The Biden administration is negotiating with the Taliban in a scramble to prevent the US Embassy in Kabul from being attacked following rapid gains by …
The Biden administration is negotiating with the Taliban in a scramble to prevent the US Embassy in Kabul from being attacked following rapid gains by the militant group amid the US pullout from Afghanistan, according to a report. Chief American envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading efforts to dangle financial aid and other assistance as incentives to protect the embassy if Taliban fighters overrun the Afghan capital and the extremist group becomes part of the country’s government, the New York Times said. About 4,000 people, including 1,400 Americans, work at the embassy and diplomats are considering how soon it may need to be evacuated if the talks fail, the Times said. The revelation came as the embassy issued an official “Security Alert” urging US citizens not employed by the government “to leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options.” Five current and former officials reportedly described a tense and worried atmosphere inside the embassy, with some invoking the 1975 fall of Saigon that ended the Vietnam War and the humiliating helicopter evacuation of Americans from the roof of the US Embassy there.
