- [Reporter] Just showing you again those pictures
from earlier of Taliban fighters
behind the desk of the Presidential Palace.
- [Narrator] Taliban forces took over
the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday,
seizing power in the country after just over a week
of a swift advances across Afghanistan.
(man speaks foreign language)
- The speed of this Taliban takeover
has shocked anyone that I know
who has followed the developments in the country
and shocked Afghans in Kabul.
- [Narrator] As the fighters entered the city,
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country
and by Monday morning,
people worried about living under Taliban rule
flocked to Kabul's airport.
- This is all happening far faster
than U.S. officials had predicted
and so a lot of questions on Sunday about what went wrong.
- [Narrator] Here's how the Taliban's takeover
is creating new challenges for the Biden administration
and an uncertain future for the Afghan people.
- It didn't take long before thousands of Afghans
were swarming the airport
hoping to get out on evacuation flights.
Some people had tickets on civilian flights
that were later canceled
Overnight there was a lot of chaos
and at least three people were killed by gunfire.
We're not entirely sure by who,
but it's the U.S military that has taken control
of security of the airport.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military has sent extra American troops
to Afghanistan to help facilitate these evacuations.
There are currently roughly 6,000 American troops
either in Kabul airport or on their way there,
according to U.S. military officials.
- I think an Afghan-inclusive government,
this is the demand, the will,
and the warmth of the people of Afghanistan.
- The Taliban have said repeatedly
that Afghan civilians have nothing to fear from them.
They also say the girls under the Taliban
will be allowed to go to school.
But the fact is what we've seen since they entered Kabul,
we've seen the Taliban raid NGO offices,
erect checkpoints throughout the city,
and people are concerned that the Taliban will instate
the same kind of authoritarian rule
that they had in the nineties.
We haven't seen large scale violence
against civilians in Kabul yet,
but there is already a very pervasive sense of fear
in the capital.
- [Narrator] As a Taliban advanced,
the U.S. was counting on Afghan forces
that it had invested billions of dollars in
to train and build up over the past 20 years.
- [Reporter] Is a Taliban takeover
of Afghanistan now inevitable?
- No, it is not
because the Afghan troops have 300,000 well-equipped,
as well-equipped as any army in the world,
and an air force
against something like 75,000 Taliban.
It is not inevitable.
- [Narrator] But Afghan security forces largely surrendered
without a fight, so that by Sunday,
Taliban fighters were able to take control
of the whole country.
The Biden administration stood by its decision
to exit Afghanistan.
- We went to Afghanistan 20 years ago with one mission,
and that mission was to deal with the folks
who attacked us on 9/11.
And we have succeeded in that mission.
- Perhaps the speed
at which this happened wasn't predictable,
but the Taliban's takeover was largely predictable,
and so a lot of questions now.
If President Biden either didn't know about that,
that's a problem with intelligence issues
or his own policy discussions.
If he did know about it and didn't care to do more,
then what does it say about his willingness
to remain committed and maintain his promises
to allies around the world?
- [Narrator] The Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan
also has implications for the surrounding region.
- It's the security implications of Pakistan and Iran
and also all the bordering countries are terrified
that, A, you have a refugee crisis,
people spilling over the borders.
We're already seeing people trying to rush
out of the country in fear of what will come.