0:00:00.175,0:00:02.832 After three weeks in Afghanistan, 0:00:02.832,0:00:05.533 we join the crowds at Kabul Airport. 0:00:05.533,0:00:08.530 Now, the only way [br]out of the country. 0:00:08.530,0:00:11.282 There is a huge block here.[br]Lots of cars. 0:00:11.282,0:00:14.512 Hundreds of people wait[br]in the blistering heat, 0:00:14.512,0:00:16.773 hoping for a flight out. 0:00:16.773,0:00:20.115 So, we just managed[br]to get into the airport compound, 0:00:20.115,0:00:22.850 and uh, I have to say, 0:00:22.850,0:00:24.699 it was pretty intense. 0:00:24.699,0:00:28.083 It was just, like, [br]this crush of desperate people, 0:00:28.083,0:00:30.317 and screaming children, 0:00:30.317,0:00:33.081 and women and babies, 0:00:33.081,0:00:36.665 and um, yeah. 0:00:36.665,0:00:39.416 It's not often you see[br]desperation like that. 0:00:39.416,0:00:41.516 The few people that do make it 0:00:41.516,0:00:43.632 are exhausted and scared. 0:00:43.632,0:00:45.549 But, they are the lucky ones. 0:00:45.549,0:00:48.517 They've made it past[br]the Taliban checkpoints, 0:00:48.517,0:00:50.433 Afghan security guards, 0:00:50.433,0:00:53.334 and, finally, the airport gate. 0:00:53.334,0:00:56.488 But, they can't forget those[br]who they left behind. 0:00:57.528,0:00:59.500 We are getting out.[br]We are happy for that. 0:00:59.500,0:01:01.450 But we are heartbroken[br]for our country, 0:01:01.450,0:01:03.666 especially for those who can't get out, 0:01:03.666,0:01:05.248 those who are stuck here. 0:01:05.248,0:01:06.731 We are really heartbroken. 0:01:06.731,0:01:08.381 Our heart bleeds for them. 0:01:08.381,0:01:10.598 What do you feel for all the mothers, 0:01:10.598,0:01:12.615 with young daughters who will now 0:01:12.615,0:01:14.548 be growing up under Taliban rule? 0:01:14.548,0:01:16.449 Pain. Lots of pain. 0:01:16.449,0:01:18.681 [Airplane engine roars.] 0:01:19.211,0:01:21.080 The back of a pretty long line now. 0:01:21.080,0:01:24.333 Uh, transportation is under strain,[br]they said. 0:01:24.333,0:01:26.549 Obviously, the priority 0:01:26.549,0:01:31.750 is getting children and babies[br]out, as soon as possible. 0:01:31.750,0:01:34.581 But, I think we will probably[br]be here quite a while. 0:01:34.581,0:01:37.501 Do you work for the U. S. military? 0:01:39.241,0:01:41.866 Not military, but we are 0:01:41.866,0:01:46.618 working with the Ministry of Defense[br]in Afghanistan. 0:01:46.618,0:01:53.883 But we also work with[br]foreign people, too. 0:01:53.883,0:01:56.164 So you have a visa? 0:01:56.164,0:01:58.676 Yes. We have documents,[br]and a visa, too. 0:01:59.706,0:02:01.761 As we interview this couple, 0:02:01.761,0:02:03.646 suddenly (there are)[br]shouts behind us. 0:02:03.646,0:02:05.632 A vehicle speeds through. 0:02:05.632,0:02:08.215 [Car engine sputters past.] 0:02:08.215,0:02:10.032 That's a newborn baby, 0:02:10.032,0:02:12.482 that just flew past,[br]in that vehicle. 0:02:12.482,0:02:16.567 That was a newborn.[br]Did you see the baby? 0:02:16.567,0:02:18.500 It was this big. 0:02:19.670,0:02:22.716 The baby, we find out,[br]has heat stroke, 0:02:22.716,0:02:24.251 and needs treatment. 0:02:24.251,0:02:27.700 A reminder, for these families,[br]that they are close to safety, 0:02:27.700,0:02:29.282 but not there, yet. 0:02:30.742,0:02:33.550 We stand in the blazing hot sun[br]for hours, 0:02:33.550,0:02:37.017 everyone seeking what shelter they can. 0:02:37.017,0:02:39.769 [Child screaming, crying.] 0:02:39.769,0:02:41.894 Patience wearing thin. 0:02:43.454,0:02:47.918 It's an agonizingly slow process,[br]but finally, we're allowed inside. 0:02:47.918,0:02:52.751 Out on the tarmac, now safe,[br]but the chaos continues. 0:02:52.751,0:02:55.084 I have been waiting for two days. 0:02:55.084,0:02:56.683 Yesterday, since 3 a. m. 0:02:56.683,0:02:58.399 Yesterday since 3 a. m.? 0:02:58.399,0:02:59.239 Yes. 0:02:59.239,0:03:01.235 Tell me what the situation was like, 0:03:01.235,0:03:03.252 trying to get in to the airport. 0:03:03.252,0:03:05.434 It was really busy, and a lot of people 0:03:05.434,0:03:08.801 were just fighting, and trying to [br]make way for themselves. 