'Hannity' on Biden's handling of Afghanistan

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Hannity: Biden administration 'has zero plans' to rescue any Americans in Afghanistan

'Hannity' host rips the White House's handling of chaos in the troubled Middle East nation where American citizens remain trapped

This is a rush transcript of "Hannity" on August 19, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST:  All right. And, Tucker, thank you.

Welcome to HANNITY. 

Day five, Americans trapped behind enemy lines pretty much -- well, they're being held at the whim of the Taliban, yes, a terrorist organization. 

On Sunday, the entire country of Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, as Joe Biden gears up for yet another long weekend in Delaware. Wow. Only the Hamid Karzai International Airport remains under U.S. control.

At this hour tonight, thousands of Americans and thousands of our allies hopelessly stranded all over the country, as we said, behind enemy lines. 

At this hour, the Biden administration, they still don't know exactly how many. Joe is estimating about 15,000. 

They don't know where they're located. They can't even tell us exactly how many have been evacuated and worst of all, they have zero plan to rescue any Americans. 

And according to "The Wall Street Journal", this is the return of America held hostage. Some 15,000 U.S. citizens and residents are behind Taliban lines, and there's no easy way to get them out. That's just a fact. They've allowed it to get that bad.

And as we speak, there are other countries at least trying and they're extracting their citizens with their special forces. For example, the British are calling it Operation Pitting. But the United States as of now has no such program. 

In a press conference, the Department of Defense told us that the U.S. 

military is under orders to protect the Karzai International Airport and that is it. According to the State Department in a memo with, quote, the United States government cannot ensure safe passage to the Hamid Karzai International Airport. But they're suggesting people might think about going there but we can't provide you safe passage there. 

So, we're securing an airport that people will take great risk to get to only someone as stupid as Joe Biden could come up with a plan like that. Of course, now, he's going on vacation again. 

According to reports, the Biden administration, they're looking for what they call non-military ways to move Americans to the airport past the Taliban. Okay, I'd like to know what that might be. What are the plans?

Look at your screen because this is what it looks like outside of the airport. It is chaos. It is carnage. 

Taliban fighters viciously beating whipping stabbing crowds, seemingly doing it at random. Shots ring out constantly. Men are abducted on the back of pickup trucks, even American journalists have come under attack. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT:  You can see that some of these Taliban fighters, they're just hopped up on adrenaline or I don't know what. It's a very dicey situation. 

Suddenly, two other Taliban charged towards us. You can see their rifle butt raised to strike producer Brent Swails. 

When the fighters are told we have permission to report they lower their weapons and let us pass. OK, now, we're going. Get in the car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY:  God help every American that's there now. 

As you can see, this is now beyond dangerous. Anyone making their way to the airport, they are literally putting their life in the hands of the same vicious terrorists -- yep, that allowed the plotting and planning and scheming of 9/11/2001. But according to Joe Biden, it's all going according to plan. Knock on wood. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:  Now, granted, it took two days to take control of the airport. We have control of the airport now.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS ANCHOR:  Still a lot of pandemonium outside the airport.

BIDEN:  Well, there is, but look but no one's being killed right now. God forgive me for if I'm wrong about that, but no one's being killed right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY:  No one -- no one's being killed right now. Well, you're wrong about that. People are being killed and beaten and whipped and stabbed at checkpoints. We have reports Taliban fighters are blocking many from even getting through and that yet Americans are being told to attempt to get there but they can't be protected. There's no guarantee of safety. 

Now flights are taking off half empty. Joe Biden doesn't seem to realize the magnitude of what is going on and what led to this mess and how it could have been prevented. 

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: What happens now in Afghanistan? Do you believe the Taliban have changed?

BIDEN:  No. I think -- let me put this way, I think they're going through sort of an existential crisis about do they want to be recognized by the international communities being a legitimate government? I'm not sure they do. But look, I'm not sure I would have predicted, George, nor would you or anyone else, that when we decided to leave that they provide safe passage for Americans to get out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Existential crisis, safe passage from terrorists.

Okay, when you saw that the Taliban took over 10 percent of the country, 20 percent of the country, 30 percent of the country, 40 percent of the country, why was there no urgency then? Does this like, look, safe to you Joe Biden as you make your way back to Delaware? Would you want one of your loved ones outside of that airport behind enemy lines getting pistol- whipped getting beaten getting shot or just in fear of all the above?

