'That was a newborn baby': CNN reporter reveals dire situation at airport

After three weeks in Afghanistan,

we join the crowds at Kabul Airport.

Now, the only way
out of the country.

There is a huge block here.
Lots of cars.

Hundreds of people wait
in the blistering heat,

hoping for a flight out.

So, we just managed
to get into the airport compound,

and uh, I have to say,

it was pretty intense.

It was just, like,
this crush of desperate people,

and screaming children,

and women and babies,

and um, yeah.

It's not often you see
desperation like that.

The few people that do make it

are exhausted and scared.

But, they are the lucky ones.

They've made it past
the Taliban checkpoints,

Afghan security guards,

and, finally, the airport gate.

But, they can't forget those
who they left behind.

We are getting out.
We are happy for that.

But we are heartbroken
for our country,

especially those who can't get out,

those who are stuck here.

We are really heartbroken.

Our heart bleeds for them.

What do you feel for all the mothers,

with young daughters who will now

be growing up under Taliban rule?

Pain. Lots of pain.

[Airplane engine roars.]

The back of a pretty long line now.

Uh, transportation is under strain,
they said.

Obviously, the priority

is getting children and babies
out, as soon as possible.

But, I think we will probably
be here quite a while.

Do you work for the U. S. military?

Not military, but we are

working with the Ministry of Defense
in Afghanistan.

But we also work with
foreign people, too.

So you have a visa?

Yes. We have documents,
and a visa, too.

As we interview this couple,

suddenly (there are)
shouts behind us.

A vehicle speeds through.

[Car engine sputters past.]

That's a newborn baby.

That just flew past,
in that vehicle.

That was a newborn.
Did you see the baby?

It was this big.

The baby, we find out,
has heat stroke,

and needs treatment.

A reminder, for these families,
that they are close to safety,

but not there, yet.

We stand in the blazing hot sun
for hours,

everyone seeking what shelter they can.

[Child screaming, crying.]

Patience wearing thin.

It's an agonizingly slow process,
but finally, we're allowed inside.

Out on the tarmac, now safe,
but the chaos continues.

I have been waiting for two days.

Yesterday, since 3 a. m.

Yesterday since 3 a. m.?

Yes.

Tell me what the situation was like,

trying to get in to the airport.

It was really busy, and a lot of people

were just fighting, and trying to
make way for themselves.

But, we pushed through.

We are certainly some of
the very lucky ones, here.

Others, as you heard
from that young man,

have been waiting for two days.

Others we saw getting turned around,
sent back.

Told, "you don't have the
appropriate paperwork."

There is no question:
everybody here is doing their best.

But, it's not clear
if it's fast enough.

If enough people can get out.

And how much longer they have,
to finish this massive operation.

I want to bring in CNN's
Clarissa Ward.

She is on the phone,
inside the Kabul airport.

Clarissa, the Pentagon, today,

put out several images

that really get at the humanity,
the sea of humanity there,

and the compassion of

the U. S. service members
at the airport.

You saw, of course, the Marine
holding the baby.

Another, 'fist bumping' the child
going through processing.

The lines of Marines on guard,
directing a woman and child

where to go for processing.

Obviously, everyone doing
the best they can, as you noted.

The scene inside the perimeter,
strikingly different

than the one outside the gates.

Yeah, Jake. I mean, there is no question

that everybody here is just
doing their level best

to try to mitigate the
suffering and misery

of the situation.

We also saw, I saw,

a young female soldier

carrying an Afghan toddler boy.

I've seen people
helping those in wheelchairs.

All sorts of acts of kindness
and gentleness.

But, the reality is
that this situation

is horrifying.

I'm looking around now,
at a sea of people

lying on the floor.

They are lying outside
on the gravel.

There is nowhere
for them to sleep

other than a cardboard box.

They are cold. It's very chilly.

There is no blanket.

The bathrooms here are
in a very bad state indeed.

And there is no sense
of how long these people

are going to be here.

For over eight hours today,
no U. S. planes even left.

So, there is now
even more of a backlog,

and a bottleneck, than there was.

Is there any sense of order,

when it comes to
the effort to determine

who gets to come into the gates,

that last perimeter
where the U. S. is?

And who does not?

I think, in the initial process...

you know, there is so many
nodes, along this chain...

initially, it's sort of like,

who can flash a document
In the air,

and who can push the hardest.

Who has a young baby,
and something like that.

Or (who) is vulnerable,
and at immediate risk.

Then, as you get further
along the chain,

and closer to the air field,

you go to State Department
processing.

And you really do have to show
the appropriate paperwork.

And that is where we saw

quite a few people
being turned around.

They are all sort of manually
escorted off the base.

It does break your heart
a little bit, to see that.

Because, you can imagine,
you know,

you don't have all your paperwork
in order,

but you are still petrified
of the situation.

Ugh! To get that far,
and get in,

and still not be able to get out
of the country,

after all of that.

It's a heartbreak.

Jake, I'm walking outside now,

because I am being told
that our birds, our flights,

are taking off soon.

So, forgive me if I'm a little loud.

Okay. That certainly takes priority,
Clarissa.

We have seen images
of armed U. S. forces,

along the perimeter of the airport,
and all week,

the Pentagon has said,
that U. S. troops

have not been involved in
any hostile interactions at the airport.

But, of course, any wrong move
could quickly change the situation.

I have to believe

that that is one of the considerations,

as to why U. S. service members have been

basically told to stay where they are,
within the perimeter,

because of the real, legitimate risk
to service members,

from not just the Taliban,

but any one of
the terrorist groups in the area.

[Clarissa] There are so many
different threats, here.

So many different
potential scenarios,

where things could rapidly escalate
to a very, very bad place.

That's why there is
a lot of tension in the air.

Because everybody knows
that this moment cannot last.

It is going to be short-lived.

And they have got to get it right.

And they have got to get out
as many people as they possibly can.

Because they can't just
go outside the wire,

and start bringing people in manually.

This is why the negotiations with
the Taliban are so important.

But the Taliban has a limit
to how much they will tolerate.

And a limit to how much those
surly, surly fighters

on the outer perimeter
will tolerate.

And so that's what makes it

a potentially very dangerous
situation.

It is like a powder keg.

One thing goes wrong,

and it all goes very wrong.

[Jake] Well, Clarissa,

I am so glad that you
are getting on a plane to get out.

I just want to say,

on behalf of everybody here
at CNN,

and everybody who has been
watching CNN,

your reporting has been brave,

and amazing, and with empathy,
and with courage.

We are so lucky to have you
as a colleague.

Thank you for what you have done

to tell the story
of what is going on there.

[Clarissa] Thank you very much, Jake.

Thank you from all of us,
very much. Thank you.