https://www.abqjournal.com/2419941/the-latest-canada-says-suspending-diplomacy-amid-evacuation.html
Taliban takeover stuns Biden
U.S. officials say they are taking steps to secure Kabul’s international airport to enable the safe departure of thousands of U.S. and allied personnel from Afghanistan by way of civilian and military flights.
In a joint statement Sunday night, the State Department and the Pentagon say the U.S. security presence will have expanded to nearly 6,000 troops over the next two days. Those forces will take over air traffic control and focus on civilian and military departures.
The officials say those leaving include American citizens who have been living in Afghanistan, locally employed staff of the U.S. mission in Kabul and their families, and other particularly vulnerable Afghan nationals.
Also part of the departure plan are thousands of Afghans eligible for U.S. special immigrant visas. Nearly 2,000 of those with special visas have arrived in the United States over the past two weeks.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and other top U.S. officials have been stunned by the pace of the Taliban’s nearly complete takeover of Afghanistan, as the planned withdrawal of American forces urgently became a mission to ensure a safe evacuation.
The speed of the Afghan government’s collapse and the ensuing chaos posed the most serious test of Biden as commander in chief, and he was the subject of withering criticism
Taliban takeover stuns Biden
U.S. officials say they are taking steps to secure Kabul’s international airport to enable the safe departure of thousands of U.S. and allied personnel from Afghanistan by way of civilian and military flights.
In a joint statement Sunday night, the State Department and the Pentagon say the U.S. security presence will have expanded to nearly 6,000 troops over the next two days. Those forces will take over air traffic control and focus on civilian and military departures.
The officials say those leaving include American citizens who have been living in Afghanistan, locally employed staff of the U.S. mission in Kabul and their families, and other particularly vulnerable Afghan nationals.
Also part of the departure plan are thousands of Afghans eligible for U.S. special immigrant visas. Nearly 2,000 of those with special visas have arrived in the United States over the past two weeks.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and other top U.S. officials have been stunned by the pace of the Taliban’s nearly complete takeover of Afghanistan, as the planned withdrawal of American forces urgently became a mission to ensure a safe evacuation.
The speed of the Afghan government’s collapse and the ensuing chaos posed the most serious test of Biden as commander in chief, and he was the subject of withering criticism