Look at your screen. These are Afghan families literally passing their babies over a wall covered with razor wire, begging the British to take their children, because they know that their children will be murdered by the Taliban if they don't get inside of that airport. Think how desperate a mother or father would have to be to do such a thing, but they do it because that's all they think they can do to save their kids, because they know how the -- what the Taliban is all about and how they treat people.

Now, there is no safe passage, not for the Afghan people. Not for Americans, not for the allies, not for the interpreters that we promised we'd protect. And now, we're witnessing what is one of the biggest hostage situations in the history of the U.S. and the biggest military debacle in the history of the U.S.

And you have a president so checked out that he's spending most of his spare hours on vacation, with no plan except that -- well, the Taliban has said that they're going to allow safe passage to the airport, when we know that's not happening, considering they have multiple checkpoints, they have surrounded the entire perimeter of the airport and nobody is getting through unless they get Taliban permission. And even worse, so many innocent souls are already dead. 

But according to Biden is -- this is really much ado about nothing apparently, take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: We've all seen the pictures. We've seen those hundreds of people packed into a C-17. We've seen Afghans falling -- 

BIDEN:  That was four days ago, five days ago.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, you don't think this could have been handled -- this actually could have been handled better in any way, no mistakes? 

BIDEN:  No, I don't think it could have been handled in a way that there -- we're going to go back in hindsight and look. But the idea that somehow there's a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don't know how that happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY:  Well, you could have done it before they made their march to Kabul. You didn't have to give them Bagram Air Force Base either. You could have acted earlier. It didn't have to go chaotically. It could have gone very smoothly. Logistics could have been employed. We could have had a plan to extract, identify every American and get them out weeks before.

But Biden said that a Taliban takeover -- well, it was not inevitable, Joe was just telling us that a couple of weeks ago. He was reassuring the American people that the Afghan army -- one of the most capable, well- trained armies in the world and that they even had an air force, and that there's only 75,000 Taliban, and then the Taliban makes their march and every step of the way, Joe apparently didn't notice.

He said there'd be no chaotic scenes at the U.S. embassy in Kabul with helicopters scenes similar to the fall of Saigon in '75. Yeah, we have those scenes.

And then he pulled American soldiers out -- in the middle of the night. He abandoned Bagram Air Base. He dismantled Trump's contingency in crisis response bureau, that was back in June, he dismantled that. That was set up by President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo to provide aviation, logistics, medical support to Americans if they get trapped abroad. Why would you have gotten rid of that program?

And Joe stood by and did nothing as the Taliban made all of these rapid advances all over the country in the past two months they acted like it wasn't happening.

In fact, an internal State Department cable in July actually warned of Kabul's imminent collapse. Joe did nothing. And now, we're experiencing what is the single worst foreign policy crisis and debacle ever. The lives of thousands of Americans are literally in the hands of evil terrorists. 

Our Afghan partners, they have been abandoned and left for dead and I can promise you those left behind will die gruesome deaths. Our allies rightly no longer trust us our enemies are only emboldened billions of dollars in U.S. weapons, they didn't have a plan to remove them or at least destroy them. You know, night vision goggles, planes, helicopters, up-armored vehicles, yeah, that you paid for, they're now in the hands of the Taliban. 

That makes them even stronger. 

And today, Joe Biden had no public events again, called the lid, I'm done at 3:30 in the afternoon. No press briefing. I guess Jen Psaki's back on vacation because we didn't hear from her, we haven't heard a word from Kamala Harris in more than a week and thousands of American lives are at risk at this hour. And the Biden administration is completely, totally detached and out to lunch. 

This is by every definition of dereliction of duty. If Joe Biden is not up for this job, now we've joked about it, we've kidded about it, we've shown you the video, and then we stop laughing about it because it's not funny, because seeing a Joe Biden weak, and frail, and a cognitive mess is not good for the United States. It's not good for our fellow citizens those trapped behind enemy lines tonight and it's not good for the world either.

If he doesn't care about the lives of Americans abroad, if he's not up to this job, he needs to either step down or be removed. If he just wants to live out his remaining days on a beach in Delaware, I'm fine with that. 

Step down, let someone more capable take over, someone that may have a sense of urgency about how dire this situation is and the amount of potential power and leverage that he has now single-handedly given a terrorist organization and God forbid what I can think of in my mind which I will not express they could do to the Americans held behind enemy lines. 

