As the security situation in Afghanistan rapidly deteriorates, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell asked President Joe Biden to change direction by sending more troops.
McConnell Urged Biden To Provide More Support in Afghanistan
In a recently published article in The Hill, McConnell slammed Biden's Afghanistan strategy as "reckless," warning that unless the administration moves to deploy more soldiers to support Afghan security, the US embassy in Kabul may fall to insurgent organizations.
President Biden should commit right now to increasing assistance for Afghan troops, beginning with close air support beyond August 31st. Without it, al Qaeda and the Taliban may burn down the U.S. embassy in Kabul on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, according to McConnell.
McConnell also added "Unless President Biden adjusts course quickly, the Taliban is on track to secure a significant military victory. The latest news of a further drawdown at our Embassy and a hasty deployment of military forces seem like preparations for the fall of Kabul. President Biden's decisions have us hurtling toward an even worse sequel to the humiliating fall of Saigon in 1975," according to a published article in MSN News.
Present Situation in Kabul
The Biden administration has pleaded with the Taliban not to strike the U.S. Embassy in Kabul if they seize control of the city, and has now resorted to sending approximately 3,000 soldiers back into the nation to provide protection for Americans leaving the city.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Thursday that the Pentagon will send military troops to Kabul's international airport to assist in the withdrawal of diplomatic employees, according to a published article in FOX News.
Meanwhile, around 650 soldiers stayed in the country before the announcement to defend the Kabul airport and embassy. According to the State Department and Pentagon announcements, the United States will have about the same number of soldiers as it had when Biden announced the country's departure from Afghanistan.
U.S. To Send Troops To Evacuate Employees and Staff at the Embassy
In a recently published article in Associated Press, the embassy will continue to operate, according to the State Department, but the sudden decision to send in thousands of more U.S. soldiers on Thursday reflects diminishing confidence in the Afghan government's capacity to fend off the Taliban assault.
The Biden administration is sending 3,000 more soldiers to the Kabul airport to assist with a partial evacuation of the US Embassy, just weeks before the US is set to finish its war in Afghanistan. The action underscores the Taliban's remarkable speed in seizing control of most of the nation, including the conquest of Kandahar, the country's second-largest city and the home of the Taliban movement, on Thursday.
The statement came only hours after the Taliban took control of Herat, a key provincial capital south of Kabul, and Ghazni, a western metropolis. The progress, along with the partial evacuation of the US Embassy, is isolating the nation's capital, which is home to millions of Afghans.
Furthermore, despite the Taliban sweep, President Joe Biden has remained resolute about completing the 19-year US operation in Afghanistan at the end of this month. He consulted with top national security officials overnight before issuing the order for the extra temporary soldiers Thursday morning.
