JUDY WOODRUFF: And now for the perspective on the Afghan situation from the Biden administration. Jon Finer is the deputy national security adviser. And I spoke with him moments ago. Jon Finer, thank you for joining us. Our reporter in Kabul Jane Ferguson is describing for us panic in the streets of Kabul. She is describing the Taliban preventing most people from getting to the airport. Are these evacuations going as the administration had hoped?
JON FINER, U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser: So, Judy, it is a very serious security situation in Kabul, and we are well aware of reports that people are having difficulty reaching the airport. A lot of people are reaching the airport, in spite of those challenges, and the number of people we have been able to put on evacuation flights out of the Afghanistan has increased steadily day by day, and we expect that to continue. I do want to point out, though, that there is an extraordinary degree of problem-solving hard work going on with our teams on the ground, both military personnel and diplomats, to address exactly the situation that you're describing, so that -- to facilitate people's access to the airport and get them out of the country.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, we did hear President Biden's say yesterday in that ABC interview that, if Americans are not all out by August the 31st, the military is going to stay as long as necessary to get them and America's allies out. But how are you going to do that without putting more military force in there?
JON FINER: Well, Judy, we do believe it is possible to get all Americans in Afghanistan who wants to get out of the country out by that time. We have been communicating steadily with Americans, really from the moment this administration took office, and even before, through our State Department, which maintains a list of people who have been resident in Afghanistan over a period of time. Now, we don't have an exact count, because we don't track when people come and go from the country. But we have been sending an increasingly urgent series of messages to those people that they should leave Afghanistan for their own safety and security, even before the recent crisis. We have even offered in recent days and weeks to provide financial assistance for people who want to purchase flights out of Afghanistan when the commercial aviation system was up and running. And we are reaching out to them directly again today to try to locate any Americans who remain in the country who would like to get out, so we can help facilitate their departure.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And does that include military escort?
JON FINER: I'm not going to go into all the operational details of how we are planning to do this, but we take very seriously the plight of Americans in Afghanistan. There is no more important mission that we are trying to execute in real time.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And how far is the administration prepared to go to extract those Afghans who helped and supported the United States over the last 20 years?
JON FINER: Well, Judy, as you know, we have already evacuated more than 2,000 Special Immigrant Visa applicants. These are Afghans who worked on behalf of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, either with our diplomats or our development professionals or our military officers. We have plans under way and actually flights under way in real time today, tomorrow and going forward to evacuate what we hope will be thousands more of Afghans who are in urgent need of getting out of the country, including people who worked on behalf of the United States and including other Afghans who are at risk in special categories of concern. This is a high priority and one that we are continuing to execute today, tomorrow, and going forward.
JUDY WOODRUFF: If necessary, is the U.S. prepared to send more troops in?
JON FINER: We're not talking about more troops at this point. We have a significant troop presence at the airport in Afghanistan. The military has told us they have what they need to keep that facility secure. I don't want to underestimate the threat picture that exists in Afghanistan currently. It is a very serious security environment. The president has told the military they will have what they need. And, as of now, they have told us they have the force posture in place to keep that facility secure.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And do you have ongoing talks between the administration and the Taliban in order to do everything you can to provide for safe passageway for these people?