As Taliban Close In on Afghan Capital

U.S. Embassy Directs Staff in Kabul to Destroy Docs

Date: 14 August 2021 - 22:04

News ID: ۹۳۴۰۱

KABUL (Dispatches) -- The U.S. Embassy in Kabul has directed its staff to destroy sensitive documents as well as other material that could be used as propaganda, according to CNN and other media outlets.
The missive comes amid a Taliban onslaught that threatened to topple the government. It also comes one day after the Pentagon announced it is sending 3,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to evacuate some U.S. embassy personnel from Kabul, leaving only “a core diplomatic presence” in the country.
“Let me be very clear about this: The embassy remains open and we plan to continue our diplomatic work in Afghanistan,” Ned Price, the State Department’s chief spokesman, said Thursday.
The memo to U.S. Embassy staff urged diplomats to destroy computers and other sensitive documents before they leave, as well as data-x-items featuring the American flag, embassy logos and other articles that “could be misused in propaganda efforts,” according to CNN.
A State Department spokesperson said the notice was part of its “standard operating procedure” for embassy drawdowns.
“Drawdowns at our diplomatic posts around the world follow a standard operating procedure designed to minimize our footprint across various categories, including staffing, equipment, and supplies,” said the spokesperson, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of agency policy.
Taliban militants have captured a number of provincial capitals in recent days, with little resistance from American-trained Afghan troops. The militants seized two more provinces on Saturday and approached the outskirts of Afghanistan’s capital while also launching a multi-pronged assault on a major northern city defended by former warlords, Afghan officials said.

The insurgents have captured much of northern, western and southern Afghanistan in a breakneck offensive less than three weeks before the United States is set to withdraw its last troops, raising fears of a full militant takeover or another Afghan civil war.
The Taliban captured all of Logar province, just south of the capital, Kabul, and detained local officials, said Hoda Ahmadi, a lawmaker from the province. She said the Taliban have reached the Char Asyab district, just 11 kilometers (7 miles) south of Kabul.
The insurgents also captured the capital of Paktika, bordering Pakistan, according to Khalid Asad, a lawmaker from the province. He said fighting broke out in Sharana early Saturday but ended after local elders intervened to negotiate a pullout. He said the governor and other officials surrendered and were on their way to Kabul.
Sayed Hussan Gerdezi, a lawmaker from the neighboring Paktia province, said the Taliban seized most of its local capital, Gardez, but that battles with government forces were still underway. The Taliban said they controlled the city.
The Taliban meanwhile attacked the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif from several directions, setting off heavy fighting on its outskirts, according to Munir Ahmad Farhad, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
The Taliban have made major advances in recent days, including capturing Herat and Kandahar, the country’s second- and third-largest cities. They now control 19 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, leaving the Western-backed government in control of a smattering of provinces in the center and east, as well as Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani delivered a televised speech on Saturday, his first public appearance since the recent Taliban gains, in which he vowed not to give up the “achievements” of the 20 years since the U.S. toppled the Taliban following the 9/11 attacks.
On Thursday, the State Department warned all Americans to leave Afghanistan immediately and said the embassy had extremely limited ability to help.
Tens of thousands of Afghans have fled their homes, with many fearing a return to the Taliban’s oppressive rule. The group had previously governed Afghanistan under a harsh law in which women were largely confined to the home.