We pray for those Americans, every one of them. We want them home safely. 

They're trapped in Afghanistan. We pray for our friends. We pray for our allies, who have been abandoned and pray also that as many lives as possible hopefully prayerfully every life will be saved before it's too late. If it does work out that way, it will be a miracle a modern day miracle but it won't be because of anything Joe Biden did.

Here with more and he's got some breaking news, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North. 

I've never seen a situation like this. Colonel North, have you? You've been in Afghanistan. You're in the Vietnam War. You have numerous Purple Hearts, other honors of service. 

But you have news before we get to anything else.

COL. OLIVER NORTH (RET), CO-AUTHOR "WE DIDN'T FIGHT FOR SOCIALISM":  Well, let's go ahead and commit some news here because everything you've said is absolutely correct. So the number one most important next step has got to be finding a way to solve the problem of exfiltrating males not just Afghan males but males through the Taliban's outer perimeter at the airport. 

What we see now is footage of what's happening right at the airport. That's the inner perimeter. The outer perimeter is serious problems because they've got lists, they've got the names and phone numbers of every one of the folks who work with our country for the last 20 years. They've got the bank records. They've got it all, thanks to the embassy. So that's the number one issue.

Second issue, is it true that the Taliban are using captured U.S. drones like the Switchblade and others seized at the Bagram Air Base and other U.S. bases that are now being reverse engineered by Russian, Chinese and Pakistani intelligence officers? Because that's a major hazard going forward.

Number three, it's been reported the Taliban has captured the payroll data in American embassy and the Kabul banks showing the names addresses and phone numbers for locals now being hunted down. Sean, I've been in touch over the course of the last several days with folks who are now got at least a thousand Afghan nationals who worked very closely with us, some of them were my interpreters when I was on the air with you from Afghanistan. 

We're trying to get them out before they're hunted down.

And now, they've got -- the enemy has the addresses and phone numbers and they're calling them up trying to entice them to come on over. They come over. They're dead.

Number four, the armed resistance units forming in the Panjshir Valley are appealing for help. I'm wondering, is anyone in the U.S. government answering the phone. If not, why not? Call me, I've got their numbers. 

They've called me.

Number five, there are or more Afghan air force fixed wing and helicopter aircraft now safely on the ground in neighboring countries. The senior Afghan officer has appealed directly for help, I have his phone number. 

Anyone going to answer his calls, if not, if you're in the government of the United States, give me a call. I'll give you his phone number. He's desperate to make sure that the that came out with him get somewhere be safely before they're bounced out of Uzbekistan or Tajikistan or God knows where else. I got his number.

Number six, the communist Chinese are apparently on scene working with Taliban on ways to further disgrace the USA. Here's the bottom line: nobody seems to remember the lessons learned from the capture of our embassy in Saigon in April '75, or Tehran in '79. 

If Biden can't figure out how to deal with these problems, he ought to step down. The scary part of that, Sean, is in every case for a president not finishing his term, you know who becomes the president. That's a scary prospect too.

HANNITY:  Colonel, we now know from the State Department memo, we now know U.S. diplomats "The New York Post" report in Kabul wrote a memo last month warning, warning blinking of the rapid advancement of the -- of the Taliban.

Joe Biden says that all chaos was factored in from the beginning and it was priced into the cost of withdrawal and his statement even though we have Americans behind enemy lines, no -- well., no one's being killed right now that I know of. 

NORTH:  Well, he doesn't know that. He doesn't know that.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: And his own military -- his own military advisers warned him against withdrawing -- I don't recall? 

So, Colonel, you know, you've been to every war zone since Vietnam. You've been to Afghanistan. You've been to Iraq. 

I mean, my question to you is I don't see a military option at this point, because -- 

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY:  There's too much leverage -- there's too much leverage available on the other side that bothers me and concerns me, and I won't go into the details, that you know exactly what I'm talking about.

NORTH:  I do -- I do know exactly what you're talking about. But we have the capability of retrieving those Americans. It's going to take more troops, a lot more. It's going to take more time, a lot more. And that may have to be done, because if you end up with -- let's say just, just a thousand American hostages, and the communist Chinese are the ones that are, quote, going to act as a protective power for, quote, safe passage, that's the ultimate humiliation and the incompetence that is at every level this administration. It goes to the top of the Pentagon, the top of the State Department, the top of the CIA.

