U.S. Embassy in Kabul will be mostly evacuated within next 36 hours

[dalton99a]

Last edited Sun Aug 15, 2021, 12:16 AM - Edit history (1)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-embassy-kabul-evacuated-within-36-hours/

U.S. Embassy in Kabul will be mostly evacuated within next 36 hours
By Christina Ruffini
Updated on: August 14, 2021 / 6:56 PM / CBS News

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan will be evacuated of all but a handful of key personnel within the next 36 hours, and all American diplomats should be out of the country entirely by August 31, multiple security and diplomatic sources in Washington and Kabul told CBS News. The evacuation comes as a U.S. defense official says it could be just a matter of days before the Taliban takes control of the capital, a city with more than 4 million people.

The U.S. military has already sent thousands of troops to safely remove State Department staff from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. On Saturday, President Biden ordered another 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg to join the operation, bringing the total to 5,000.

Those who remain at the embassy will be special agents from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security Service and top decision-makers, including the ambassador. Security engineers will also stay behind to continue destroying sensitive hard drives, taking down cameras and stripping the embassy of alarms.

The rest of the embassy staff, as well as those awaiting special immigrant visas, local employees and their families will be shuttled to Kabul's International Airport, where a fallback embassy will be set up in an airplane hangar to keep processing visas and evacuations and prepare to leave.

[gab13by13]

1. The problem is the Afghan army

We spent tons of money, years of training, for nothing. The Taliban are meeting little if any resistance from the Afghan army. The only people who have challenged the Taliban have been war lords.

[LisaL]

3. I guess they just weren't into it.

NT

[JCMach1]

10. Probably worse than that: actually collaborating

[ansible]

2. What an utter disaster

[MFM008]

4. this is breaking bad

its going to bite us in the ass at election time.
Its turning into VERY bad PR.
Who would have though the military we trained for 20 years would fold like this.
We should have destroyed every piece of American equipment before letting them get it.
The gop is going to rub pictures of taliban in US helicopters in our faces for years.

[David__77]

9. If that hurts Democrats then it's the fault of Democrats.

There’s nothing to be defensive about. And the Republicans at least say they’re about “America first” anyway.

[rockfordfile]

11. Nope. It's the gop's fault

[Hekate]

5. The incinerators and shredders are working overtime... Hope the people all get out safe. nt

[Rustyeye77]

6. Good... now how do we get the young girls and women out?

[UTUSN]

7. K&R

[David__77]

8. I'm glad the US is withdrawing.

$1,000,000,000,000 spent on that adventure sure would come in handy now.

[Colgate 64]

12. Why in the name of all that's unholy

did our Military planning "geniuses" decide to turn over a huge, modern, well quipped and highly fortified airport to the Taliban while "planning" on using the one-runway Hamid Karzai airport in Kabul for all the evacuation of American personnel and (cough, cough) our Afghan "friends". Strikes me as the absolute height of stupidity.