Troops to help evacuate Americans in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon scrambled 3,000 troops Thursday to evacuate U.S. Embassy personnel from Kabul as a Taliban onslaught threatened to topple the government.

Taliban militants have captured a number of provincial capitals with little resistance from American-trained Afghan troops. The militant group’s offensive has taken place with surprising speed and has closed to within 100 miles of the Afghan capital.

On Thursday, the State Department warned all Americans to leave Afghanistan immediately and said the embassy had extremely limited ability to help.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby described the mission of the infantry battalions as temporary and narrow. Security conditions in Kabul have deteriorated rapidly, he said, but the embassy will remain open.

Another 1,000 troops will be sent to Qatar to help process Afghans with special immigrant visas who are fleeing the country, he said. An additional 3,500 from Fort Bragg will be flown to the Middle East to stand by.

“We’ll see what the need is after that,” Kirby said.

President Joe Biden has ordered the withdrawal of all combat troops from Afghanistan. U.S. troops have been in Afghanistan since 2001, when they toppled the Taliban government after 9/11. The Pentagon has spent more than $80 billion to train and equip Afghan forces over the past 20 years.

The evacuation of civilian personnel is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, the same date the U.S. military presence is scheduled to end.

The 3,000 troops headed to Kabul consist of two battalions of Marines and one from the Army, Kirby said.