U.S. struggles to speed Kabul airlift despite Taliban, chaos

  • In this photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, two civilians during processing through an Evacuee Control Checkpoint during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday in Kabul, Afghanistan. (STAFF SGT. VICTOR MANCILLA/U.S. Marine Corps via AP)
    In this photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, two civilians during processing through an Evacuee Control Checkpoint during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday in Kabul, Afghanistan. (STAFF SGT. VICTOR MANCILLA/U.S. Marine Corps via AP)

    WASHINGTON — The United States struggled Thursday to pick up the pace of American and Afghan evacuations at Kabul airport, constrained by obstacles ranging from armed Taliban checkpoints to paperwork …