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| AP Photo/Zabi Karimi, File |
As Taliban fighters retook the Afghan capital of Kabul in a lightning offensive earlier this month, insurgents offered to allow the US to hold the city — and senior leaders turned it down, according to a new report.
On Aug. 15, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country as Taliban forces made their way into the capital city. When reports of gangs moving onto the streets emerged, senior US military leaders in Doha, Qatar, and Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s political leader, arranged an in-person meeting, according to the Washington Post, which cited a US official.
At the meeting, Baradar reportedly said, “We have a problem. We have two options to deal with it: You [the United States military] take responsibility for securing Kabul or you have to allow us to do it.”
Marine Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, head of US Central Command, was reportedly a part of the meeting and told Baradar that the US’ mission was to evacuate American citizens, Afghan allies and all others at risk. The Biden administration’s plan to withdraw US troops by Aug. 31 was still to move forward. By Sunday evening, the Taliban had taken control of Kabul. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Source: AP Photo/Rahmat Gul |
Well, the fiasco that erupted concerning the safe evacuation of American citizens from Afghanistan could have been much less chaotic. The Washington Post had a lengthy piece Sunday detailing the fall of Kabul. It circles back to everything you already know. The Taliban were racing toward reconquering the country. The Afghan government was totally aloof. And everyone in the Biden orbit was on vacation when calamity hit. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani dithered on getting his act together, more concerned about the digitization of the economy than the Taliban threat. The publication noted that he agreed to step aside days before the Taliban took control of Kabul. The US assumed he would be there to help with the transitional government that included the Taliban. Instead, he fled, but here's the real issue.
Buried mid-way through the piece is the Taliban offering the US to take control of not just the airport but all of Kabul. Chaos was engulfing the city as news of the government's collapse spread. Security was a priority. The Taliban offered the US to take control of the city, and we turned them down (via WaPo):
In the void, law and order began to break down, with reports of armed gangs moving through the streets.Follow links below to related stories:
In a hastily arranged in-person meeting, senior U.S. military leaders in Doha — including McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command — spoke with Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the Taliban’s political wing.
“We have a problem,” Baradar said, according to the U.S. official. “We have two options to deal with it: You [the United States military] take responsibility for securing Kabul or you have to allow us to do it.” --->READ MORE HERE
Taliban offered Kabul to US, but Americans said no: report
Opinion: Greenlighting the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul is a national disgrace
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