _ and nato allies. when you say they have been abandoned, i and nato allies. when you say i they have been abandoned, they are a fighting force of 350,000, they are relatively well equipped compared to the taliban, not least with some airpower. is there not a point at which responsibility is being handed over here, and needs to be seized on? i being handed over here, and needs to be seized on? i think the responsibility _ needs to be seized on? i think the responsibility was - needs to be seized on? i think the responsibility was handed | the responsibility was handed overin the responsibility was handed over in a very haphazard manner. the americans and nato always kept control of logistics, they always kept control of the maintenance of the afghan air force. all of that was taken away without discussion with the afghan government. look, the afghan government. look, the afghan government may have its own flaws and weaknesses, but the fact of the matter is when president biden says the afghan leaders sh