AP: Biden pledges to Americans in Kabul: ‘We will get you home.’ “Biden also said Friday the United States is committed to evacuating all Afghans who assisted the war effort — a potentially vast expansion of the administration’s commitments on the airlift so far, given the tens of thousands of Afghan translators and others, and their close family members, seeking evacuation.” The US is sending an additional thousand troops. The big question, one it’s really hard to message one’s way around, is why did we pull troops out before the evacuation and then have to send them back?

+ “The key element that undermined Afghan army morale was the US beginning negotiations with the Taliban behind the back of the elected Afghan government. This clear act of bad faith was not lost on the soldiery, who realised the likelihood of a future Taliban takeover.” Interesting analysis: Why Did the Afghan Army Evaporate?

+ Here’s the latest from the BBC.