This striking photo was taken as the US rushed to evacuate its embassy in Kabul, which some critics are calling Biden's 'Saigon moment'

A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021.
A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. Helicopters are landing at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as diplomatic vehicles leave the compound amid the Taliban advanced on the Afghan capital.

AP Photo/Rahmat Gul

  • Photos from the evacuation of the US embassy in Kabul echo the US withdrawal from Vietnam.
  • The Taliban has swept across Afghanistan and entered the capital city on Sunday.
  • Some are calling the race to evacuate US personnel, as well as partners, Biden's "Saigon moment."
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

As the Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban offensive that swept across the country reached Kabul, an Associated Press photographer captured photos of a US military helicopter flying by the US embassy, where a rushed evacuation was underway.

A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. Helicopters are landing at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as diplomatic vehicles leave the compound amid the Taliban advanced on the Afghan capital.
A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. Helicopters are landing at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as diplomatic vehicles leave the compound amid the Taliban advanced on the Afghan capital.

AP Photo/Rahmat Gul

For some observers, the image resembles the fall of Saigon in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War, such as the iconic photo of a CIA employee helping Vietnamese allies gathered on the roof of a building near the US embassy onto an Air America helicopter.

fall of saigon
Evacuees board a helicopter after the fall of Saigon in 1975.

Getty Images

Or this photo of a helicopter flying into the US embassy in Saigon for last-minute evacuations as North Vietnamese forces overran the South Vietnamese capital.

In this April 29, 1975 file photo, a helicopter lifts off from the U.S. embassy in Saigon, Vietnam during last minute evacuation of authorized personnel and civilians.
In this April 29, 1975 file photo, a helicopter lifts off from the U.S. embassy in Saigon, Vietnam during last minute evacuation of authorized personnel and civilians.

AP Photo

Photos like these came to symbolize America's failings in Vietnam. The same may prove true for the images coming out of Afghanistan, as Western and Afghan journalists risk their lives to eyewitness the capital's fall into Taliban hands.

In a little over a week, the Taliban routed Afghan forces, seizing city after city and erasing gains won at great cost by Afghan soldiers and NATO troops over the past two decades. The insurgent forces entered the capital on Sunday.

In early July, President Joe Biden argued for a withdrawal negotiated under the previous administration, adding that "the likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely."

Biden also told reporters that the world would not see a situation similar to what was seen in Vietnam, saying "there's going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of a embassy."

The US currently has roughly 5,000 troops on the ground in Kabul as the military races to evacuate US diplomatic personnel, as well as local partners. American embassy operations have been moved to the local airport, where evacuations are ongoing.

Retired Army Col. Jack Jacobs, who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Vietnam, told MSNBC on Friday that the situation in Afghanistan "looks just like Vietnam in 1975."

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, called the events unfolding in Kabul "President Biden's Saigon moment," according to The Hill.

"It's a very dire situation when you see the United States Embassy being evacuated," he said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"In fact you just had President Biden a few days ago saying you wouldn't see helicopters evacuating the embassy like Saigon, and yet here we are," Scalise said. "This is this is President Biden's Saigon moment and unfortunately it was very predictable."

In a statement Sunday, Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma and the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, slammed the president, saying "President Biden owns this mess - the blood is on his hands. He had a choice."

He described US activities in Afghanistan as a "chaotic retreat," a "disgraceful exit that will cap off a total failure."

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