The Complex Question Of Diplomatic Presence In Afghanistan: Examining Embassy Operations

Afghanistan is home to around 36 foreign embassies and 10 consulates, with the US embassy previously located in Kabul. However, the US Embassy in Kabul suspended its operations in Afghanistan on August 31, 2021, and transferred its operations to Doha, Qatar. The US Interests Section at the Embassy of Qatar in Kabul was established as the protecting power of the US in Afghanistan on December 31, 2021.

The US Embassy in Kabul suspended operations in Afghanistan on 31 August 2021

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, was the official diplomatic mission of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The embassy was housed in a chancery located on Great Massoud Road in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood of Kabul, and was built at a cost of nearly $800 million.

On August 15, 2021, as the Taliban advanced on Kabul, embassy staff relocated to secure facilities at Hamid Karzai International Airport. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul officially closed later that day. The final head of the mission in Afghanistan was Chargé d'Affaires Ross Wilson, who was evacuated to the airport on August 15, 2021.

On August 31, 2021, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul suspended operations in Afghanistan and transferred its operations to Doha, Qatar, with former deputy chief of mission Ian McCary serving as Chargé d'Affaires. A core group of Embassy Kabul personnel are currently working from the U.S. Embassy in Doha. The U.S. Interests Section at the Embassy of Qatar in Kabul was established as the protecting power of the U.S. in Afghanistan on December 31, 2021.

The U.S. government withdrew its personnel from Kabul, but continues to assist U.S. citizens and their families in Afghanistan. U.S. citizens in Afghanistan who require routine consular services can contact any U.S. embassy or consulate for assistance. The Department of State Travel Advisory for Afghanistan is Level 4: Do Not Travel, due to armed conflict, civil unrest, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping.

The US Embassy in Kabul was housed in a chancery located on Great Massoud Road

The chancery features a three-story, 80-foot-wide glass curtain wall that is backed by an opaque concrete wall, designed to withstand an explosion. The pattern on the wall is inspired by traditional Afghanistan carpets and is made of crisscross diamond shapes. The inner windows of the embassy are also diamond-shaped, creating an interesting pattern on the inside face of the concrete wall.

The US Embassy compound in Kabul occupies a 15-acre site, two miles from the city centre. It includes a new embassy office building, a residential complex of 146 apartments, Marine Security Guard quarters, a warehouse, water and sewage treatment plants, a new perimeter wall, and compound access control structures.

The embassy was closed on August 15, 2021, as embassy staff relocated to makeshift but secure facilities at Hamid Karzai International Airport due to the Taliban advance on Kabul. The embassy suspended operations in Afghanistan on August 31, 2021, and transferred operations to Doha, Qatar.

The US Embassy in Kabul was built at a cost of nearly $800 million

The Embassy was the official diplomatic mission of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It was housed in a chancery located on Great Massoud Road in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood of the Afghan capital, Kabul. The Embassy was evacuated in August 2021 due to the Taliban advance on Kabul.

The US Embassy in Kabul was evacuated in August 2021 due to the Taliban advance on the city

The US Embassy in Kabul was evacuated in August 2021 due to the Taliban's advance on the city. The evacuation of the embassy was a partial one, with 3000 US soldiers and marines deployed to Kabul to evacuate an unspecified number of the 4000 embassy staff, 1400 of whom were US citizens.

The evacuation of the embassy was a direct result of the Taliban's rapid advance on the city, which took US officials by surprise. The Taliban had captured a string of provincial capitals and border crossings, including Herat, the third-largest city in the country. This prompted the Pentagon to send about 3000 troops to Kabul to assist with the partial evacuation of the embassy. The US Embassy staffers were instructed to destroy important papers, desktop computers, and American flags that could be used for propaganda purposes before the evacuation.

The evacuation of the embassy was a frenzied and chaotic process, with US military helicopters making repeat trips to ferry diplomats and officials from the embassy to Hamid Karzai International Airport. The US troops also took control of the civilian side of the airport, as Afghan civilians stormed the airport in a desperate attempt to secure passage out of the country. The evacuation was further complicated by gunfire near the airport, which frightened Afghan families and resulted in the US military temporarily halting all flights.

The US Embassy in Kabul officially suspended its operations in Afghanistan on August 31, 2021, and transferred its operations to Doha, Qatar. The final head of the mission in Afghanistan was Chargé d'Affaires Ross Wilson, who was evacuated to the airport on August 15. All embassy staff were reportedly evacuated by August 28, and Wilson left on the last US military flight out of the country on August 30.

The US Interests Section at the Embassy of Qatar in Kabul was established as the protecting power of the US in Afghanistan

The US Embassy in Kabul was the official diplomatic mission of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The embassy was housed in a chancery located on Great Massoud Road in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood of the Afghan capital, Kabul, and was built at a cost of nearly $800 million.

On August 15, 2021, in the face of a Taliban advance on Kabul, embassy staff relocated to makeshift but secure facilities at Hamid Karzai International Airport. Kabul fell and the chancery building officially closed on the same day. The embassy suspended operations in Afghanistan on August 31, 2021, and transferred operations to Doha, Qatar.

On November 12, 2021, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and Qatar's Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, signed an agreement at the State Department authorizing Qatar as the "protecting power" of the US in Afghanistan. This agreement meant that Qatar would establish a US "interests section" within its own embassy in Kabul to handle consular services for American citizens in Afghanistan, deal with routine official communications between Washington and the Taliban government, and assume responsibility for the protection of now-vacated US diplomatic facilities there.

On December 31, 2021, the US Interests Section at the Embassy of Qatar in Kabul was established as the protecting power of the US in Afghanistan. This move came after the closure of the US Embassy in Kabul and the withdrawal of all US forces from the country in late August 2021. The US Interests Section operates out of the former US Embassy compound, with Qatar assuming responsibility for the facility.

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