(Photo : Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 18: Special Representative on Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad testifies during a hearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs at Rayburn House Office Building May 18, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on “The U.S.-Afghanistan Relationship Following the Military Withdrawal.”
American negotiators are attempting to strike a deal with the Taliban as part of an effort to ensure that the extremist group avoids attacking the U.S. embassy in Kabul in the coming fight for the country's government.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief American envoy in negotiations with the Taliban, has offered the extremist group future foreign aid if they do not attack the U.S. embassy. They would also forfeit any chances of aid and other assistance from the American government if it attacked Kabul, took over the Afghanistan government by force, or overrun the Afghan government, according to The New York Times.
Desperate Deal to Protect US Kabul Embassy
The negotiations are part of an effort to stave off a full evacuation of the embassy as the Taliban continuously seize cities across Afghanistan.
On Thursday, the Biden administration said it would deploy approximately 3,000 troops to Afghanistan to facilitate the evacuation at the U.S. Embassy. The troops will consist of three infantry battalions from the U.S. Army and Marines.
During a press briefing on Thursday, John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said that the decision was a very focused and precise mission to protect the civilians in the area and remove them from imminent threat, as reported by CNBC.
Kirby added that the troops are expected to be deployed to Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport within the next two days. A separate U.S. infantry brigade will be deployed to Kuwait to aid American troops in securing the airport in Kabul should the need arise.
The Pentagon expects to withdraw all troops in Afghanistan and Kuwait by Aug. 31. Officials have also urged Americans in the country to leave immediately as the security conditions continue to deteriorate.
It is unclear how many of the 1,400 Americans stationed at the U.S. embassy will be evacuated and sent home. However, the Pentagon has indicated that civilian embassy personnel and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants would likely be airlifted out of the country.
Taliban Advances in Afghanistan
"We certainly anticipate being postured to support airlift as well for not only the reduction of civilian personnel from the embassy but also in the forward movement of special immigrant visa applicants. So we do anticipate that there will be airlift required of us, and we are working on final plans right now to put that into place," Kirby said, as reported by CNN.
The Taliban has gained control of nearly two-thirds of Afghanistan since U.S. President Joe Biden withdrew troops from the country in April. On Thursday, the extremist group captured the cities of Ghazni, Kandahar and Herat, bringing their frontlines within 95 miles of Kabul.
The capture of Ghazni has now cut off Kabul from the southern provinces. This has prompted thousands of residents to flee their homes in fear that the militants would once again establish a brutal government that conducted public stonings and executions and refused to acknowledge women's rights.
If the current insurgency holds, the Taliban is expected to take over the whole country within a few months, according to the Associated Press.
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