Leaked documents show the Biden administration was still discussing basic plans for mass civilian evacuation hours before the Taliban took Kabul – By Sarah Al-Arshani (Business Insider) / February 2, 2022
- US officials were making decisions on Afghanistan evacuations hours before the Taliban takeover.
- Axios reported that leaked documents showed basic decisions hadn’t been made as of August 14.
- The Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, and US troops withdrew by the end of that month.
President Joe Biden’s administration reacted slowly and was unprepared to evacuate Afghans who helped the US after the Taliban took Kabul in August, according to notes from a White House Situation Room meeting obtained by Axios.
The outlet said a National Security Council “summary of conclusions” document from an August 14 meeting held between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET, when Taliban fighters were closing in on Kabul, showed the Biden administration made several crucial decisions just hours before the Taliban took over on August 15.
Senior officials were still talking over basic mass-civilian-evacuation actions. Axios reported that though the document it obtained featured the word “immediately” several times, officials on August 14 were still determining which countries would be transit stops for evacuees.
