Last month, a confidential internal cable was sent to Biden’s Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. This was a warning about the potential fall of Afghanistan after the withdrawal of U.S. troops. However, Biden still opted to push through with the botched move.
The US was earlier warned that the Taliban is well equipped to take over Afghanistan
Last month, almost two dozen American officials stationed in the United States Embassy in Kabul forwarded a memo to the confidential dissent channel of the United States. This happened to alert the Secretary of Defense, together with other top Biden officials, that the Taliban was well equipped to take over Afghanistan.
The memo, dated July 13, likewise gave a suggestion on what move could be made to counter the threat from insurgents, expedite the evacuation process of Americans, and expedite evacuation of Afghan allies in the country.
State Department foreign service officers have told me they asked @RepMalinowski for help bringing their fear of an impending Afghanistan collapse to the attention of @JoeBiden & @SecBlinken – but he didn’t want to get involved.
He was told of the Dissent Cable and didn’t act.
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) August 20, 2021
Included in the recommendations made was for Biden to use more “tough” language, particularly when describing the barbarities that the Taliban committed.
According to the confidential source, the information coming from U.S. officials stationed in Kabul was immediately brought to the attention of the Secretary of State and he likewise acknowledged it.
The source stated that they appreciated the thoughts sent to them, warning about the fall of Afghanistan. The officials in the White House reflected on it throughout the department and the inter-agency. For instance, they launched Operations Allies Refuge, as an effort to bring Special Immigrants Visa applicants to the U.S.
Critics to Biden: The evacuation process was SLOW
On the other hand, critics of Biden’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan were pointing out the slow evacuation process. This is not only about Americans who were stuck in the war-torn country, but likewise about the danger placed to Afghan allies who have been helping the U.S. these past two decades.
There were thousands of Afghans who were formally working with Americans during the two-decade period. They have likewise applied for Special Immigrant Visas in order to be evacuated from the country together with their families, out of fear of reprisal from the Taliban.
During the first press conference since the Taliban took control of the nation earlier this week, they claimed they will not be seeking retribution towards Afghans who have been working with the United States.
However, reports suggested otherwise, noting that Afghans who are seeking refuge to go to the Kabul airport are already receiving hostile treatment.
Will the Taliban allow foreign & Afghan nationals to leave #Afghanistan?#ANUExpert @williammaley1 says that's wishful thinking.
"If you look at what the Taliban do rather than say, there is no evidence they’ve moderated in any way.”@ANUBellSchoolhttps://t.co/SIMf89ltFB
— ANU Media (@ANUmedia) August 17, 2021
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is disputing that they were warned earlier Afghanistan would fall under the control of the Taliban. They noted that a source stated Afghanistan would fall after the United States leaves on August 31st, but they were not warned that it could happen during early August.
National Security Advisor Deputy John Finer likewise echoed the same sentiments in an interview with CNN on Thursday.
Finer said the memo understandably predicted the possible fall of the Afghan government, after the full withdrawal of U.S. troops scheduled on August 31st. However, apparently the situation escalated faster than the cable predicted.
