{"id":55618,"date":"2021-07-06T10:58:10","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T10:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/07\/06\/after-troops-exit-safety-of-us-embassy-in-kabul-top-concern\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:51:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:51:18","slug":"after-troops-exit-safety-of-us-embassy-in-kabul-top-concern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/07\/06\/after-troops-exit-safety-of-us-embassy-in-kabul-top-concern\/","title":{"rendered":"After troops exit, safety of US Embassy in Kabul top concern"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) \u2014 As the end to America\u2019s \u201cforever war\u201d rapidly approaches, the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic missions in Kabul are watching a worsening security situation<\/a> and looking at how to respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the countryside, districts are falling to the Taliban in rapid succession. America\u2019s warlord allies are re-arming their militias, which have a violent history, raising the specter of another civil war once the U.S. withdrawal <\/a>is finished, expected in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A U.S. Embassy spokesperson told The Associated Press that security assessments are frequent these days. Speaking on condition of anonymity in line with briefing rules, she said the embassy is currently down to 1,400 U.S. citizens and about 4,000 staff working inside the compound the size of a small town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A well-fortified town, that is. Besides its own formidable security, the embassy lies inside Kabul\u2019s Green Zone, where entire neighborhoods have been closed off and giant blast walls line streets closed to outside traffic. Afghan security forces guard the barricades into the district, which also houses the Presidential Palace, other embassies and senior government officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only route out is Kabul\u2019s Hamid Karzai International Airport, currently protected by U.S. and Turkish troops. Before America can declare its war over, the security of the airport will have to be settled. Ankara is in talks with Washington, the United Nations and the Afghan government to decide who will protect the airport and who will foot the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, the airport is running without interruption, except for restrictions imposed by a deadly third COVID surge that has prompted some countries to suspend flights to Kabul. However, India is not one of them \u2014 as many as eight flights arrive weekly from India \u2014 and as a result, the virus\u2019 delta variant, first identified in India, is rampant in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\t