The New York Times – Taliban fighters poured into Kabul amid scenes of panic and chaos yesterday, bringing a swift and shocking close to the Afghan government and the 20-year American era in the country. Afghanistan’s capital fell to the Taliban far faster than many had imagined it would, leaving most Afghans with no way out. Here are live updates.
President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan has fled the country, and a council of Afghan officials said it would open negotiations with the Taliban over the shape of the insurgency’s takeover. By the end of Sunday, the insurgents had all but officially sealed their control of the entire country.
The U.S. has raced to evacuate diplomats and civilians, while thousands crammed into the civilian domestic terminal at the airport, desperately seeking flights out. Lawmakers pressed the Biden administration on how intelligence could have failed so badly and how long the military would help hold the Kabul airport. Here are pictures.
Context: The Taliban started their offensive in May as the U.S. began withdrawing troops and quickly overwhelmed the Afghan military, which the U.S. spent more than $83 billion to support over the past two decades. They swept through the country with stunning speed: Mazar-i-Sharif, the last major city in the north, fell just a day before Kabul.
Kunduz: The northern city, which fell last Sunday after heavy fighting, offers a chilling prophecy for the country. Days after the new insurgent leaders said they had no quarrel with the people, residents now say they are living in fear.
View from Washington: The fall of Kabul has left the Biden administration facing the once-unthinkable prospect of whether, and how, to engage with a Taliban-led government — or cede all influence in Afghanistan to the brutal extremist group.
News analysis: President Biden will go down in history, fairly or unfairly, as the president who presided over a humiliating final act in the American experiment in Afghanistan, seven months into an administration that had seemed to exude much-needed competence.
