{"id":2234453,"date":"2024-05-01T11:13:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T15:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-greenlit-talibans-kabul-takeover-and-had-no-contingency-plan-when-hell-broke-loose-former-envoy-says\/"},"modified":"2024-05-01T11:17:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T15:17:48","slug":"us-greenlit-talibans-kabul-takeover-and-had-no-contingency-plan-when-hell-broke-loose-former-envoy-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-greenlit-talibans-kabul-takeover-and-had-no-contingency-plan-when-hell-broke-loose-former-envoy-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Envoy Reveals US Approved Taliban&#8217;s Kabul Takeover Without Backup Plan as Chaos Unfolded"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fus-greenlit-talibans-kabul-takeover-and-had-no-contingency-plan-when-hell-broke-loose-former-envoy-says%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2234453&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former US special representative for\u200c Afghanistan \u200creconciliation, Zalmay\u2062 Khalilzad, revealed that\u2062 the Biden administration approved the Taliban&#8217;s takeover of Kabul in August 2021, leading to chaos and a militant resurgence. The decision to relinquish control\u2062 without a backup\u200d plan \u200callowed the\u2064 Taliban to\u200c seize most of the city, culminating \u2062in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israeli-hostage-gave-birth-while-held-captive-in-gaza-sara-netanyahu-says\/\" title=\"Israeli Hostage Gave Birth While Held Captive In Gaza, Sara Netanyahu Says\">tragic \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-us-representative-from-st-louis-cori-bush-drafts-resolution-to-punish-those-who-attempt-to-overthrow-the-2020-election-joe-biden-just-stole\/\" title=\"Democrat US Representative from St Louis, Cori Bush, Drafts Resolution to Punish Those Who Attempt to Overthrow the 2020 Election Joe Biden Just Stole\">terror attack<\/a><\/a> at the airport. Former US special representative for\u200c Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay \u2064Khalilzad, disclosed that in August 2021, the \u2063Biden administration sanctioned the Taliban&#8217;s \u200bcapture of\u2062 Kabul, sparking disorder and empowering militants. The absence of\u200d a \u2062contingency strategy\u200b permitted the\u2062 Taliban to dominate the majority of\u2064 the \u200dcity, ultimately resulting \u2062in a devastating\u200c terrorist assault at the airport.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Biden administration made a military decision to relinquish control over most of Kabul, according to former US special rep for Afghanistan reconciliation<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t(Wakil Kohsar\/AFP via Getty Images)\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The Biden administration gave the Taliban terror group a &#8220;green light&#8221; to seize control of Afghanistan&#8217;s capital city, Kabul, in mid-August 2021, setting the stage for the terror group to retake control of the country amid America&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-mistake-that-will-haunt-us-for-decades-mccarthy-calls-for-biden-admin-to-be-investigated-amid-afghanistan-collapse\/\" title=\"A \u2018Mistake That Will Haunt Us For Decades\u2019: McCarthy Calls For Biden Admin To Be Investigated Amid Afghanistan Collapse\">botched withdrawal<\/a>, the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em> has learned.<\/p>\n<p>Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, said in an interview obtained by the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> that U.S. military leaders rejected a Taliban offer to have the United States provide security for Kabul during an August 15, 2021, meeting with Taliban leaders in Qatar, which came as American officials were scrambling to pull troops and personnel out of the country. This decision was seen as a &#8220;green light&#8221; for the Taliban to take control of the city.<\/p>\n<p>Khalilzad&#8217;s disclosures, which are previously unreported, were made during closed-door testimony conducted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee as part of its years-long investigation into the Biden administration&#8217;s botched Afghanistan evacuation. A <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Interview-of-Zalmay-Khalilzad_Redacted_COMPILED.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">transcript<\/a> of Khalilzad&#8217;s interview, which was conducted in November 2023, was released in full exclusively to the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about that pivotal 2021 meeting in Qatar, which included Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who led U.S. Central Command at the time, Khalilzad said the Biden administration made a military decision to relinquish control over most of Kabul. This decision resulted in the United States controlling only a very narrow piece of the city that included its embassy compound and the airport\u2014the site of a terror attack that later killed a dozen U.S. service members.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It sounds like a green light for the Taliban to come and take over most of Kabul,&#8221; an interviewer from the committee&#8217;s Republican side said to Khalilzad as the witness recounted the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think that&#8217;s clear,&#8221; Khalilzad responded.<\/p>\n<p>The interview paints the clearest picture to date of hurried U.S. meetings with the Taliban as Afghanistan devolved into chaos amid the Biden administration&#8217;s exit from the country. Khalilzad, who served as the central U.S. interlocutor with the Taliban, said under questioning that the State Department had virtually no contingency plan in place to deal with a crumbling security situation on the ground, which likely contributed to the <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/military-could-have-stopped-afghanistan-bomber-who-killed-13-americans-service-member-testifies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">terror attack<\/a> at the Kabul airport&#8217;s Abbey Gate.<\/p>\n<p>Both the State Department and Khalilzad assumed the Afghan government would not collapse so quickly once the United States exited the country and developed no plan to deal with that eventuality. Khalilzad predicted the Afghan government could hold its own against the Taliban for at least two years and did not change his opinion on the matter until August 2021, when the terror group was already assuming control.