The incompetence is extraordinary, I hate to say that, because they served

-- every minute of my time in uniform, I was proud of the people who I reported to. The fact is we no longer have people like that in our government.

HANNITY:  All right, Colonel. We appreciate you as always. Thank you, Colonel Oliver North.

Joining us now with reaction, former White House press secretary, FOX News contributor, Ari Fleischer, former acting director of national intelligence, Ric Grenell.

Ric, you know, it's interesting because this -- we do have our Defense Department. They're fighting back saying, oh, we absolutely warned you. We have a State Department memo, and now, we have a U.S. diplomat memo, all warning that this was becoming imminent a month ago. 

The question is, it didn't take -- all you needed to do is really watch the news. You could see the advancing Taliban, and they were taking over large portions. My question is, was this an intelligence breakdown or that they didn't just seem to care or that they were ignorant to what could happen here?

RIC GRENELL, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE:  Sean, I spent today talking to multiple State Department officials, foreign service officers, career officials, and the warnings were early. And let me just tell you that in early June, I have seen evidence of a warning, a very stark warning to Jake Sullivan in early June. Then there were multiple cables throughout June warning of what's happening as the Taliban rises.

Now, on July 1st, we shut down Bagram Air Force Base. The troops were removed before American civilians or foreign service officers and embassy personnel were removed. How do you do that? 

So the frustration that the State Department was having, the foreign service officers, it finally boiled over after multiple warnings into this descent cable which is a very rare thing. Twenty-two of 23 economic and political officers in Embassy Kabul signed a descent cable on July 13th. 

After warnings throughout June and July, the troops were removed July 1st, they felt alone.

Let me just finish by saying this, on January 20th of this year, Kabul was free, the American embassy, Afghanistan was free, the American embassy in Kabul was working fine. And then what happened after that? Twenty-five hundred American troops and 5,000 NATO troops were there keeping the peace and then chaos ensued.

HANNITY:  Let me go to you, Ari Fleischer. You're a communications pro of all pros. So, the president's remained quiet as the world watched you know all weekend long that this was imminent, that Kabul was being taken over, and Joe Biden stayed on vacation. 

He flew in, he gave a -minute speech that somebody else had obviously written, he took no questions he went back on vacation again. Then he does what I consider to be a disastrous interview with George Stephanopoulos and saying, oh, no, no, we did everything right. We -- you know, there's nothing that I think we could have improved on and the chaos was priced into the fact of any withdrawal and I inherited this and -- well, no one's being killed right now, and you know, no one warned him against withdrawing and now we have all the evidence to the contrary, and now, he's going on vacation again.

Help me out with that communication strategy because that does not instill confidence in me and I doubt it instills confidence in the people trapped behind enemy lines tonight.

ARI FLEISCHER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR:  Sean, before I answer the question about communications, there's one point I just have to make and as I never in my life thought I would live to see the day where the United States of America is dependent on the tender mercies of the Taliban at checkpoints. 

This is the subjugated position that Joe Biden has subject our nation and our military too. It's a shameful, shameful moment and he did it because he withdrew the troops prematurely.

As for the communications of it -- you know, what Joe Biden needed to have done and remember that July news conference where he said, you know, we're heading into a three-day weekend I really don't want to take these questions. I don't want to talk about it.

He should have gone and talked about it to the American people and laid out the risks. He could have made the case that after 20 years, it's right to withdraw the troops, but here are the risks in doing so. There could be chaos. There could be problems getting Americans out. We'll do everything we can to minimize it.

But instead, he took the opposite the tack. He made the case how strong the Afghan military was, that they would be strong, he had confidence and faith and as he called it, 300,000 members of the Afghani military.

He led America on to believe something that did not come true and the reason for it significantly it didn't come true is because of the decisions Joe Biden made just as Ric laid out, to withdraw the troops before he withdrew the civilians. He got that order exactly backwards and put us all in peril.

HANNITY:  Really "The Wall Street Journal" in an editorial op-ed today -- these Americans really hostage. You're right. I mean, now, their only option, I don't see a good military option for them, because I worry that any operation would end up in mass American death. So, the option now remains, just to be clear, depends on the good graces of terrorists that have promised them? Safe passage to the airport? Doesn't exactly instill confidence in me.

