UPDATE SATURDAY AUGUST 14, 2021: The White House announces President Biden authorizes an additional one thousand U S Troops for deployment to Afghanistan, as Taliban fighters continue to gain control of the majority of Afghan territory. The American troops will ensure what Biden calls an “orderly and safe drawdown” of American and allied personnel. U S troops will also help in evacuation of Afghans who worked with the military during the nearly two-decade long war. The last minute decision to insert thousands of troops into Afghanistan reflects the dire state of security as the Taliban seizes control of increasing numbers of Afghan cities.
WASHINGTON (AP) – The first forces of a Marine battalion have arrived in Kabul to stand guard as the U.S. speeds up evacuation flights for some American diplomats and thousands of Afghans, spurred by a lightning Taliban offensive that increasingly is isolating Afghanistan’s capital.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says “elements” of a battalion are now in Kabul. They are the vanguard of three Marine and Army battalions that the U.S. is sending to the city by the end of the weekend for temporary deployment.
The Taliban, emboldened by the imminent end of the U.S. combat mission in the country, took four more provincial capitals Friday, heightening fears they would move soon on the capital, which is home to millions of Afghans.
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