Pentagon says Kabul embassy evacuation is not a ‘combat mission,’ top security officials say otherwise
Fox News
The second group of Marines arrived in Kabul Saturday to assist with the full evacuation of the U.S. embassy from the capital of Afghanistan as the Taliban continues to make violent advances across the country.
Up to 5,000 troops – including 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division along with one Army and two Marine Corps infantry battalions – were initially tasked with removing thousands of American diplomatic personnel and Afghan interpreters from Kabul. That mission evolved from evacuation to managing a no-good-outcome scenario that critics fear could resemble the airlift departure of U.S. troops out of Vietnam some 50 years ago. Despite the life-threatening situation unfolding in Afghanistan, with American forces believed to still be on the ground amid the chaos, the Pentagon said it is not classifying the undertaking as a "combat mission."More Related News