(dramatic instrumental music)
- [John] Tonight.(explosion resounds)
(man speaking in foreign language)
Under attack, multipleexplosions at the Kabul Airport.
- [Jenna] The dangerousmission to evacuate
more than 1,000 Americansstranded in Afghanistan
now in imminent peril.
The threat to stabilityin the Middle East.
- [John] And mandatory vaccinations
for the military and more.
- [Jenna] Plus.
- [Woman] It seems like it's open season
on American interests.
- [Jenna] A reelingAmerica on damage control
with US adversaries on the offensive.
- [John] All this and more tonight.
- [Jenna] On "Faith Nation."
(warm instrumental music)
- Tonight, the Presidentresponding with a message
to the terrorists responsible
for the deadly attack in Kabul,
"We will hunt you down and make you pay."
Welcome to "FaithNation," I'm John Jessup.
- Good evening, I'm Jenna Browder.
The President just wrappingup a speech a few minutes ago.
The President adding thatevacuations will continue.
This after 12 US servicemembers were killed today
in dual suicide attacks,
the first to be killedin action in Afghanistan
in over a year and a half.
- Also dozens of reported casualties there
in the wake of twinexplosions in two attacks,
one at the Kabul International Airport,
another at a nearby hotel.
A warning, the video
of deadly terrorist attacks is disturbing.
The horrific images come asthe United States' military
continued evacuating thousandsfrom the war-torn country
in a race against aself-imposed withdrawal deadline
at the end of this month.
- [Jenna] We begin tonight with Dale Hurd.
- US officials say an ISIS terrorist
detonated a suicide vestat one of the airport gates
while another opened fire.
A second bomb went off outsidea hotel about 300 yards away.
The first blast happened atwhat is known as the Abbey Gate
where American citizens would line up
to board evacuation flights.
The victims were standing outside the gate
in this sewage canal whenthe explosion occurred.
(men shouting in foreign language)
The second blast near the Baron Hotel.
(man speaking in foreign language)
This phone video of theaftermath is so graphic
it had to be blurred.
It shows piles of dead bodies.
Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby tweeted,
we can confirm that anumber of US service members
were killed in today's complexattack at Kabul airport.
A number of others arebeing treated for wounds.
The Taliban have condemned the attack
saying it occurred in anarea controlled by US forces.
ISIS terrorism has beenexpected after large numbers
of ISIS fighters werebelieved to have been freed
from prisons during theTaliban's rapid advance.
The US embassy in Kabulwhich had advanced word
of a possible terrorist attackwarned Americans Wednesday
to leave the airport gate immediately
and be aware of their surroundings,
especially in large crowds.
- Being part of these huge crowds
that remain around the gates
and entrances to the airport is dangerous.
We're obviously concernedabout our own people as well.
- [Dale] The acting USambassador to Afghanistan
says Americans will be evacuatedon an individualized basis.
Secretary of State AntonyBlinken says as many
as 1,500 American citizenscould still be in Afghanistan
and insists those who wantto leave will be able to.
- There is no deadline on our work
to help any remaining American citizens
who decide they want to leave to do so
along with the many Afghans
who have stood by usover these many years.
- But it's unclear howAmericans or our Afghan allies
can be evacuated after US forcesleave in less than a week.
So for thousands ofAfghans who helped the US,
they're now facing the grim reality
that they may be left behind.
Dale Hurd, CBN News.
- Well, after radio silencefrom the White House
for most of the day today,President Biden just wrapped up
taking reporter questionsabout the devastating attack.
Here with us for more onhow the Biden administration
is responding to the worseninginternational crisis,
CBN White HouseCorrespondent, Eric Philips.
Eric, the President not gettingany slack for his leadership
on this, not even from the press.
- No, not really.
And what we saw thisafternoon, or this evening
was a very solemn PresidentBiden lamenting the loss
of these lives of theseAmerican service members,
the more than dozen ofthem that lost their lives
and were injured there in Kabul.
He called them a representationof the spine of America,
the very best that ourcountry has to offer,
and he called them heroes.
