NBC’s Alexander Grills Jen Psaki on Afghanistan: ‘Is the U.S. More or Less Safe Today Than Before’ the Taliban’s Takeover?’

NBC’s Peter Alexander put White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki through a formidable series of questions on Monday, the culmination of which was him asking if America was “less safe” now that the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan.

Despite the briefing’s interruption by an “aggressive bug” as Psaki put it, Alexander began by asking if the U.S. has accomplished its goals in Afghanistan, now that its on the brink of the August 31st withdrawal deadline. He prefaced his question by noting that “thousands of SIV applicants and certainly some other Americans” most likely won’t be evacuated from the country by then.

Psaki responded by touting the “120,000 lives that we have saved” thanks to the U.S. government’s airlift campaign.

Our commitment is enduring to Afghan partners, to American citizens who may not have decided to leave. That is their right to determine when they want to leave. That commitment is enduring, but we have saved more than 120,000 lives and I will let you evaluate that for yourself.

Alexander continued by noting the “billions of dollars of U.S.-made munitions and aircraft and other vehicles falling into the hands of the Taliban here, giving them new capabilities that they did not have before this.”

“Are the Americans less safe now, because the Taliban now has access to billions of dollars worth of American-made weaponry?”

Psaki responded by insisting that the U.S. Military has undertaken efforts to reduce the amount of resources left behind that the Taliban will have access to. She also said that the government has assessed that neither the Taliban nor ISIS-K “have the ability to attack the United States.” This comes days after an ISIS-K suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. service members and scores of civilians outside Hamid Karzai International Airport.

Alexander proceeded to expand his core question by asking if Western interests and Americans around the globe are now at greater risk because of the Taliban’s takeover. He kept the focus on the immediate matter at hand though, asking Psaki once again “is the U.S. more or less safe today than before the Taliban took over?”

Watch Psaki’s response above, via MSNBC.

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