0:03:08.801,0:03:10.731 But, we pushed through. 0:03:11.181,0:03:13.717 We are certainly some of[br]the very lucky ones, here. 0:03:13.717,0:03:15.984 Others, as you heard[br]from that young man, 0:03:15.984,0:03:18.216 have been waiting for two days. 0:03:18.216,0:03:23.183 Others we saw getting turned around,[br]sent back, 0:03:23.183,0:03:25.867 told, "you don't have the[br]appropriate paperwork." 0:03:25.867,0:03:29.261 There is no question: [br]everybody here is doing their best. 0:03:29.261,0:03:32.619 But, it's not clear[br]if it's fast enough. 0:03:32.619,0:03:34.519 If enough people can get out. 0:03:34.519,0:03:39.255 And how much longer they have,[br]to finish this massive operation. 0:03:41.753,0:03:44.068 [Jake] I want to bring in CNN's[br]Clarissa Ward. 0:03:44.068,0:03:47.506 She is on the phone,[br]inside the Kabul airport. 0:03:47.506,0:03:49.417 Clarissa, the Pentagon, today, 0:03:49.417,0:03:51.687 put out several images 0:03:51.687,0:03:54.505 that really get at the humanity,[br]the sea of humanity there, 0:03:54.505,0:03:56.117 and the compassion of 0:03:56.117,0:03:58.076 the U. S. service members[br]at the airport. 0:03:58.076,0:04:00.345 You saw, of course, the Marine[br]holding the baby. 0:04:00.345,0:04:03.084 Another, 'fist bumping' a child[br]going through processing. 0:04:03.084,0:04:05.911 The lines of Marines on guard,[br]directing a woman and child 0:04:05.911,0:04:07.516 where to go for processing. 0:04:07.516,0:04:10.251 Obviously, everyone doing[br]the best they can, as you noted. 0:04:10.251,0:04:13.603 The scene inside the perimeter,[br]strikingly different 0:04:13.603,0:04:16.195 than the one outside the gates. 0:04:17.187,0:04:20.234 [Clarissa][br]Yeah, Jake. I mean, there is no question 0:04:20.234,0:04:23.752 that everybody here is just [br]doing their level best 0:04:23.752,0:04:27.765 to try to mitigate the [br]suffering and misery 0:04:27.765,0:04:29.736 of the situation. 0:04:29.736,0:04:31.902 We also saw, I saw, 0:04:31.902,0:04:33.688 a young female soldier 0:04:33.688,0:04:36.184 carrying an Afghan toddler boy. 0:04:36.184,0:04:39.567 I've seen people [br]helping those in wheelchairs. 0:04:39.567,0:04:44.669 All sorts of acts of kindness[br]and gentleness. 0:04:44.669,0:04:47.202 But, the reality is[br]that this situation 0:04:47.202,0:04:49.318 is horrifying. 0:04:49.318,0:04:52.352 I'm looking around now,[br]at a sea of people 0:04:52.352,0:04:54.334 lying on the floor. 0:04:54.334,0:04:56.817 They are lying outside[br]on the gravel. 0:04:56.817,0:04:58.766 There is nowhere [br]for them to sleep 0:04:58.766,0:05:00.702 other than a cardboard box. 0:05:00.702,0:05:03.792 They are cold. It's very chilly. 0:05:03.792,0:05:05.518 There is no blanket. 0:05:05.518,0:05:09.819 The bathrooms here are [br]in a very bad state indeed. 0:05:09.819,0:05:12.269 And there is no sense[br]of how long these people 0:05:12.269,0:05:13.785 are going to be here. 0:05:13.785,0:05:18.252 For over eight hours today,[br]no U. S. planes even left. 0:05:18.252,0:05:20.518 So, there is now [br]even more of a backlog, 0:05:20.518,0:05:22.751 and a bottleneck, than there was. 0:05:22.751,0:05:25.385 [Jake][br]Is there any sense of order, 0:05:25.385,0:05:28.019 when it comes to[br]the effort to determine 0:05:28.019,0:05:30.469 who gets to come into the gates, 0:05:30.469,0:05:33.269 that last perimeter[br]where the U. S. is? 0:05:33.269,0:05:34.752 And who does not? 0:05:35.507,0:05:39.752 [Clarissa][br]I think, in the initial process... 0:05:39.752,0:05:42.750 you know, there are so many[br]"No's," along this chain... 0:05:42.750,0:05:44.552 initially, it's sort of like, 0:05:44.552,0:05:46.686 who can flash a document[br]In the air, 0:05:46.686,0:05:48.765 and who can push the hardest. 0:05:48.765,0:05:52.272 Who has a young baby,[br]or something like that. 0:05:52.272,0:05:54.970 Or (who) is vulnerable,[br]and at immediate risk. 0:05:54.970,0:05:57.502 Then, as you get further[br]along the chain, 0:05:57.502,0:05:59.393 and closer to the air field, 0:05:59.393,0:06:02.085 you go through[br]State Department processing. 