US military to help evacuate Americans from embassy in Kabul: officials

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The U.S. military will help evacuate Americans from the embassy in Kabul as the security situation deteriorates across Afghanistan, two officials confirmed Thursday to Fox News.

The plans to evacuate the Americans were briefed to President Biden earlier Thursday in order to get his approval, one official added. The military will evacuate "thousands" of American citizens and Afghan interpreters from Kabul. 

"Things are moving," one official said.

A senior White House official told Fox News that President Biden held a meeting about the move Wednesday night, tasking his principals and then meeting with them again Thursday morning. The defense secretary and national security adviser also briefed Biden Thursday morning, and he gave the order. Biden separately engaged the secretary of state Thursday morning to discuss diplomatic strategy, the official said.

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The U.S. embassy will remain open for now but will be reduced to a "small staff," officials also told Fox News.

Negotiators have reportedly asked the Taliban not to attack the U.S. Embassy in Kabul if the terror group overtakes the city, threatening foreign aid, The New York Times reported, citing officials.

Supporters of the Taliban carry the Taliban's signature white flags in the Afghan-Pakistan border town of Chaman, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. The Taliban are pressing on with their surge in Afghanistan, saying Wednesday that they seized Spin Boldaka, a strategic border crossing with Pakistan, the latest in a series of key border post to come under their control in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Tariq Achkzai)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke Thursday with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, according to the State Department, which denied that the U.S. called on Ghani to resign. The secretaries "emphasized that the United States remains committed to maintaining a strong diplomatic and security relationship" with Afghanistan, along with supporting "a political solution to the conflict," the department added.

President Biden in April pushed back former President Donald Trump’s deadline for a U.S. military withdrawal from May to Sept. 11. The withdrawal began in May; by early July, the situation was rapidly deteriorating: The Pentagon on July 9 detailed "concerning advancement" by the Taliban in the wake of the withdrawal. 

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Two weeks later, the Pentagon said the withdrawal was about 95% finished while admitting the Taliban appeared to have "strategic momentum."

A Taliban flag flies at a square in the city of Ghazni, Afghanistan, after fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. The Taliban captured the provincial capital near Kabul on Thursday, the 10th the insurgents have taken over a weeklong blitz across Afghanistan as the U.S. and NATO prepare to withdraw entirely from the country after decades of war. (AP Photo/Gulabuddin Amiri)

Earlier today, Afghanistan’s third largest city, Herat, located on the border with Iran, fell to the Taliban. The Taliban have also claimed to have seized Kandahar City, the country’s second-largest and the Taliban’s spiritual home.

With no U.S. military forces on the ground and very little assets overhead, the Pentagon cannot confirm Kandahar has fallen but officials acknowledge "it doesn’t look good."

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U.S. military officers at the Pentagon tell Fox News the images of the Taliban taking over Afghanistan are "demoralizing."

"This is all melting down in a short period of time," one U.S. military officer described what is happening right now in Afghanistan. 

While the capital of Kabul itself has not been directly threatened in the advance, the stunning speed of the offensive raises questions about how long the Afghan government can maintain control of the slivers of the country it has left. 

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The government may eventually be forced to pull back to defend the capital and just a few other cities, as the fighting displaces thousands of people.

Fox News' Rich Edson, Patrick Ward and The Associated Press contributed to this report.