-Welcome back to "Late Night," We're here with
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny.
Louise, I have a question, you obviously had an expert who
was telling you these are things that could actually happen.
Being a Canadian, were there times that American politics
as explained to Hillary to you, seem beyond comprehension?
[ Laughter ]
-What? You know, I have to say, Seth.
And something I'm not sure whether you all know,
but this is Canadian Thanksgiving today.
So I want to say happy Thanksgiving.
-Happy Thanksgiving. -And there's no way
on Canadian Thanksgiving to say something ungracious
about our wonderful neighbor. -I mean yeah.
-But what I will say about Canada versus the united States
is Justin Trudeau. -Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay.
[ Cheers and applause ] -[ Laughs ]
-That's my answer to any political question.
-That's your trump card? Okay. -Sounds like a sequel to me.
[ Laughter ]
-Was it -- were there times, you know, I think this is
a question of anybody writing fiction that takes place
in Washington, D.C. these days, was there time where
truth has become so strange that it is hard to write
a world that is any different, or even harder to believe,
than what we're living through every day?
-Yeah. You know, I think, you know, Louise is just
an extraordinary writer and creates characters
and conceives plots that are so fascinating and draw you in,
but truly what's been going on in Washington,
I think beggars the imagination.
It's hard to make it up. -I think, had we written this
Five, six years ago people would have said, "No, this is insane,
this is ridiculous. -yeah, yeah, yeah.
-Now, actually, even in the course of writing it,
it has gone essentially from fiction to nonfiction.
I mean, what Hillary was talking about, frighteningly enough
a year and a half ago with me, when we were discussing it
is now coming true. -Yeah, because I've always said,
"Look, we're gonna get out of Afghanistan at some point.
And, when we do we gotta remain vigilant,
because the terrorists are not going away.
And now in addition to the Taliban and al-Qaeda,
we now have this ISIS branch there and they have not
given up on attacking us, our friends, and our allies.
So people have to be aware of that.
And obviously our leaders and those who have to protect us
have to pay attention.
And we just have to be smart and try to think ahead
about what they're trying to do and what they're going to
aim at next, in order to protect ourselves.
-I think it was May, hopefully I'm right here,
where you referred to Afghanistan as a wicked problem.
And basically you predicted that When we left this would happen,
the Taliban would take over.
I think everybody was caught off guard
maybe by the speed it was gonna happen.
But if it had happened in a week,
if it had happened six months, if it had happened in a year,
it was going to happen. Do you think then --
putting aside how we left, do you think it was
the right decision to leave? -You know,
it's really difficult to answer that because
in the former administration the United States Government
under Trump made an agreement that actually Trump's
former national security adviser McMaster said
was a surrender agreement to get out by May 1st.
so when the United States Government
tells an adversary we're leaving and then the adversary goes
"Oh, great, let's get ready for them to leave."
Let's go to the village and talk to Seth, the head guy.
And say, "Seth bring home all your soldiers or you guys
are gonna be wiped out." And, "Let's use our money
from the opium trade to buy favor and figure out
how we're gonna take over, not just the countryside
but go into the cities, and particularly Kabul."
That's all entrain and the deal that Trump made with the Taliban
was, "Okay, you're leaving we won't kill Americans
because you're going to leave."
And so, when Biden comes in he's, like, left with
this total fait accompli, and his decision has to be
either, get out in a responsible way.
Which was to push the deadline a little bit,
or put in more troops because they're going to attack us
and we have to protect ourselves.
It was an absolute, you know, Hobson's choice.
So, getting out was going to happen
once the Trump agreement was reached.
How we get out, how we protect ourselves going forward,
how we try to help those Afghans who stood with us
and were taking on enormous risk and I'm particularly focused on
all the women who were in the government,
they were journalists, they were in business,
they were in education and health care.
Those are the people that I hope we can continue to try to
assist and as we also protect ourselves.
It's complicated. But, yeah.
It's something that once that was decided was entrain.
-I want to finish with one last question about the book.
Your husband Bill was here with James Patterson
and he admitted that they were writing a book,
and that you would be a little competitive about sales.
[ Laughter ]
Do you share this competitive nature?
-Oh, certainly not. No. [ Laughter ]
-I know it's impossible to ask Louise on Canadian Thanksgiving.
-Yeah, she's so gracious. -Justin Trudeau.
-We heard. -I just wish everyone well.
-You wish everyone well. How very Louise of you.
I want to thank very much Hillary Rodham Clinton
and Louise Penny.
"A State of Terror" is available now.