Pentagon officials say three battalions of U.S. troops have been dispatched to Afghanistan and most should arrive by the end of the weekend to help bring out U.S. diplomats and others as the insurgent Taliban continues its lightning advance across much of the country.
The lead element from one of the Marine Corps battalions is already at Hamid Karzai International Airport and the rest of the force — another Marine Corps battalion and an Army infantry battalion — are on the way. Pentagon officials say the force is a rescue mission and that President Biden’s intention to end the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan remains firm despite the dire security situation.
“This is a specific, narrowly-focused and tailored mission to help with the safe, secure movement of the reduction of the civilian personnel in Kabul, as well as to help support the acceleration of the Special Immigrant Visa process by the State Department,” chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday.
The plan is to reduce the number of U.S. diplomats and other civilian personnel in Kabul by the end of the month.
“Our intention is to be able to move thousands per day,” Mr. Kirby said, indicating that the evacuation also could include Afghans who worked with the U.S. over the years and their families.
Now in control of more than half of the country’s 34 provincial capitals, it appears the Taliban insurgency is attempting to isolate the capital of Kabul. They might be repeating a tactic used during their advance: Surround a city and convince the local residents to give up rather than see their homes destroyed in battle. The radical Islamist movement has also taken over border crossings and highway intersections as a source for revenue and to better control the lines of communication.
“We’re taking the situation seriously,” Mr. Kirby said. “It’s one of the reasons why we were moving these forces into Kabul to assist with this particular mission. We know that time is a precious commodity.”
Pentagon officials wouldn’t say if they were caught off guard by the rapid pace of the Taliban’s advance through Afghanistan, but said they are “adjusting” to the situation as best as they can. Outside critics, including former President Trump and some former senior U.S. military leaders, have been scathing in their criticism for how Mr. Biden’s national security team has handled the withdrawal, which was first set in motion by a February 2020 accord Mr. Trump negotiated with the Taliban leadership.
“We are certainly concerned by the speed by which the Taliban has been moving. It’s deeply concerning,” Mr. Kirby said. “The deteriorating conditions are a big factor in why the president has approved this mission — to help support the reduction of personnel there in Kabul.”
Even as the Taliban continues its march toward the capital of Afghanistan, Pentagon officials say they are still focused on supporting their Afghan allies. But they also warn that it’s time for the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to step up and organize the defense of the country. On paper, the U.S.-backed Afghan forces should be at least the military match of the Taliban.
“They have the advantages. They have great numbers, an air force, and modern weaponry,” Mr. Kirby said. “They have the benefit of the training that we’ve provided them for over 20 years. It’s time now to use those advantages.”
The Taliban have captured large numbers of U.S. weapons and vehicles that were abandoned by government forces in recent days during their sweep across Afghanistan. When asked what it would say about the U.S. 20-year war in Afghanistan if it ends with the Taliban rolling into Kabul in American military trucks and Humvees, Mr. Kirby said he didn’t have a crystal ball to see the future.
“Our troops who deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11 did what they were sent to do: prevent [Afghanistan] from being a safe haven for terrorist attacks on the homeland to severely degrade the capabilities of groups like al Qaeda,” he said. “A lot of progress was made in Afghanistan — progress that we obviously don’t want to see put in greater risk.”