Afghan President Warned of Taliban ‘Invasion’ but Joe Biden Focused on ‘Perception’

A leaked transcript and audio recording of a call between President Joe Biden and then-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani about three weeks before Kabul fell showed that as the Afghan president warned of a Taliban “invasion,” Biden pressed him to change the “perception.”

According to a report by Reuters, in a 14 minute call between Biden and Ghani on July 23, the Afghan president told Biden, “We are facing a full-scale invasion, composed of Taliban, full Pakistani planning and logistical support, and at least 10-15,000 international terrorists.”

But Biden on the call pressed Ghani to publicly project he had a plan to control the worsening situation in Afghanistan in order to receive air support. According to Reuters:

In the call, Biden offered aid if Ghani could publicly project he had a plan to control the spiraling situation in Afghanistan. “We will continue to provide close air support, if we know what the plan is,” Biden said.