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Marines arrive in Kabul to support airlift of embassy personnel and allies

14 August 2021
Dan Ackermann

U.S. Marines arrived in Kabul on Saturday as part of a 3,000-troop force reinforcement to secure an airlift of U.S. Embassy personnel and Afghan allies as the Taliban nears recapturing the state, AP reports.

The big picture: The majority of the 3,000 U.S. troops — two battalions of Marines and one of Army soldiers — are set to arrive by the end of the weekend, per AP.

  • A group of Marines also arrived in Kabul on Friday, per AP.
  • The troops' mission is expected to be complete by the end of the month, but may be extended if the U.S. embassy in Kabul is threatened by the Taliban.
  • The reinstatement of U.S. troops in Afghanistan comes after President Biden set a deadline of Aug. 31 for fully withdrawing combat forces from the region.

State of play: The Taliban have captured more than half of Afghanistan's provincial capitals over the last week as insurgents continue their lightning offensive, threatening to isolate Kabul and topple the Afghan government.

  • Jalalabad and Kabul are the only major cities still under government control and officials fear Jalalabad could fall within hours.
  • "Clearly from their actions, it appears as if they are trying to get Kabul isolated,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said during a press conference on Friday, per AP.
  • The Taliban on Saturday swept through the capitals of Paktika (Sharana) and Logar (Pul-e Alam).

Go deeper: Mapped: The Taliban’s lightning offensive to take over Afghanistan

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.