- The fallen this day
are part of a great, noblecompany of American heroes.
In the book of Isaiah when the Lord says,
"Whom shall I send?
Who shall go for us?"
American military has beenanswering for a long time
"Here I am, Lord, send me."
- The President holding a momentof silence and remembrance
of those who lost their lives.
But even as he was invokingscripture during his remarks
this afternoon, thePresident was also very clear
that he will in factretaliate against whoever
was responsible for thissaying that he has ordered
the US military to strikeISIS-K assets and facilities.
- To those who carried out this attack
as well as anyone who wishesAmerica harm, know this.
We will not forgive.
We will not forget.
We will hunt you down and make you pay.
- The President sayingthat he plans to stick
to the August 31st deadlinedespite these casualties
and losses that America hasseen there in Kabul today.
He says his military leadersare in favor of sticking
to that timeframe, andthat's what he plans to do,
to hold the course as itwas previously planned.
Now, he said he would be willingto add more military might
if needed, but he said so far,
his military leaders havesaid they have enough
to carry out this mission.
And so until that changes,he'll stick to what is there
and carry it out asplanned, John and Jenna.
- Eric, what about retaliation?
How will the US in factrespond to these attacks?
- Well, the Presidentwas not specific in terms
of how the attacks orretaliation would be carried out,
but he did give one little hint in saying
that there will be no more,at least at this point,
there are no more plansto add more military might
to the situation over there.
He said however theretaliation is carried out,
it would be done with the military might
that we already have in place.
And he said it would probablybe some type of retaliation
that would not take a whole lot of people.
So maybe airstrikes, for example.
He was not specific, but he did say
that it would use themilitary men and women
that are already there.
And I should say, hereat the White House today,
there was definitelyan upheaval in schedule
because of all of this.
As you might recall, thePresident was expected to meet
with Israeli PrimeMinister Naftali Bennett.
That did not happen, it was delayed.
The president was expectingto meet with governors
across the countryvirtually, that was canceled.
And also a COVID briefingthat was scheduled for today
did not happen.- All right, Eric.
So all eyes on thesituation in Afghanistan.
- CBN White HouseCorrespondent, Eric Philips.
Thank you so much, Eric.- Mm-hmm.
- Let's bring in Paul Miller,an Afghanistan war veteran,
Georgetown University professor
and former White Housestaffer for both presidents
George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Paul, thank you so much forjoining us this evening.
So you served in Afghanistan.
I'd like to start by justgetting your reaction
to the tragic eventswe've seen unfold today.
At least 12 US service members killed.
- Well, it's a sad day,and it's another sad day
in several weeks now of bad headlines.
As I've said over the last fewweeks, this whole withdrawal
feels like a betrayal of whatwe served and sacrificed for.
It feels like anabandonment of our allies,
and it feels like an abandonment
of the cause that we were fighting for.
And today is, I think,further demonstration
that the withdrawal was amistake in the first place.
We should not have pulledout of Afghanistan.
We are giving more safehaven for terrorists
and for jihadist groups thatare ideologically sympathetic
to the Taliban and theirvision of the world.
- Paul, a very difficultday today on top of,
as you just mentioned, atough couple of past weeks.
US intelligence apparentlyhad some indication
of today's attacks,specifically warning people
to stay away from the Abbey gate.
Paul, what does that suggest to you?
- Well, I think it does nottake the intelligence community
to know that this was a likelihood.
Many people understood thethreat that posed the people
who were coming to the airport,
a large concentration ofpeople including Americans
and our Afghan allies who worked with us
all gathered in one place.
Of course, that's going tobe a ripe terrorist target.
The fact that the intelligence community
knew a specific place and even a time
suggest that the terrorist groups
whether it's ISIS or Al-Qaeda or others,
they are reconstituting in Afghanistan.
They are regaining their safe haven.
And that means that we are all at threat,
not simply the people who areon the ground in Afghanistan,
but even us at home andour allies in Europe
and around the world.
In the coming years, months, and years,
we will all be at increased threat.
