US President Joe Biden and former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani spoke for the last time on July 23, weeks before the fall of Kabul on August 15, which saw Ghani leaving the country leading to an irrevocable fall of his government. According to Reuters, the last call between the duo lasted for roughly 14 minutes and they discussed military aid, political strategy etc. But none of them spoke anything about the possibility of the entire country falling to the Taliban, the news agency, which went through the transcript of the conversation, said.
“Reuters reviewed a transcript of the presidential phone call and has listened to the audio to authenticate the conversation. The materials were provided on condition of anonymity by a source who was not authorized to distribute it,” the news agency said.
Biden told Ghani that the US will provide close-air support if Ghani spells out a plan against the Taliban offensive. Biden also advised Ghani to get buy-in from powerful Afghans for a military strategy going forward, and then to put a “warrior” in charge of the effort, a possible reference to defence minister General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi. Biden said he is not a “military guy” and hence can’t advise Ghani on military strategy, but he advised him to work on improving Afghanistan’s perception in front of the world.
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If Afghan politicians address a press conference at that time when the Taliban was escalating its advance and was capturing one district after another, then it might change the perception, Biden said.
Did Biden praise the Afghan army?
According to the report, Biden lauded Afghan armed forces and said, “You clearly have the best military”. “You have 300,000 well-armed forces versus 70-80,000 and they’re clearly capable of fighting well,” Biden told Ghani in the 14-minute phone call. “You have 300,000 well-armed forces versus 70-80,000 and they’re clearly capable of fighting well,” Biden said to Ghani.
“We are going to continue to fight hard, diplomatically, politically, economically, to make sure your government not only survives but is sustained and grows,” said Biden.
The White House Tuesday declined to comment on the call, Reuters reported.
The revelation comes at a time when the United States is putting the blame squarely on Afghan soldiers for losing the fight. Even in his latest statement, issued after the complete withdrawal of the US troops from Kabul, Biden said the US was ready to fight when the Afghanistan government failed its people.
Full Pakistani planning: What did Ghani tell Biden
Ashraf Ghani told Biden that Afghanistan was facing a full-scale invasion and the Taliban were not the only ones attacking. Ghani reportedly said that apart from the Taliban, there was full Pakistani planning and logistical support, and 10-15,000 international terrorists.
” I just spoke again to Dr Abdullah earlier, he went to negotiate with the Taliban, the Taliban showed no inclination. We can get to peace only if we rebalance the military situation. And I can assure you… I have been to four of our key cities, I’m constantly travelling with the vice president and others, we will be able to rally. Your assurance of support goes a very long way to enable us, to really mobilize in earnest,” Ghani said.
‘Karzai would not be helpful’: Biden, Ghani disagree
Biden’s advice for perception improvement included bringing together former president Hamid Karzai, former vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum. But Ghani was not on board with the proposal. “He is contrary, and time is of the essence, we cannot bring every single individual … We have tried for months with President Karzai. Last time we met for 110 minutes; he was cursing me and he was accusing me of being a US lackey,” Ghani is believed to have said to Biden. To this, Biden said he will reserve his judgement.
(With agency inputs)
