U.S. troops to arrive in Afghanistan to rescue Americans,

WASHINGTON — As the Afghan capital, Kabul, teetered in the face of a relentless onslaught by Taliban forces, the first contingents of U. S. Marines tasked with rescuing Americans and others were set to arrive in Afghanistan over the weekend, administration officials said Friday.

The urgency of the new mission was underlined by fierce Taliban advances that have startled the world as diplomats face rising regional instability and a widening humanitarian crisis. By Friday, the Taliban, who are seizing U.S.-funded military equipment as they roll seemingly unchallenged across the landscape, had captured Afghanistan’s second- and third- largest cities and most national territory.

The arrival of 3,000 troops will more than double the number of U. S. forces in the country after the long-promised withdrawal to end America’s longest war had proceeded apace and was scheduled to conclude by September.

Analysts said it was possible the Taliban will wait to attack Kabul — in part because of the U.S. presence and also because the Islamic extremists can probably lay siege to isolate and starve the city by cutting off most of its land exit routes. Unlike other Afghan cities, Kabul also has an enormous population of some 6 million people, swollen by those fleeing other parts of the country.

Pentagon and State Department officials continue to insist the U.S. Embassy is not shutting down completely, despite the fact most employees are likely to depart, leaving only a skeleton staff. Employees are reportedly being ordered to begin destroying sensitive embassy files, and there are plans, still not finalized, to move the entire embassy operation into Kabul’s fortified Hamid Karzai International Airport.