FLEISCHER: President Biden said that he factored in chaos. My greatest fear, Sean, is that he factored in a bloodbath. A bloodbath either for the Afghanis who helped us or God forbid for our American troops. 

We are -- we are just a bullet away from the Taliban launching a bloodbath. 

That's how perilous this is on the razor's edge, on frontlines of that airport.

HANNITY:  Do see you a military option, Ric Grenell? Real quick. 

GRENELL:  Look, the French and the British are out trying to get their people. They're out challenging the Taliban and making sure that they get their people. We should be doing the same. And by the way, as the Taliban was rising we should have been pushing back militarily from the sky.

HANNITY:  Thank you.

GRENELL:  That was Donald Trump's plan. 

HANNITY:  The Donald Trump plan was, I will blow you to smithereens if you dare -- 

GRENELL:  And the Taliban believed it, they heard that and they believed it.

HANNITY:  They believed it because Donald Trump was believable and they feared him, something they don't feel with Biden. 

Thank you both.

All right. When we come back we got a lot of ground to cover tonight. GOP, is politics in play? They're pushing to hold Biden accountable for these failures and impeachment is being discussed at length. We'll check in with Kevin McCarthy.

And retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, he has a strong message for President Biden, he'll join us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY:  All right. Later in the show, we're going to have a big update. 

What American families -- those that have family members trapped inside Afghanistan, all the efforts they are using to try and get their family members home, and no thanks to Joe Biden, how they all must be feeling tonight. 

Also, Marcus Luttrell coming up.

But developing tonight, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, they're demanding the President Biden provide a gang of eight briefing on the Afghanistan exit disaster, demanding the Biden administration that provide the necessary information, the means of departure for those Americans still trying desperately to get out and ask yourself, is there any doubt that if this was happening under the Trump administration, oh, I'm sure that it would be non-stop, never ending, the sirens of impeachment would be going off among Democrats?

Here with the latest, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. 

You know, with Americans in harm's way behind enemy lines -- to be honest, Congressman, I'm not interested in the politics of anything tonight. I'm interested in one thing only, and that's getting our fellow Americans home. 

With that said, I do think Congress needs to be brought in. I think we need to be briefed. Our intel apparently had been warning -- both intel in the House and the Senate, members of both sides of the aisle -- have been warning not to do this now, the danger was real. 

But more importantly, what options might be available? And how -- and how can we put that plan in place?

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER:  Sean, that's true. I mean, every single member of Congress should be one focused -- to get those Americans home. I ask for a true accounting of the number of Americans.

And, Sean, when we get it, I'm going to ask you and every show on every network, put that number on your show and let's count it down until every single American comes home. 

The idea that our military's saying they don't have the capabilities to go out, yes, they do. We just need the will, and I think all Americans should stand for that. 

What this disaster has done is put a stain on our nation's status for years to come. I've heard from ambassadors of other nations that are our allies, they said they can't go back and tell them whether America will be there again. We're watching what China is doing with Taiwan, what Russia talks about within the Baltics. 

I'm hearing reports that the Taliban now has more Blackhawks than our allies Australia, the weaponry that was left. This is a complete disaster and we should have a complete accounting of it. And yes, if it holds to that, we'll uphold our constitutional duty. 

Right now, we are focused on bringing every single American home. Stop asking the Taliban for permission and let's go bring the Americans home. 

HANNITY:  Do you like what the British are doing? They're sending in their paratroopers.

MCCARTHY:  Yes, I like what the British are doing but also think about what the British and French are saying. We no longer could count on America. 

We've got to start doing something else. Remember, they went there to help America to stop the terrorists. 

The other thing, Sean, that we need to do is shut down our border. Even earlier this year, we have been catching people on the terrorist watch list coming across our border. Five thousand prisoners have just left in Afghanistan. 

America is less safe today because of what this president has done. And the president to sit there and tell us that he has planned for every scenario, why wouldn't they stop planning? Who would plan this way? 

Why would they remove in a time of the height of the Taliban in the summer? 

If they wanted to draw down, why wouldn't they do it in winter and give the capability?

To criticize the Afghan military that has been losing thousands of lives every month, we had stabilized this nation, without a casualty in the last

18 months with 25 (ph) of our very best. And now we had to move 7,000 back in. 

This is one of the greatest disasters in the history of this nation and it is going to do damage for us for decades to come.

