Threats

Inside the Final Hours at Kabul Airport

Alone on the airfield after hundreds of other U.S. troops had left, five handpicked joint tactical exfiltration crews blew up the last remaining defenses and took off in the dark.

Threats

The Final Retrograde from Afghanistan Has Officially Begun

The threat to U.S. personnel, aircraft in the final days at Kabul airport remains “very real” after a retaliatory U.S. drone strike took out two ISIS-K planners.

Threats

13 US Troops Killed, More Injured, in Terrorist Attack at Kabul Airport

10 Marines among the dead; they were securing one of the last gates open for Afghans, Americans to escape.

Business

Conference Wire: Navy Eyes Greater Space Capabilities

The final day of the 2021 Space Symposium saw Navy officials talk—just a bit—about their plans.

Threats

13 US Troops Killed in Terrorist Attack at Kabul Airport

In a statement, Biden vows to attackers: "We will hunt you down and make you pay."

Threats

US Troops, Afghans Killed by Explosion at Kabul Airport, Pentagon Says

Worsening security and the need to get all troops out is quickly closing the window to safely escape. ‘Today is likely last day,’ one memo advises.

Threats

Afghanistan Airlift Ops Have Rescued 101,300 From Kabul

But numbers out each day are dropping as Taliban tighten grip on airport, security threats rise.

Business

Qatar Helping US Fly Afghanistan Evacuees to Germany

The planes are not part of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet activation, but are flying similar routes.

Policy

Biden Holds to Aug. 31 Evacuation Deadline, But Orders Up ‘Contingency Plans’ for Afghanistan Pullout

Military, contracted planes have airlifted 87,900 people from Kabul as of Wednesday—but the Taliban is now clamping down on who can leave.

Policy

US Has Evacuated 42,000 from Kabul; 16,000 in last 24 Hours Alone, Pentagon Says

The pace is still rising; Taliban have threatened “consequences” if U.S. forces remain beyond Aug. 31.

Threats

Defense Secretary Orders US Airlines to Help With Evacuation

It's only the third time in history that the U.S. airlines have been mobilized by the military.

Policy

It Really Was 800+ Afghans on That Plane. They Forgot to Count the Kids.

The iconic photo of Reach 871, the packed U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane, touched people around the world—and highlighted the dire situation now facing Afghans.

Policy

More Seats Than Passengers: Paperwork, Taliban Slow Afghanistan Evacuation

But the pace is picking up. Some 6,000 "will soon board planes," a State Department spokesman said.

Policy

‘All the Signs Have Been There’ Predicting Afghan Security Force Collapse, IG Says

For more than a decade, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has been warning about “ghost soldiers” and corruption to anyone willing to pay attention.

Policy

Air Force Launches Investigation Into Deadly Kabul C-17 Flight

Mobbed by civilians, the Globemaster crew raced to get back in the air. The service’s investigations office will look into the deaths that followed.