I first spoke with Amadilla Siddiqui last week, and when I got him on the line,

one of the first questions I had was simple.

I wondered how he, an Afghan national, thought an American drawdown in Afghanistan might go.

I just wondered if he'd pictured it in his head. It turned out he hadn't. I couldn't imagine how, you know, that would happen. You couldn't imagine the Americans leaving. No. This week, it became clear just how many Afghans felt the exact same way, as Kabul's airport filled up with desperate

people, willing to do just about anything to catch a flight out of town. Amadullah is

comparatively lucky. He lives in Houston. He's got American citizenship. He fled years ago,

after his work as a U.S. government translator, resulted in death threats.

In that first call we had, he couldn't stop thinking about the colleagues he'd left behind.

Some had been waiting years to get out. For others, it was already too late.

Yeah, like our co-worker, he got his visa. He was waiting for the flight and he got shot while, you know, trying to meet his grandmom and dad.

He got shot.

Many more people got shot before before came to the States.

Do you feel a little helpless?

Well, yes.

You know, the interpreters and those who work with them, they can't do anything.

The only way is they stay and die.

Because in 1990s, you know, when the Taliban attacked, the borders were open.

People could easily, you know, escape or leave the country to neighboring countries.

But now all the borders are closed.

The only way is to stay and die.

Then, this week, Kabul fell. The Taliban took charge. So we decided to call Amadullah back.

So Amadala, can you just describe how your world has changed in the last few days?

...