A photo of a United States Marine smiling down at an infant in his arms has gone viral. Predominantly because all around them -- Kabul is in a frenzy as evacuations continue.
The photo was taken Friday, by U.S. Central Command Sgt. Isaiah Campbell. In it, a Marine in the 24th Expeditionary Unit is seen in full gear with the infant in his arms, several guns on either side of them.
In a Facebook post, the U.S. Marine Corps shared that the photo was taken at Hamid Karzai International Airport. The Orange County Register reported the photo was of Marines from Southern California's Camp Pendleton Base.
The touching photo is a true juxtaposition to the actual events going on in Kabul, Afghanistan, where thousands of Afghans are still desperate to escape the Taliban.
Earlier this week the Taliban, a militant group that ran the country in the late 1990s, seized control of Afghanistan. This was just two weeks before the U.S. was set to complete its military troop withdrawal and after two decades of U.S. forces stationed in the country.
Soon after the takeover, thousands of people flocked to the very same airport where the photo of the baby and marine was taken, so desperate to escape that they held tightly to the sides of a military jet and did not let go as it took off.
While addressing the situation Friday, President Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw troops and said no additional American troops would be sent in to fight a "civil war" in a foreign country.
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