OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The U.S. State Department on Sunday instructed Americans in Kabul, Afghanistan, that their best chance of survival is to “shelter in place.”
In other words, the Biden administration is essentially advising Americans to hide.
“The security situation in Kabul is changing quickly including at the airport. There are reports of the airport taking fire; therefore we are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place,” the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan said in a statement published on its website on Sunday.
The embassy then advised people to make sure their paperwork was in order, even as the Taliban were sweeping through Kabul and taking over the presidential palace.
“U.S. citizens wanting assistance in departing the country should register for any option that might be identified to return to the United States, and must complete this Repatriation Assistance Request for each traveler in their group,” the embassy notice said.
“Spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens in Afghanistan who are awaiting immigrant visas should also complete this form if they wish to depart. Please do so as soon as possible. You must complete this form even if you’ve previously submitted your information to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul,” it said.
Latest security alert from US Embassy in Kabul: "We are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place. The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has suspended consular operations effective immediately. Do not come to the Embassy or airport at this time." pic.twitter.com/U81fjEsXNx
— Dion Nissenbaum (@DionNissenbaum) August 15, 2021
According to CNN, the U.S. Embassy flag was lowered Sunday, signifying the end of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
The Afghan and American flags in Kabul are down. The Taliban flag will soon be flying along side that of Al Qaeda as we head into the 20th anniversary of 9/11. I’m disgusted.
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) August 15, 2021
"Two Marines, standing by the runway at the Kabul airport, acknowledged that they were living a moment of history. A little earlier, they said, someone walked by after exiting one of the helicopters cradling a poorly folded American flag: It had just come down off the embassy" https://t.co/Npq7jW5Nrk
— John Ismay (@johnismay) August 15, 2021
Taliban now control the US Embassy in Kabul, Presidential palace & airport.
Kabul is in chaos, panic & mayhem.
Americans being told to "shelter in place" while bloodthirsty jihadists hunt them.
There will be American hostages & bloodshed.
All of it will be Joe Biden's fault.
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) August 15, 2021
CNN was reporting as of Sunday afternoon that most diplomatic personnel who had not yet left were at the Kabul airport waiting to flee.
Joe Biden reportedly rejected the advice of top military generals when he planned the withdrawal of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Biden met with several heads of the armed forces to discuss the withdrawal of American forces from the Central Asian nation, which has been under U.S. occupation for around two decades.
The meeting happened ahead of Biden’s announcement of his intent to have the United States leave the country entirely.
The generals recommended that Biden leave behind a force of 2,500 servicemen in Afghanistan and negotiate with the Taliban for a peace deal. Biden reportedly rejected their advice.
The report surfaced amid the total collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government, whose leader, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, fled the country on Sunday morning as Taliban forces made their way into Kabul, the nation’s capital.
The Taliban and the remainder of the Afghan government are currently negotiating a transfer of power reportedly with the intention to minimize civilian and military casualties.
The Wall Street Journal report follows remarks by Secretary of State Antony Blinken who declared America’s pullout of military forces from Afghanistan a “success,” in which he told ABC News that comparisons to Saigon were not apt.
Blinken also insisted that the evacuation from Kabul was “orderly” amid heavy criticism and comparisons to the United States’ evacuation from Vietnam in 1975.