Rush of troops to Kabul tests Biden’s withdrawal deadline

ROBERT BURNS and ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) – The last-minute decision to send 3,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to help partially evacuate the U.S. Embassy is calling into question whether President Joe Biden can meet his deadline for fully withdrawing by the end of the month.

The vanguard of a Marine contingent arrived in Kabul on Friday and most of the rest of the 3,000 are due by Sunday.

Officials have stressed that the newly arriving troops’ mission is limited to assisting the evacuation, and they expect to complete it by Aug. 31. But that could change if the embassy is threatened by a Taliban takeover of Kabul by then.