- Paul, in the last day or so,the US was able to evacuate
more than 13,000 people, theSecretary of State saying
there are some 1,500 Americans, though,
still stranded in Afghanistan.
Some think that numbermight be a lot higher.
How does the worsening security situation
affect the evacuation effort?
- Well, I've heard reports,
and I'm not sure these are confirmed,
is that the evacuations have simply halted
and may not reopen, may not restart.
The airport, understandablythey can't operate
when there is such a threatto the airport perimeter.
However, I think it's amistake for the administration
to stick to the August31st deadline, that is,
to allow the Taliban and the terrorists
to dictate the timing andthe means of our withdrawal
and who we're able toget out of the country.
We should not do that.
We should stay for as long asit takes to finish the job.
And that means gettingevery last American out
and all of the Afghan allies,the SIV applicants out,
and as many Africanrefugees out as we can.
And if it takes longer than31st, we should do that.
And I think the president,I think it's inexcusable,
it's unconscionable that wemight leave people behind.
We don't do that.
And the president needs to understand
that as Commander in Chief, he has to stay
and order the troops tostay until this job is done.
- Paul, I think one ofthe things that Kenneth,
General McKenzie saidtoday, commander of CENTCOM
that maybe most people don't think about
is just how close up thiswork requires US military
to be involved in, in inspecting
and screening 140,000 people so far.
Real quickly though, in theminute that we have left,
US officials believe today'sattacks were carried out
by the Islamic group, specifically ISIS-K,
That's the affiliate in Afghanistan.
The Taliban had pledgedto not allow the country
to be a base of operationfor foreign terrorists.
What does that say about the reality
of the Taliban's control in Afghanistan
and among the region?
- The Taliban are eitherunwilling or unable
to deny a safe haven to terrorists.
When it comes to Al-Qaeda,I think they're unwilling.
I think that they're veryhappy to allow Al-Qaeda
operate in their territory.
When it comes to ISIS, theyhave fought ISIS in the past,
but I don't think they'reable to prevent the group
from using Afghanistan as asafe haven to train, recruit,
fundraise, and plan attacks,not just in Afghanistan,
but on the American Homeland.
The Taliban, they're an unreliableirresponsible government.
They violate human rights.
They're an enemy to theUnited States and our allies.
And it's baffling to me thatwe've handed over a country
to them, and they're now going to allow it
to be a terrorist playground.
That's the result of now threepresidential administrations
that have been determinedto get out of Afghanistan
when we should be staying.
- All right, Paul Miller,
thank you so much foryour time and expertise.
And moreover, thank you for your service.
We appreciate it onthis very difficult day.
- Thank you.
(wind howling)
And joining us now is Rick Klein,
political director for ABC News.
Rick, thank you so much for being with us
on this very busy day.
Of course, the big newsof the day, Afghanistan.
Last week, we sawdesperate Afghans clinging
to military cargo planes,bodies falling from the sky.
Today in the wake ofthe powerful explosions,
dead bodies and the woundedwaiting in sewage pits
surrounding the Kabul airport,
Rick, how much are theseindelible images forever seared
into our collective consciousness
and linked to the Biden administration?
- Yeah, these are tragic andoverwhelmingly awful hours
and images and as bad as lastweek was, today is, I think,
a good measure worse becauseyou have American casualties.
Look, President Biden made this decision.
He may have been building on a decision
that President Trump made,it may have been something
that four presidents havewanted in some form or fashion,
but it's his decision, it's his execution.
These are going to be part of his legacy.
And I think these next daysare going to be trying ones.
They're going to be difficult ones.
I think there's gonna bea lot of soul searching
and a lot of strategicdecision-making at the White House
to try to figure out howbest to proceed from here.
But these are some ofthe most damaging images
that are imaginable under any presidency,
and they belong to Joe Biden.
- Rick, beyond crisis management,
in terms of foreign policy,
what is the Biden doctrine right now?
- Well, it's a good question because a lot
of what he's talked about in office
is rebuilding alliances
and making sure thatAmerica's word can be kept.
And I think that's some of the things
that have been undermined this week.
