The rapidly deteriorating security situation has alarmed U.S. officials in Washington and Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, where the government of President Ashraf Ghani is trying to project calm and regroup its forces.
's capital, where the government of President Ashraf Ghani is trying to project calm and regroup its forces.
Amid the Taliban offensive, there's growing concern about the safety of the U.S. embassy in Kabul, which said it has"well-developed security plans to safely protect our personnel and facilities," but has"no plans to close." There are approximately 18,000 Afghans seeking a Special Immigrant Visa, which gives those who worked for the U.S. military or diplomatic mission in Afghanistan and Iraq the chance to move themselves and their families to the U.S. In recent years, the surge in interest and a years-long backlog has put these Afghans' lives at risk, according to U.S. lawmakers and advocates, who have urged an evacuation to a safe location while their applications are processed.A senior U.S.
Afghan national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib said Tuesday during a press conference that those Afghan forces that fled"are coming back and are once again going to be in the service of the people and in the defense of Faizabad," the capital of Badakhshan province.across the border alarmed several governments in the region, who have feared a refugee crisis and regional upheaval as the U.S. exits and the Taliban seizes territory and possibly targets Kabul.
Asked about a Taliban takeover, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday,"That's a big 'if,' that's a hypothetical and I don't think it's helpful for anybody right now to engage in hypothesizing about what might happen months and years from now."Afghan National Army soldiers stand guard on a road side check point in Herat, Afghanistan, July 3, 2021.