Afghanistan: US lowers flag at Kabul Embassy amid staff evacuation as Ashraf Ghani resigns

In a recent update to the Afghanistan-Taliban crisis, on Monday, August 16, a State Department official announced that the American flag is no longer flying at the US Embassy in Kabul amid evacuations from Afghanistan's capital. According to US President Joe Biden and other top U.S. officials, the withdrawal of American forces became an urgent mission as the Taliban nearly took over entire Afghanistan. 

As per the official's statement, nearly all embassy personnel have been relocated to the city's international airport. It was further informed that the flag itself is with embassy personnel, who are among thousands of Americans and others waiting for flights. Also, the official was not authorized to discuss the details publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

In a joint statement on Sunday night, August 15, the US Department of State & Department of Defence said, "At present, we are completing a series of steps to secure the Hamid Karzai International Airport (in Afghanistan) to enable the safe departure of the US and allied personnel from Afghanistan via civilian and military flights". 

The United States will send another 1,000 troops to Afghanistan, raising the US deployment to roughly 6,000. A top Pentagon official informed Associated Press that nearly a thousand soldiers from the 82nd Airborne are going directly to Kabul instead of going to Kuwait as a standby force.

Biden has failed?

Republicans termed Biden efforts a failure as the Afghanistan government collapsed amid roaring chaos. 

Joe Biden as commander in chief campaigned as a seasoned expert in international relations and spent months downplaying the prospect of an ascendant Taliban. He argued that Americans of all political persuasions have tired of a 20-year war, a conflict that demonstrated the limits of money and military might force a Western-style democracy on society not ready or willing to embrace it.

By Sunday, though, leading figures in the administration acknowledged they were caught off guard with the utter speed of the collapse of Afghan security forces. After sporadic gunfire at the Kabul airport was reported, it prompted Americans to shelter as they awaited flights to safety.

UN on Taliban violence

Earlier, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had urged the Taliban and all other parties to exercise "utmost restraint" in order to protect the lives of Afghans and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.

In addition, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric had said, "The United Nations remains determined to contribute to a peaceful settlement, promote the human rights of all Afghans, notably women and girls, and provide life-saving humanitarian assistance and critical support to civilians in need."

(Image credit: AP)