“Part 1: The Withdrawal. After dark on a mild July evening, I made my way through a heavily fortified neighborhood in downtown Kabul. Over the years, the capital’s elite had retreated deeper behind concrete walls topped with concertina wire; sometimes they even added a layer of Hesco barriers on the sidewalk, forcing me into the street as I passed. I buzzed at the home of a former government official, went inside and climbed the marble stairs to a rooftop party. I’d been to a few of his gatherings over the years, some of them raucous with laughter and dancing, but this was a quiet affair, with a small group of Afghan men and women, mostly young and stylishly dressed, sitting in a circle under the lamplight. The mood was grim. In recent weeks, large areas of the north, places that had not historically supported the Taliban, had suddenly fallen. ...”
2021 August: Afghanistan Live Updates: Afghan President Said to Have Fled as Taliban Enter Kabul, 2021 August: How Will the Taliban Rule? Here’s the Early Evidence