HANNITY:  And Donald Trump was very clear, if one American is harmed there will be hell and fury to pay. And they believed him and there wasn't a single American killed in almost, what, 18 months.

Leader McCarthy, thank you.

MCCARTHY:  You know why they believe him? Because he would do it.

HANNITY:  They did believe him. You're right.

Also tonight, the brave men and women in uniform who served in Afghanistan, they are speaking out and they are slamming Joe Biden for his lack of urgency, lack of transparency, lack of action amid what is now a full-blown Taliban takeover all across Afghanistan. Many Gold Star families, many families of the severely injured in Afghanistan, are rightly asking why? 

Why did they give -- why did they give their life, their limbs, for this? 

And one of those brave heroes is retired Navy SEAL -- you might have watched the movie, read the book -- "Lone Survivor" author, Marcus Luttrell. He says we need to do everything we can to get our fellow citizens out of Afghanistan.

He joins us now with more. Marcus has been a longtime friend.

I know you're watching, and I know your heart, and I think I know the answer to the question before I ask it. What do people like yourself that served there -- you lost your closest friends there -- what do you think about the situation? And what do you think needs to be done to resolve the situation and save our fellow Americans? 

MARCUS LUTTRELL, AUTHOR OF "LONE SURVIVOR":  Good to see you, brother, and thank you for having me on. It's been a while. (INAUDIBLE) since COVID got spread around here, but a lot has happened since then. 

My feelings on this are kind of equal to everybody else's. I mean, you just kind of watch it go down and we fought so hard in there for so long. 

Now, in hindsight, we're talking about 20 years now, all right? So, we got done fighting. About the time bin Laden came down (INAUDIBLE) and Rob O'Neill and the rest of the guys, we got (INAUDIBLE). 

Other than that, you look at the nation-building, and to pass that over, I hear -- I heard Colonel North fired up, and, all right, he made a great point. 

When you see the Taliban walking down the streets with all of our equipment and the way they walked -- I know what it is when I'm looking at it. I mean, when you see something trained up in the way they carried themselves, that's -- a lot of that is the Army. 

And how fast that fell -- to fall in 11 days, that takes the will of the people as well. Close to 20 years, they probably got so sick of it that they just wanted something to change. 

Now, as far as the airport goes, I keep hearing everybody talking about contingencies and we have all of these contingencies line out, and we got -

- we don't know -- it's like, man, there was already a contingency written up. 

And so, tell that guy at the White House, pay attention to the letters (ph) to the president, all right? You walk in, there's a big binder says "contingencies for airports". You open it up, there's one page in there, all right? 

There's a crest in there and it has gold letters of "Rangers", all right? 

That's what they do. That is their profession, and they do it so well that

-- I mean, words can't even describe. 

They shut that down and secure in a matter of minutes, if you turn them loose. That's a true statement. That's all they do. That is what they are designed for. 

And the fact they're not even over there is surprising to me. 

HANNITY:  So, the mili -- 

LUTTRELL:  I've been over there in a whole (INAUDIBLE) come get me. 

So, I know how important it is when that flag is flying, just to see that American flag. Because this place isn't -- it is a place, but it's also the people, man. Just to get back here, people are falling off the sides of airplanes just to come over here to meet our people. 

The whole time I was over there, I was stuck down there, all I wanted to do was get back here to y'all (ph). And as long as I kept standing, I knew that flag was standing, and someone was willing to stand for that flag, I know y'all -- I mean, that's the hope. That's the hope. 

Now, if we've already bailed out of there and all bets are off and you don't have to ask permission from the Taliban, anybody says that they're coordination and talks with the Taliban in the airport, that just means they are talking to a gate door. They don't have any -- they don't care what we think. 

Right now, they are worried about security, what they just took over. 

They're going to be focusing on that. What we need to do is focus on getting our people back. That's what America is. 

Every time you stand for the flag, to be acknowledged as an American, every time you look at the flag, it's for this really -- this reason right here. 

If you get in trouble, somewhere where you're away from home, we'll come get you. That's the deal. 

HANNITY:  Leave no one behind, Marcus. 

LUTTRELL:  There's no ifs, ands and buts about it. There's no second- guessing it. And I spent my whole life then trying to pay y'all to come and get me. So, imagine what those people would do. 