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The dominant assumption that was, I think, in the government, based on assessments that were being made, was that the [Afghan] government won&#8217;t collapse that quickly,&#8221; Khalilzad said. &#8220;That was the estimate that guided things and was my own personal judgment on this, putting my official role at that time aside, but that we would have a lot of time to\u2014maybe two years or more.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That assumption was central to the State Department&#8217;s planning at the time, catching officials off guard when the Afghan government folded immediately after the Taliban took Kabul.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t do alternative futures,&#8221; Khalilzad said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Did you just say that you don&#8217;t plan for contingencies outside of the dominant train of thought?&#8221; Rep. Brian Mast (R., Fla.) asked in response to Khalilzad&#8217;s disclosure.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think not enough of it is done in the\u2014in our profession, in diplomacy planning in that regard,&#8221; the diplomat said.<\/p>\n<p>Secretary of State Antony Blinken was &#8220;noticeably absent&#8221; during key decision points around the withdrawal and evacuation from Afghanistan, according to one GOP Foreign Affairs Committee aide who spoke to the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> about the interview.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;One thing that&#8217;s clear is the State Department&#8217;s lack of preparedness and its understanding of the reality of what&#8217;s happening in Afghanistan,&#8221; added a second GOP aide who reviewed the testimony.<\/p>\n<p>Khalilzad&#8217;s contention that al Qaeda and its affiliated offshoots do not operate in Afghanistan also drew surprise from those on the Foreign Affairs Committee, particularly as it has <a href=\"https:\/\/ctc.westpoint.edu\/al-qaida-in-the-indian-subcontinent-an-appraisal-of-the-threat-in-the-wake-of-the-taliban-takeover-of-afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">become clear <\/a>in the years since the Taliban resumed control that al Qaeda is using the country to plan terror attacks.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I have to say for the record, looking back, that al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent has been dismantled,&#8221; Khalilzad said. &#8220;It doesn&#8217;t exist anymore, according to our intelligence, since the Taliban took over.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That testimony, one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blinken-fails-to-provide-house-with-key-documents-related-to-afghanistan-withdrawal-report\/\" title=\"Blinken fails to give House crucial Afghanistan withdrawal documents: Report.\">committee source<\/a> said, &#8220;shows that the very person the Biden administration has as their main interlocutor with the Taliban is in denial about the reality of terrorism in Afghanistan.&#8221;\t<\/p>\n<p>Khalilzad cast doubt on claims by the Biden administration and its allies that the botched Afghanistan withdrawal was the byproduct of the Trump administration&#8217;s negotiations with the Taliban.<\/p>\n<p>Talks with the terror group, the diplomat said, actually began during the Obama administration, when Taliban leaders reached out to begin negotiations over a potential military withdrawal.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Published under:<\/strong> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/afghanistan\/\" title=\"View all posts in Afghanistan\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAfghanistan\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/afghanistan-crisis\/\" title=\"View all posts in Afghanistan Crisis\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAfghanistan Crisis\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/al-qaeda\/\" title=\"View all posts in Al Qaeda\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAl Qaeda\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/antony-blinken\/\" title=\"View all posts in Antony Blinken\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAntony Blinken\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\" title=\"View all posts in Biden Administration\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBiden Administration\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/brian-mast\/\" title=\"View all posts in Brian Mast\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBrian Mast\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/kabul\/\" title=\"View all posts in Kabul\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKabul\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/kabul-airport\/\" title=\"View all posts in Kabul Airport\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKabul Airport\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/qatar\/\" title=\"View all posts in Qatar\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQatar\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/state-department\/\" title=\"View all posts in State Department\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tState Department\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/taliban\/\" title=\"View all posts in Taliban\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTaliban\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/terrorism\/\" title=\"View all posts in Terrorism\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTerrorism\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation disclosed that the Biden administration allowed the Taliban to seize Kabul, setting the stage for chaos in August 2021. This decision relinquished control over most of the city, paving the way for the Taliban&#8217;s takeover<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":2234454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1234687815-scaled-e1643822711397.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2234453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1234687815-scaled-e1643822711397.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2234453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2234454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2234453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2234453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2234453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}