The Biden administration is sending 3,000 additional troops to the Kabul airport to assist with a partial evacuation of the US Embassy, just weeks before the US is set to conclude its war in Afghanistan. The move underscores the Taliban's astounding speed in seizing control of most of the country, including the capture of Kandahar, the country's second-largest city and the home of the Taliban movement, on Thursday.

The embassy will continue to operate, according to the State Department, but the abrupt decision to bring in thousands of additional US troops on Thursday reflects decreasing confidence in the Afghan government's capacity to fend off the Taliban onslaught. The declaration came just hours after the Taliban took control of Herat, an important provincial capital south of Kabul, and Ghazni, a western city. The advance, as well as a portion of the U.S. The departure of the embassy is isolating the nation's capital, which is home to millions of Afghans.

“This is not abandonment. This is not an evacuation. This is not a wholesale withdrawal," State Department spokesman Ned Price said. "What this is is a reduction in the size of our civilian footprint.”