CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — The British and French are sending special forces into Kabul to get their citizens out, but the United States military is staying put at the airport and says Americans are on their own.

Both the State Department and Pentagon said Thursday they aren’t able to guarantee anybody’s safety en route to the airport, instead saying they were in touch with the Taliban to secure safe passage.

NewsNation’s Kellie Myer has a live report from Washington. Her sources say Pentagon spokespeople are ignoring the ground truth.

Retired Lt. Gen Jerry Boykin joins the shows to talk about the rescue mission failures.

Niall Stanage, a White House columnist for The Hill, discusses the White House’s efforts to try to divert the focus from Afghanistan.

Dave Sears, a former Navy SEAL and author, talks about the calls for the military to rescue Americans and how the military would execute those missions.

Marc Jacobson, an Army and Navy veteran and assistant dean for Washington programs at Syracuse University, joins the show to discuss the criticism towards national security advisor Jake Sullivan. Sullivan has become the public face of Biden’s messy exit from Afghanistan.

Johanna Maska, who worked for the Obama administration, and Alyssa Farah, who worked for the Trump administration, discuss Biden giving fewer interviews than his predecessors.

And Jen Wilson, the chief operating officer of Army Week Association, talks about the push to get interpreters out of Afghanistan. She is leading the fight to get them to safety.

We also take a moment to remember the life and service of fallen Chicago police officer Ella French.

Watch On Balance with Leland Vittert weeknights at 8/7c.