Taliban in full control of Kabul airport

WASHINGTON — The last plane carrying U.S. forces left Afghanistan on Monday, meeting an  Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. forces from the Taliban-led nation, after 20 years of war that left nearly 2,500 American troops dead and spanned four presidencies.

The Biden administration has spent weeks scrambling to evacuate Americans and Afghan translators who helped the American military after the Taliban quickly gained control of Kabul on Aug. 15.

The withdrawal also comes in the aftermath of an ISIS-K suicide bombing that killed dozens of people, including 13 U.S. service members, on Aug. 26. The U.S. retaliated with airstrikes targeting Islamic extremists on Friday and Sunday.

Evacuations originally began in July with at least 122,000 people evacuated out of Afghanistan as of Monday, including 5,400 Americans.

--Mabinty Quarshie

More:With last plane out of Kabul, America's 20-year war in Afghanistan is over

Taliban leaders walk across airport runway to mark triumph over US

Taliban officials walked across the sole runway at Kabul’s airport in a symbolic gesture of victory just hours after the last U.S. military plane departed, signaling the end of America’s longest war.

“The world should have learned their lesson, and this is the enjoyable moment of victory," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a livestream posted by a militant, according to the Associated Press.

The scene unfolded at Hamid Karzai International Airport where heavily armed Taliban fighters walked through hangars on the military side, passing some of the CH-46 helicopters the State Department used in its evacuations before rendering them unflyable, the AP reported.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday the U.S. wants the Taliban to re-open the airport to commercial service soon so that about 100 Americans and Afghans at risk for helping the U.S. mission can leave safely if they choose.

--Ledyard King

With soldiers gone, security for remaining Americans in Afghanistan will depend on diplomacy

WASHINGTON – Now that U.S. troops have left Afghanistan, remaining Americans who want to leave and the scores of Afghanis at risk because they helped the U.S. mission will have to rely on diplomatic pressure – not American military might – to ensure their safe exit.

For Afghans whose lives are in danger because they worked with U.S. or allied forces, the U.S. withdrawal marked a terrifying moment, a bleak end to weeks of furtive efforts to snag a coveted spot on a U.S. evacuation flight.

"No option for us," one Afghan who worked for an American project said in a message to USA TODAY on Monday. "Just hide."

--Ledyard King and Deirdre Shesgreen

Photo of the last boots on the ground

Nearly 20 years after the first U.S. troops set foot on Afghan soil, Major Gen. Chris Donahue became the last soldier to depart the country.

“The last American soldier to leave Afghanistan: Maj. Gen Chris Donahue, commanding general of the @82ndABNDiv, @18airbornecorps, boards an @usairforce C-17 on August 30th, 2021, ending the U.S. mission in Kabul” reads a tweet from the Pentagon.

In the photo, Donohue is alone and stone-faced, carrying his firearm, with a Kabul airport hangar behind him as he gets ready to climb aboard the aircraft that left just before a self-imposed U.S. deadline to evacuate.

The photo is shot through a night-vision lens, giving the scene an eerie green tint.

--Ledyard King

What happens next in the nation now led by the Taliban?

WASHINGTON – After the last flight carrying United States forces departed Afghanistan Monday, the country entered a new era as the 20-year war with the U.S. came to a close.

The Taliban now in control of the country will have to contend with terror group ISIS-K as the United Nations and President Joe Biden urge the new government to allow for safe travel for Afghans and to uphold human rights.

Though forces left Afghanistan, the U.S. is still working to get remaining American citizens out of the country.

Here’s what happens next in Afghanistan.

Read the rest here:The US is out of Afghanistan. What happens next in the nation now led by the Taliban?

--Rebecca Morin

Blinken leaves open possibility of engaging with Taliban

Blinken left open the possibility of continued engagement with the Taliban, the militant Islamic group the U.S. routed from power twenty years ago after the Sept. 11 attacks.

“Any engagement with a Taliban-led government in Kabul will be driven by one thing only -- our vital national interests,” he said.

If the U.S. can work with a new Afghan government in way that helps protect American interests, brings stability to the region and preserves the gains of the past two decades, “we will do it,” Blinken said. “But we will not do it on the basis of trust or faith.”

He noted that the Taliban is seeking international legitimacy; it’s leaders can achieve that by “meeting commitments and obligations on freedom of travel, respecting the basic rights of the Afghan people, including women and minorities,” and keeping promises to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorists, among other steps, Blinken said.

He said the U.S. would also continue to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan, with funding being channeled through independent organizations.

--Deirdre Shesgreen

How many Americans are left in Afghanistan?

The number of Americans remaining in Afghanistan are estimated to be fewer than 200 and is “likely closer to 100,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday.

Source link