0:06:02.085,0:06:06.170 And you really do have to show[br]the appropriate paperwork. 0:06:06.170,0:06:07.851 And that is where we saw 0:06:07.851,0:06:10.302 quite a few people[br]being turned around. 0:06:10.302,0:06:14.287 They are all sort of manually[br]escorted off the base. 0:06:14.287,0:06:17.569 It does break your heart[br]a little bit, to see that. 0:06:17.569,0:06:20.185 Because, you can imagine,[br]you know, 0:06:20.185,0:06:22.505 you don't have all your paperwork[br]in order, 0:06:22.505,0:06:25.051 but you are still petrified [br]of the situation. 0:06:25.051,0:06:27.750 Ugh! To get that far, [br]and get in, 0:06:27.750,0:06:33.506 and still not be able to get out[br]of the country, 0:06:33.506,0:06:35.235 after all of that. 0:06:35.235,0:06:36.652 It's a heartbreak. 0:06:36.652,0:06:38.749 Jake, I'm walking outside now, 0:06:38.749,0:06:41.686 because I am being told[br]that our birds, our flights, 0:06:41.686,0:06:43.252 might be taking off soon. 0:06:43.252,0:06:45.536 So, forgive me if it's a little loud. 0:06:45.536,0:06:50.258 [Jake] Okay. That certainly[br]takes priority, Clarissa. 0:06:50.258,0:06:53.688 We have seen images[br]of armed U. S. forces, 0:06:53.688,0:06:56.239 along the perimeter of the airport,[br]and all week, 0:06:56.239,0:06:58.756 the Pentagon has said,[br]that U. S. troops 0:06:58.756,0:07:02.255 have not been involved in[br]any hostile interactions at the airport. 0:07:02.255,0:07:05.495 But, of course, any wrong move[br]could quickly change the situation. 0:07:05.495,0:07:07.119 I have to believe 0:07:07.119,0:07:09.303 that that is one of the considerations, 0:07:09.303,0:07:11.603 as to why U. S. service members have been 0:07:11.603,0:07:14.822 basically told to stay where they are,[br]within the perimeter, 0:07:14.822,0:07:18.760 because of the real, legitimate risk[br]to service members, 0:07:18.760,0:07:21.718 from not just the Taliban, 0:07:21.718,0:07:24.854 but any one of[br]the terrorist groups in the area. 0:07:24.854,0:07:29.036 [Clarissa] There are so many[br]different threats, here. 0:07:29.036,0:07:32.271 So many different[br]potential scenarios, 0:07:32.271,0:07:37.288 where things could rapidly escalate[br]to a very, very bad place. 0:07:37.288,0:07:40.238 That's why there is[br]a lot of tension in the air. 0:07:40.238,0:07:45.486 Because everybody knows[br]that this moment cannot last. 0:07:45.486,0:07:47.483 It is going to be short-lived. 0:07:47.483,0:07:50.153 And they have got to get it right. 0:07:50.153,0:07:55.102 And they have got to get out[br]as many people as they possibly can. 0:07:55.102,0:07:59.188 Because they can't just[br]go outside the wire, 0:07:59.188,0:08:02.504 and start bringing people in manually. 0:08:02.504,0:08:08.336 This is why the negotiations with[br]the Taliban are so important. 0:08:08.336,0:08:12.920 But the Taliban has a limit[br]to how much they will tolerate. 0:08:12.920,0:08:17.720 And a limit to how much those[br]burly, surly fighters 0:08:17.720,0:08:21.055 on the outer perimeter [br]will tolerate. 0:08:21.055,0:08:22.817 And so that's what makes it 0:08:22.817,0:08:25.760 a potentially very dangerous[br]situation. 0:08:25.760,0:08:27.731 It is like a powder keg. 0:08:27.731,0:08:29.422 One thing goes wrong, 0:08:29.422,0:08:31.588 and it all goes very wrong. 0:08:31.588,0:08:33.153 [Jake] Well, Clarissa, 0:08:33.153,0:08:36.254 I am so glad that you [br]are getting on a plane to get out. 0:08:36.254,0:08:38.122 I just want to say, 0:08:38.122,0:08:40.404 on behalf of everybody here [br]at CNN, 0:08:40.404,0:08:43.121 and everybody who has been[br]watching CNN, 0:08:43.121,0:08:46.005 your reporting has been brave, 0:08:46.005,0:08:49.822 and amazing, and with empathy,[br]and with courage. 0:08:49.822,0:08:52.512 We are so lucky to have you[br]as a colleague. 0:08:52.512,0:08:54.768 Thank you for what you have done 0:08:54.768,0:08:56.915 to tell the story[br]of what is going on there. 0:08:56.915,0:08:58.945 [Clarissa] Thank you so much, Jake. 0:08:58.945,0:09:01.171 Thank you from all of us,[br]very much. Thank you.