The last known phone call between President Joe Biden and an Afghan leader was on July 23, 2021, with then-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. This call took place less than a month before the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban's takeover of Kabul on August 15, 2021.
Perception was a key theme: Biden urged Ghani to "project a different picture" to the world about the Afghan forces' ability to fight the Taliban, even suggesting it was important "whether it is true or not."
Biden's assessment of Afghan military: Biden praised the Afghan cameroon whatsapp database armed forces, stating, "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."
Conditional US support: Biden offered continued U.S. close air support if Ghani could articulate a clear plan against the Taliban offensive.
Political unity: Biden also advised Ghani to bring together various Afghan military and political leaders, including former President Hamid Karzai and former Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, to rally support for the republic.
Ghani's perspective: Ghani reportedly told Biden that Afghanistan was facing a "full-scale invasion" involving not just the Taliban but also significant "Pakistani planning and logistical support, and at least 10-15,000 international terrorists." He also pushed back on including Karzai, stating he was "contrary" and "cursing me and he was accusing me of being a US lackey."
Lack of foresight: Neither leader appeared to anticipate the immediate and rapid collapse of the Afghan government that occurred just weeks later.
Since the Taliban took control in August 2021, the United States does not recognize the Taliban government, and therefore, President Biden has not had any official phone calls with any "Afghan leader" in a governing capacity since Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Any interactions with representatives from Afghanistan by the U.S. government would be through diplomatic channels that do not constitute recognition of the current de facto authority.
Reports and leaked transcripts of the 14-minute call indicate that:
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