Faced with unexpectedly rapid military gains by the Taliban, the United States decided to dramatically scale down its embassy in Kabul and send about 3,000 troops temporarily to aid the evacuation of staff.
News of the drawdown, underscored Washington’s rapidly deteriorating hopes that diplomacy will halt the Taliban’s advance and keep the capital in the Afghan government’s hands. The Taliban could isolate Kabul within 30 days and take it over in 90, U.S. intelligence assessments concluded this week.
“We’ve been evaluating the security situation every day to determine how best to keep those serving at the embassy safe,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
