The anguish of US veterans as Afghan forces surrender to the Taliban

IT’S OVER. IT’S ‘TALIBANISTAN’ NOW: After a weekend of stunningly fast-moving developments, the Taliban now control all of Afghanistan except for the airport in Kabul, where the United States and other foreign governments are ramping up a massive airlift effort to get their citizens and a small number of fortunate Afghans out of the country.

The fall of Kabul came less than two days after the Pentagon said the city, the last remaining capital not conquered by the Taliban, was “not under an imminent threat of collapse,” and just before Afghan President Asraf Ghani fled the country with his wife and inner circle. The Taliban faced no resistance as they entered the city and were soon seen on television occupying the opulent presidential palace.

The U.S. Embassy was abandoned after a frantic flurry of helicopter shuttle flights ferried the last diplomats and security personnel to the airport for evacuation flights home. The American flag was lowered and classified and sensitive material destroyed. Videos over the past 24 hours showed large crowds at the airport, desperate to board planes to safety.