Taliban fighters take control of the Afghan presidential palace after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Zabi Karimi)
Anchorage Daily News/Washington Post: Surprise, panic and fateful choices: The day America lost its longest war
KABUL - On the day that Afghanistan’s capital fell to the Taliban, delivering the definitive verdict on a war that had lumbered on ambiguously for nearly 20 years, one of the city’s top security officials woke up preparing for battle.
The day before, government forces in the north’s largest city - Mazar-e Sharif, a notorious anti-Taliban stronghold - had surrendered with barely a fight. The same had happened overnight in Jalalabad, the traditional winter home of Afghanistan’s kings and the country’s main gateway to the east.
As dawn broke over the misty mountains that ring the city, Kabul had suddenly become an island - the last bastion of a government that the United States had supported at a cost of trillions of dollars and thousands of lives. But it was an island that some were still prepared to defend.
“Everyone was ready to fight against the Taliban,” said the Afghan security official, who had spent the previous evening distributing new uniforms to his officers. “All the security forces were ready.”
Or so he thought. When he prepared to reinforce one of the main checkpoints protecting the city that morning, his commander waved him off. “He told me, ‘Leave that for now,’ " the official recalled. " ‘You can do it in a few days.’ "
But Kabul didn’t have days.
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WNU Editor: This Washington Post article is a must read.
The part of the above post that caught my eye was this .... .... 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.”
Throughout the day, Biden had remained resolute in his decision to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan. The collapse of the Afghan government hadn’t changed his mind.
McKenzie, aware of those orders, told Baradar that the U.S. mission was only to evacuate American citizens, Afghan allies and others at risk. The United States, he told Baradar, needed the airport to do that.
On the spot, an understanding was reached, according to two other U.S. officials: The United States could have the airport until Aug. 31. But the Taliban would control the city.
Fighters were now on the move throughout Kabul, with the group’s spokesman issuing a revision of his earlier guidance:
The Taliban hadn’t intended to take Kabul that day. But Ghani’s exit gave the group no choice.
“The government has left all of their ministries; you have to enter the city to prevent further disorder and protect public property and services from chaos,” read a message that pinged on Muhammad Nasir Haqqani’s phone.
Wow!!!!
This piece of news is being under-reported.
The Taliban had offered both Kabul and the airport to the U.S. to enforce security. But the U.S. refused.
The Taliban, fearing government offices would be sacked and looted, then made the decision to enter the capital.
Update: Correction. This piece of news is now being reported .... Taliban offered Kabul to US, but Americans said no: report (FOX News).