And you've heard American allies saying
that they think this is ill-advised.
They'd like to see thatwithdrawal deadline changed.
You've got, of course,people that were very loyal
to the American cause who were among those
whose lives are in jeopardyright now in Afghanistan.
So these are things
that are gonna take along time to hash out.
Biden knows foreign affairs very well.
Someone reminded me todayabout the images out of Saigon
in 1975, and Joe Biden was a Senator then.
He knows what that was andhe knows how long it took.
And in some waysAmerica's still recovering
from the legacy of Vietnam.
This is going to be his own thing.
I think we'll be judgedby the end stages of this,
but the fact that this is thedeadliest day in Afghanistan
in probably a decade and thefirst significant loss of lives
there by Americans in morethan a year and a half,
all of these things are a through line
from the President's decision.
And he will continueto defend the decision
and explain the decision,but it was his decision.
- Nikki Haley and otherRepublicans are calling
for Biden's resignation overthis Afghanistan crisis.
Rick, first, is that going to happen?
And second, if anything,can this administration
do something to get anupper hand on this crisis?
And will it followDemocrats into the midterms?
- No President Biden'snot going to resign.
And I think even Ambassador Haley saying,
knowing that Kamala Harris is next in line
may make some people second guess
even whether that's morethan a political slogan.
I've heard Republicans sayresign or be impeached.
He's not going to be impeached either.
This is not by any standardan impeachable offense.
Even if it was, Republicansdon't have control of the House.
I think in terms of what can happen next,
I think we've seen polling that suggests
that the American publicwants out of Afghanistan.
They want a reset around this war.
It's been 20 years since 9/11.
Clearly this is not the end stage
that they would have wanted orthat President Biden wanted.
But I think continuing tomake sure that everyone
who wants out and deserves a ticket back
to the United States getsone is a key part of this.
You saw military commanders today
say the mission's continuing,even given the dangers,
knowing that it's likely that more people
are gonna try terroristattacks against US forces.
Even given all of that,they're going to have
to continue this operationas much as they can.
- Rick, Afghanistan, rightlyso is dominating the headlines.
Still, we want to shift gearshere to a new AP-NORC poll
that shows 1/2 of all US workers
support COVID-19 vaccine mandates,
especially now that theFood and Drug Administration
gave full approval to the Pfizer vaccine.
Rick, do you anticipate more employer
and school mandates as a result?
- I do think so.
I think employers andmunicipalities, schools, localities,
cities, states that havebeen waiting on full approval
by the FDA of some vaccines
before they make any kind of a mandate.
And we're seeing other employersimpose financial penalties
against those who aren't vaccinated.
You have to pay more for yourhealthcare, for instance.
Clearly that's the direction we're moving.
And I do think that thefull approval by the FDA
is very good news and hopefulnews that more people partake
of the vaccine and we get out of COVID-19.
And I do think that you're goingto see more companies begin
to use the levers that theycontrol as private entities
to say, if you want to work here
or you want to do business with us,
then there's certain things you have to do
to make sure that everyone is safe.
This isn't just about personal liberty.
It's about everyone's safetyand security from the virus.
- All right, Rick Klein,ABC News Political Director.
Thank you so much, it's great to have you.
- Thanks, Rick.- Thank you guys.
Great to be with you.
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- And welcome back.
An update on Afghanistan.
13 US service membershave now been killed,
that number up from 12.
US officials are reporting that.
Well, America is back.
That is what PresidentBiden told our allies
when he took office.
But after the nightmarishwithdrawal from Afghanistan,
many of our allies are nowquestioning that statement.
- It has also given America'sadversaries a chance
to exploit that narrative whilefurther testing US resolve.
Here's National Security Corespondent
Caitlin Burke with more.
- America is in damage control,
and our enemies are taking advantage
by going on the offensive.
- We have Iran resuming oilshipments to both Afghanistan
and Lebanon in open defianceof the administration,
some sort of bizarre attack
on the Vice-President'straveling party in Singapore.
It seems like it's openseason on American interests.
