For months now, the Taliban has torn through Afghanistan causing panic and fear. Within a few days of the Taliban making their presence known in the country, videos of citizens and American decapitations were resurfacing; making it clear that American troops were not safe. Some took these videos as warnings, and many urged the president to get the troops out of Afghanistan.
U.S. troops have been in Afghanistan for 20-years for a variety of reasons, from helping the country against attacks from other countries to protecting Afghan citizens from terrorist attacks. Back in April, President Joe Biden announced that he plans to follow through with getting U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. On Monday, August 30, it was announced that U.S. troops had been sent home, ending the 20-year involvement with the country. Along with this, some Afghan refugees got sent to the states temporarily and 98 other countries have offered to open their doors for the refugees while the Taliban continues its reign in Afghanistan.
Just days before the evacuation was complete, there was a bombing at an Afghanistan airport. In Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, August 26, there were over 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops killed, and several wounded by two suicide bombers and gunmen while fleeing to Kabul’s airport attempting to escape the Taliban takeover. The attack was caused by a group called ISIS-K. The U.S. had evacuated around 12,500 by early Friday. There are still people waiting to be evacuated in the airport, and outside the airport, there are hundreds of thousands of more people who are desperate to escape the Taliban rule of Afghanistan.
After the attack, many were thinking do the U.S. stay to help protect the Afghans or return home. President Biden received intense criticism on social media, as the country watched what he would do next. On Tuesday, August 31, Biden held a press conference where he talked about bringing U.S. troops home. Since the Taliban controls the media and the USA no longer has anyone in Afghanistan it will be hard to see accurate news, if any at all, on what is happening in Afghanistan from here on out.
Nick Thomas
Intern
*Managing Editor, Harley Johnson, also contributed to this article.