JAKARTA - The President of the United States and the ousted President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani apparently had a telephone conversation, discussing political strategy to military assistance on the last phone call between the two.
However, in the phone call which is expected to last for 14 minutes on July 23, he was not aware of or prepared to face the serious threat of the Taliban.
Citing Reuters Sept. 1 who reviewed the transcript of this presidential phone call and has listened to the audio to authenticate the conversation. The material is provided on condition of anonymity by sources not authorized to distribute it.
In the call, President Biden offered to help if Ghani could publicly project his plans to rein in the escalating situation in Afghanistan.
"We will continue to provide close air support, if we know what the plan is," President Biden said. Days before the call, the US carried out air strikes in support of Afghan security forces, a move the Taliban said violated the Doha peace accord.
The US president also advised Ghani to get support from Afghan strongmen for future military strategy, then put a 'fighter' in charge of the effort, referring to Defense Minister General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi.
In addition, President Biden praised the Afghan armed forces, which are trained and funded by the US government.
"You obviously have the best military. You have 300,000 fully armed troops versus 70-80,000 and they are clearly capable of fighting well," said President Biden. Days later, the Afghan military began moving across the country's provincial capitals with little struggle against the Taliban.
In many talks, Biden has focused on what he calls the Afghan government's perception problem. "I don't need to tell you the perception around the world and in parts of Afghanistan, I believe, is that things are not going well in terms of the war against the Taliban," Biden said. "And there's a need, whether that's true or not, there's a need to project a different picture."
President Biden told Ghani that if Afghanistan's leading political figures gave a joint press conference, supporting a new military strategy, "it would change perceptions, and I think it would change a lot."
The American leader's words show he did not anticipate the full-scale uprising and devastation that would come 23 days later. "We will continue to fight hard, diplomatically, politically, economically, to ensure your government not only survives, but is sustainable and grows," President Biden said. The White House declined to comment on the call Tuesday.
Following the phone call, the White House released a statement focusing on Biden's commitment to supporting Afghan security forces and the government seeking funding for Afghanistan from Congress.
Ghani told President Biden that he believed there would be peace if he could "rebalance the military solution". But he added, "We have to move quickly".
"We are facing a full scale invasion, made up of the Taliban, Pakistan's full planning and logistical support, and at least 10-15 thousand international terrorists, mostly Pakistanis thrown into this," Ghani said.
Afghan government officials, and US experts, have consistently pointed to Pakistan's support for the Taliban as key to the group's rise.
The Pakistani Embassy in Washington has denied the allegations. "Clearly the myth of Taliban fighters crossing from Pakistan is unfortunately an excuse and an afterthought peddled by Mr Ashraf Ghani to justify his failure to lead and govern," an embassy spokesman told Reuters.
Reuters tried to contact Ghani's staff for this story, by phone and SMS, but to no avail. The last public statement from Ghani, who is believed to be in the United Arab Emirates, came on August 18. He said he fled Afghanistan to prevent bloodshed.
At the time of the phone call, the United States was in the midst of its planned withdrawal from Afghanistan, which Biden had delayed from May set out by his predecessor, Donald Trump. The US military closed Afghanistan's main air base, at Bagram, in early July.
As the two presidents spoke, Taliban insurgents controlled about half of Afghanistan's central districts, suggesting a rapidly deteriorating security situation.
Afghanistan has promised a shift in its military strategy, to begin focusing on protecting 'population centres', major cities, rather than fighting to protect rural areas. Biden referred to agreeing with the strategy. He said it would help not only on the ground but in the international 'perception' needed to shore up world support for the Afghan government.
"I'm not a military man, so I'm not telling you what the plan should look like, not only will you get more help, but you'll get perceptions that will change," President Biden said.
Ashraf Ghani, for his part, assured President Biden, “your guarantee of support really helps us, to really mobilize us in earnest.”
In less than two weeks after Biden's call with Ghani, the Taliban seized several Afghan provincial capitals and the United States says it is up to Afghan security forces to defend the country.
Biden-Ghani's call also underscores the persistent political infighting plaguing the Afghan government. When President Biden asked him to include former Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the press conference, Ghani refused.
"Karzai will not help. He is the opposite, and time is of the essence, we cannot bring every individual. We have tried for months with President Karzai. The last time we met was for 110 minutes; he cursed me and he accused me of being a US stooge "Ghani said.
Biden paused before replying: "I'll pass judgment on that." Meanwhile, Hamid Karzai could not be reached for comment, despite calls and SMS to one of his aides.
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