HANNITY:  Marcus Luttrell. If people haven't read his book, seen the movie, it's appropriate time to go back and you can read -- reread it, watch it. 

Leave no man or woman behind. 

When we come back, speaking of women, Afghanistan women are fearing for their lives tonight, rightly so, amid the Taliban take over. 

Later, what American families trapped in Afghanistan, those families in that situation, you will hear directly from them as we continue. Thank you for being with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY:  Fifteen thousand Americans behind enemy lines. We've also been reporting all week women across Afghanistan. They are beginning to see the tragic consequences of a return to Taliban rule. For example, according to a new report, the Taliban is marking the doors of prominent Afghan women, even taking female news anchors off the air. 

And the terror group reportedly killed one woman for not wearing a burqa on the same day that the Taliban was vowing to honor women's rights. They've since backed off that as we predicted. 

And as "The Wall Street Journal" reports, many women are fading from public view, rightfully, fearfully for their lives as the Taliban crackdown begins. 

Now remember, under previous Taliban rule, girls were prevented. They couldn't go to school or work, prevented from appearing in public without being fully covered, having a male relative with them. Also restrictions on what health care they could receive, what types of transportation they could take, and severely limited on when and where they could work if they could, and were even subjected to forced marriages and abuse and rape. And those who broke the rules they face public flogging and even execution.

Here with reaction FOX News contributor Sara Carter, along with nationally syndicated radio talk shows Dana Loesch.

Sara, you've been there many times. You have friends there. You've been in non-stop contact for the last week with people on the ground there. What's the latest you're hearing?

SARA CARTER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTRO:  Well, it's terror, it's whole -- it's just terror, Sean. I can't even begin to describe what the people in Afghanistan are going through. You spoke of women in Afghanistan. I've been in communication all day today with a woman in Afghanistan and her small child. 

She was traveling from gate to gate around Kabul airport, trying to get inside. She has a visa. She has family members in the United States. She can have access into the country but she cannot get to a gate. 

The perimeter around Kabul airport is completely surrounded by Taliban. The Talibs pushed her. They pushed other women. They were threatening them. 

They were pushing them onto the ground. It was horrifying.

I was there, Sean, as you said many times. I remember going to Kabul University, talking to young Afghan women, women that would go to school. 

They were wearing their jeans. They were wearing a hijab but no burqa. They were very educated, very free, standing up for their rights, women who were judges. Now all of their lives are being threatened.

I can't begin to stress that the United States government must secure the perimeter around the airport so that people can get into the airport to get on the flight. Sean, people are literally being held hostage by the Taliban around the airport. 

HANNITY:  Let me go to you, Dana. I know there's been a silence -- people have been eerily silent, the Squad, the Me Too movement, et cetera, et cetera. 

Knowing what the Taliban's history is, knowing what the reports are that we have been describing in great, graphic detail, why? Why are they silent on this? 

DANA LOESCH, NATIONALLY SYNDICATED RADIO HOST OF "THE DANA SHOW":  Oh, Sean, and thanks for having me, it's good to see you again. 

They are silent on this because they're fakes, they're frauds, they are grifters. These are people have turned the idea of third and fourth wave feminism into a cottage industry to advance their own interest, instead of the securing the interest of women everywhere. 

It's really easy, Sean, for these women here to start third and fourth wave feminists, to talk a really good game about Me Too and to scream about your truth, et cetera, et cetera, but that ends apparently at America's borders. 

They don't have the bravery. Yes, the squad, they are not brave enough or courageous enough to actually advocate for these women in other countries.

And quite frankly, Sean, neither is the United Nations, whose ridiculous tone-deaf response about inclusivity when forming a legitimate government by the Taliban, the Taliban is not going to recognize that. They have women's abuses, too. This is about cowardice. 

HANNITY:  You know, and the interesting -- I mentioned earlier, I know it was apparent, as a father, I know, you see these images of mothers and fathers literally taking their babies, they are young babies, throwing them over the wall with barbed wire, because they know the fate of these women.

Sara, I'll give you the last word. 

CARTER:  That's absolutely right, Sean. These are people who are brave, who stood by the size of our soldiers, many who believe in liberty and freedom, they believe in liberty and freedom more than even some Americans believe in liberty and freedom because they know what it's like to not have it. 

Sean, our government has to do something. They need to secure that perimeter. We need to get Americans out, and we need to get our Afghan allies and Americans home. 

