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deployment of forces to protect withdrawal operations
The US military withdrawal from Afghanistan is now underway with equipment being packed and shipped out, three defense officials said.
The Pentagon has also approved the deployment of hundreds of maritime, air and land forces to the region to ensure security for American and NATO forces as well as contractors as they withdraw, the officials said.
The immediate focus is on continuing to ship out unneeded equipment and supplies that are either not being destroyed in place or transferred to Afghan forces, one of the officials told CNN. "Obsolete" equipment will be destroyed, the official said.
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The State Department today ordered the departure of government employees from the US Embassy in Kabul "whose functions can be performed elsewhere" as the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan gets underway.
"By minimizing the number of employees in Afghanistan whose functions can be performed elsewhere, personnel who are urgently needed to address issues related to the draw-down of US forces and to continue the vital work we are doing in support of Afghanistan and its people will be able to remain in place," a State Department spokesperson said.
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