- [Caitlin] Not to mentionincreased pressure from China
on Taiwan and Hamasfiring rockets on Israel.
Victoria Coates-- So they had plenty of time
to process all of these visas.
- [Caitlin] A member of President Trump's
National Security Councilsays this goes beyond
just testing a new administration
thanks to the message thebotched Afghanistan withdrawal
is sending our adversaries.
- Across the board, this is just
a terrible signal of American weakness.
- [Caitlin] And our enemiesare making the most of it.
(Hassan speaking in foreign language)
Hezbollah leader HassanNasrallah says US behavior
during the Taliban takeoverof Afghanistan indicates
the moral downfall ofAmerica, saying quote,
"They evacuated the dogs whoworked in the security forces,
but not those who aided them.
They took out their equipment
but left the human beings behind.
These are the Americans."
China points to the failure
as another sign of Americandecline, using an op-ed
to warn Taiwan that if war breaks out,
the US military won't come to their aid.
Russia also using the hastyretreat to sow seeds of doubt.
Vladimir Putin's top nationalsecurity advisor claiming that
America will abandon Ukrainejust as they did Afghanistan.
Brett Bruen-- Colleagues put this all
on the presidency of Donald Trump.
- [Caitlin] The Directorof Global Engagement
in the Obama White House
says America's foreign policy is changing.
And if we don't provide a clear narrative
of what that means, our enemies
will continue to do it for us.
- One of the things thatI was really pressing for
when I worked in the ObamaWhite House was this idea
that America needs anew story for the world.
Roosevelt, Churchill,Reagan gave the world
and gave Americans a sense of who we are
and what we were doing.
And right now, and it was, youknow, under President Obama,
it was under President Trumpand now under President Biden,
we don't have that meta-narrative.
- [Caitlin] With more foreignpolicy challenges ahead,
both Coates and Bruen sayit's time for a shakeup
of Biden's national security team.
- He's got to get somenew leadership in there.
He's got to reassure bothfolks here in Washington
as well as in foreign capitals
that the right team is in place,
that they have learned thelessons of what went wrong
with Afghanistan and that going forward,
we are going to be amore reliable partner.
- [Caitlin] Caitlin Burke, CBN News.
- When I came to Regent University,
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- [Reporter] Nigerian Christians
are being slaughtered every day.
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you need to know the truth.
- One of the fastest Christianpopulations in the world.
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Saturday night at 6:00on the CBN News Channel.
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- Welcome back.
The death sentence forthe convicted killer
in the 2015 shooting
at a historic South Carolina Black church
still stands for now.
The three-judge panel inRichmond unanimously ruled
against Dylann Roof's appeal
saying his raciallymotivated shooting spree
at Mother Emanuel AME Church, quote,
"Merits the harshest penaltya just society can impose."
- Well, to the battlelines over immigration.
The Supreme Court delivers a major blow
to the Biden administrationwith its immigration policy.
In a six-to-three ruling, the high court
reversed a White House policyending a Trump-era program
that forced people to wait in Mexico
while seeking asylum in the US.
It's unclear how quickly theprogram will be restarted.
And we'll be right back after the break.
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In CBN's free magazine"Friends of Israel,"
you'll discover why Christians
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How Israel is fulfilling prophesyas a light to the nations.
And ways you can prayfor the people of Israel.
Israel needs the supportof friends like you.
Call now or go to cbn.com
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- Yes.- Lord, into public schools.
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♪ Joy ♪
- Finally tonight, last weekwe brought to you the story
of an Oklahoma mother workingto help rescue a group
of Afghan girls from Kabul.
- And tonight, more good news.
American colleges haveoffered those young women,
members of an all-girls robotics team,
full ride scholarships.
Since arriving in Qatar,the girls have been flooded
with offers from severalprestigious universities.
Allyson Reneau, the Oklahomawoman, helping them noted,
this may be the first time thegirls experience true freedom
and said she has no doubtthey'll make the most of it.
- And we will leave iton that upbeat note.
Thank you for joining us.
- Hope to see you again tomorrow.
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