HANNITY:  All right. Thank you both. Dana, thank you, Sara, thank you. 

Last night, all right, the personal side of this -- you've heard the story of an Afghan interpreter living in the U.S. desperately trying to get his young family out of Afghanistan. What is it like for those families? That are talking to their loved ones, one of the hearing, what are they saying, and what hope do they have? That's straight ahead. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY:  All right. A breaking report from "Reuters" just coming out now. 

Joe Biden is going to speak from the White House about Afghanistan about

1:00 Eastern tomorrow. A lot late, Joe. Then, apparently, he's headed to Delaware, got to make everyone think you're working hard before you jet off for the weekend. 

Now we are continuing to follow the stories of our fellow Americans and -- that are doing everything within their power to get their family members out of Afghanistan, as we see more shocking footage out of Afghanistan. 

They're even making propaganda videos with American equipment, billions of dollars of equipment you paid for that we left for them, we've got an update on the story we brought you last night, that's Saber Nasseri.

He worked as an Afghan interpreter with U.S. forces for years. There's a bounty on his head. He is living in the U.S., desperately now trying to get his family out of Afghanistan, and tonight, he has another message for the Biden administration.

And Saber Nasseri joins us, along with Republican Congressman Brian Mast. 

Saber, ostensibly, your family is held hostage, aren't they? Aren't they being forced to stay there against their will? There is no freedom for them to travel to the airport, ostensibly, aren't they hostages? 

SABER NASSERI, AFGHAN INTERPRETER NOW LIVING IN THE U.S.:  Yes, my family moved from one location to another. They have not been saved yet. They become -- one week (ph) -- they are outside the gate, and the Taliban, they beheaded my family members. My other family members -- they are hiding right now. 

And thank you, Green Beret Jerry Torres (ph) that he helped my family, but Mr. Joe Biden isn't. He broke his promise. He left my family and other Afghan-Americans behind. 

The Afghan Americans over there, they have very hard times, and the families, they are crying. I received a hundred, hundred messages, and my hands are shaking, it become too weak, I couldn't -- I couldn't sleep and eat because I am worried about my family and other Afghan American allies in Afghanistan, Kabul airport. 

HANNITY: Congressman, let me ask you.

Biden apparently is going to address the issue of an evacuation plan -- a little late for that considering all these people, 15,000, he tells us, Americans behind enemy lines. But then we have anywhere between 60,000 interpreters, family members, people like Saber. 

Do you see good options? I see options. I don't really see one that I say is particularly a good option. Every one of the options available is a danger to both our military and to the people that are ostensibly hostage and not allowed to fly out of Afghanistan. 

REP. BRIAN MAST (R-FL): Sean, the options get worse every single minute that we wait longer, right? Because you have now the Taliban being the most well-armed Taliban. We don't know what surface to air assets that they are going to be moving thousands of people out via aircraft, right? They are not putting them out on boats, so what the capabilities do they now have to shoot those out of the skies as we are moving thousands out of there? 

You know, I hope when President Biden comes on TV, he gives us a resignation because he's going to face, let's say 15,000 to 60,000 counts of endangerment of everybody over there. 

And, you know, let's call this for what it is. This is probably about day seven of the Afghanistan hostage crisis, which is going to be far worse than the Iranian hostage crisis. 

HANNITY:  Yeah, Americans held hostage behind enemy lines. I can't think of a worse scenario. 

Saber, your message to Joe Biden? We've got 30 seconds. 

NASSERI:  My message -- Mr. Joe Biden, I know you broke your promise. I know that you left us behind. But for humanity, please save all Afghan- American allies, that they are suffering behind the gate, and they cannot go back home. If they go back, the Taliban will behead them. 

So please, please, listen to the innocent people and help them, and if not, I might go back to Afghanistan by coalition forces and support those innocent families. Thank you, Mr. Joe Biden. 

HANNITY:  I don't think there is an option -- and he should have done this a long time ago. He had the time to do it. 

We continue. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY:  All right. Unfortunately, that's all the time we have left. 

Please set your DVR so you never miss an episode. The sad thing Joe Biden addressing the country tomorrow about, how to evacuate people. There's no real good, safe option, it's a sad thing, because he didn't act when he could. 

In the meantime, let not your heart be troubled, Laura Ingraham is next. 

Have a great night. See you back here tomorrow. 

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