A contingent of 3,000 U.S. troops “will temporarily deploy” to assist the withdrawal of American diplomats from Afghanistan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s team announced Thursday, adding that the U.S. Embassy in Kabul will remain with limited personnel.
“We expect to draw down to a core diplomatic presence in Afghanistan in the coming weeks,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “In order to facilitate this reduction, the Department of Defense will temporarily deploy additional personnel to Hamid Karzai International Airport.”
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Three battalions, two of which are Marines and one from the Army, that are in the central command area will be deployed to the airport “within the next 24 to 48 hours,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said during a briefing Thursday.
“This is a temporary mission with a narrow focus,” Kirby added, noting the goal is to have the troops out by the end of the month, coinciding with the Biden Administration preset deadline to withdrawal.“The next movement will consist of a joint U.S. Army-Air Force support element of around 1,000 personnel to facilitate the processing of SIB applicants.”
Taliban fighters have surged across Afghanistan in the months since President Joe Biden’s unexpected decision to withdraw the remaining U.S. forces from the country. That offensive has unfolded in defiance of claims the U.S. exit would not jeopardize the peace talks that Taliban leaders agreed to launch as part of the U.S.-Taliban deal that set the stage for the withdrawal.
“This is not abandonment,” Price said. “This is not an evacuation. This is not a wholesale withdrawal. What this is, is a reduction in the size of our civilian footprint.”
The militants have seized a series of provincial capitals in recent days, and U.S. diplomats in Kabul have urged American citizens to leave.
“Recently, the trend lines have not been moving in the right direction,” Price conceded. “Of course, our goal, through diplomacy on the part of the State Department, is to reverse those trend lines.”
The incoming American infantry will be joined by “approximately” 600 British troops with a similar mission to slash the United Kingdom’s civilian presence in Afghanistan, as Taliban forces approach the capital city.
“I have authorized the deployment of additional military personnel to support the diplomatic presence in Kabul, assist British nationals to leave the country, and support the relocation of former Afghan staff who risked their lives serving alongside us,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said. “The security of British nationals, British military personnel, and former Afghan staff is our first priority. We must do everything we can to ensure their safety.”
The U.S. Embassy “remains open,” Price added, but he declined to say if the entire diplomatic mission would be moved to the airport.
In case the thousands of troops need additional support, the military will “deploy one infantry brigade out of Fort Bragg to Kuwait where they will postured and prepared if needed to provide additional security at the airport.” They are expected to arrive sometime within the next week, Kirby explained.
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“We are always evaluating the situation on the ground. We are planning for all contingencies,” Price said. “The Embassy remains open in its current location. I’m not going to entertain hypotheticals from there.”
