Biden Sends 3,000 Troops To Afghanistan In Temporary Mission To Evacuate US Embassy

President Biden is sending 3,000 troops to Afghanistan to assist in evacuating American diplomats from the U.S. embassy in Kabul as the Taliban continues to make strides in Afghanistan.

The troops will consist of three infantry battalions from the Marines and Army and they will deploy to Kabul within 24 to 48 hours, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. “This is a temporary mission with a narrow focus,” Kirby said, as reported by the Associated Press.

A unit from the Army and Air Force consisting of 1,000 troops will deploy to Qatar to process immigrant visas to assist Afghan civilians who assisted the U.S. military during the 20-year war.

The Taliban have captured multiple cities such as Aybak, Qala-e-Naw, Taleqan, Shibirghan, Sar-e Pul, Kunduz, Herat, Ghazni, and Khandahar, the Taliban’s birthplace. The militant group has captured 12 out of 34 provincial capitals. The militants are also waging an assassination campaign targeting senior government officials in Kabul, according to a separate AP report.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday. The U.S. has warned Taliban officials directly the U.S. would retaliate if the Taliban attacked Americans during the temporary deployment.

The Pentagon is moving thousands of Marines into position for a possible evacuation of the American Embassy and U.S. citizens in Kabul as the Biden administration braces for a possible collapse of the Afghan government within 30 days, officials said. https://t.co/DLdZlvPjNq
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 12, 2021

Despite the expected gains the Taliban has made, President Biden is determined to leave Afghanistan.

“Look, we spent over a trillion dollars over 20 years, we trained and equipped with modern equipment over 300,000 Afghan forces,” Biden said to White House reporters on Tuesday, noted CNBC. “Afghan leaders have to come together, they’ve got to fight for themselves, for their nation.”

Kirby says the Afghan military must leverage the years of training they had from U.S. and NATO forces.

“They have the advantage in numbers, in operational structure, in air forces and in modern weaponry and it’s really about having the will and the leadership to use those advantages to their own benefit,” Kirby said.

Kirby has said despite the temporary addition of troops the U.S. is still expected to fully withdraw by Aug. 31.