It’s over.
The Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, has reportedly fled the capital of Kabul today for Tajikistan with the Taliban moving in, according to multiple officials.
“He left Afghanistan in a hard time, God hold him accountable,” Afghan National Reconciliation Council chief Abdullah Abdullah said.
After about a weeklong military surge that led to the Taliban capturing nearly all of Afghanistan, Taliban forces closed in on Kabul on Sunday.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Qatar’s Al-Jazeera English that the insurgents are “awaiting a peaceful transfer of Kabul city,” per the Associated Press.
As we reported earlier, there were helicopters on the rooftop of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul lifting people away to the airport to flee the country — in a replay of 1975 and the humiliating flight from Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. Our ambassador is reportedly at the airport now with the flag, on his way out of the country.
As we reported on Friday, they were burning documents and destroying equipment at the embassy, an indication they knew the fall was coming.
The Taliban is saying, “Foreigners in Kabul should leave if they wish to, or register their presence in the coming week with Taliban administrators.”
After 20 years, this is an ignominious way to go out, and while there are issues with the Afghan military, it’s largely on Joe Biden — who provided no real leadership in dealing with a withdrawal.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member