'Good Morning Vietnam': US Embassy in Kabul Preparing to 'Destroy Sensitive Papers,' Journo Warns
© AP Photo / Rahmat Gul
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Some social media users have compared the apparent state of affairs in the Afghan capital to the Fall of Saigon.
As Taliban* forces continue their inexorable advance across Afghanistan it appears that US embassy staff in Kabul are preparing for the worst, with the insurgents amassing just 50 km from the capital.
Posting on Twitter, NPR National Desk reporter Tom Bowman wrote that the situation at the embassy is "more dire than the State Department is saying."
"Mail has stopped. Nearly all employees are packing up and a very small number will head to another location," he added. "Staff are gearing up to destroy sensitive papers, computers, phones."
The situation at the US Embassy in #Kabul is more dire than what the State Department is saying. Mail has stopped. Nearly all employees are packing up and a very small number will head to another location. Staff are gearing up to destroy sensitive papers, computers, phones.
— Tom Bowman (@TBowmanNPR) August 13, 2021
Social media users responding to Bowman’s tweet compared the situation to the “last days of the Vietnam war” and the Fall of Saigon.
Saigon 1975 but a lot worse
— John Oeffinger (@johnoeffinger75) August 13, 2021
Saigon circa 2021
— JimBurke@JimBurke21 (@Jkburke21Jim) August 13, 2021
A “ Saigon” moment to be sure. We are worried about @KellyCobiella who continues to report from the country. At what point will @NBCNews tell her to get on the next plane outta there?
— Pasquale Gagliardi (@PasqualeCretino) August 13, 2021
With the United States and its allies pulling their militaries out of the country, the Taliban has launched a massive nationwide offensive, capturing key provinces and population centres.
So far, the insurgent group has managed to take over half of Afghanistan’s provincial capitals, including Kandahar and Herat (the second- and third-largest cities in the country respectively).
The government forces are struggling to halt or even blunt the rapid march of the militants.
On Thursday, the US Department of State urged all Americans to "leave Afghanistan immediately."
The Pentagon has already announced that some 3,000 US servicemen are going to be temporarily deployed to Afghanistan to provide security assistance for US diplomats and nationals evacuating the country.
*Taliban is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia
