Earlier this month, the Taliban took over Afghanistan more swiftly than anyone else had anticipated. The Taliban themselves were shocked at how fast they were able to take control of Kabul.
However, according to a report by the Washington Post, the United States was offered by the Taliban an opportunity to hold Kabul, but the U.S. declined.
Taliban and U.S. military leaders met, negotiated after Afghan president fled the country and chaos ensued
After President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan, the city of Kabul started to collapse as gangs began to take over. The collapse of Kabul led to the meeting and negotiation of U.S. military leaders with the Taliban.
Abdul Ghani Baradarr, a political leader of the Taliban, stated that at that time, they had two options to consider; the U.S. military could take responsibility for securing Kabul, or, the U.S. military could let the Taliban take over Kabul.
When the U.S. was offered the deal from the Taliban on whether or not they should take over Kabul or let the Taliban do so, the United States chose the latter. The decision was made given the insistence of Biden to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan before the August 31 deadline.
@washingtonpost reports that Taliban offered to stay out of Kabul and let US forces secure the city. We told them we only needed the airport. We could have controlled the airport and Kabul and evacuated everyone but chose not to. The incompetence is stunning. pic.twitter.com/5MbW6K81n3
— Marc Thiessen (@marcthiessen) August 29, 2021
As part of the agreement, the Taliban ruled Kabul; on the other hand, the U.S. took over the airport until August 31 to facilitate its mission to withdraw U.S. troops.
The report from the Washington Post likewise added that at first, Taliban forces had no intention to control and take over Kabul on the same day the Afghan president fled. The United States had not anticipated this happening either.
The U.S. decided the Taliban should step in and take over Kabul, not them
However, as chaos ensued in the capital after the Afghan president left, someone had to step in. In this case, the United States decided that it should be the Taliban and not them. Muhammad Nasir Haqqani, commander of the Taliban, was also surprised by what happened.
According to reports, after Haqqani and his men arrived at the city of Kabul, they waited for instructions. Then, later on, they went ahead and seized the palace. All this happened in less than an hour.
The Taliban celebrated with gunfire heard across Kabul as the U.S. completed the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan, ending its longest war with the Taliban’s return to power.https://t.co/uccWpUBNdL
— World Israel News (@worldisraelnews) August 31, 2021
The Post also noted that Haqqani said when they entered the palace, not a single soldier or police officer was there. He later added they were so happy with what happened; they could not control their emotions, with most of the Taliban forces crying for joy.
The Taliban commander added that they did not expect to take over Kabul so quickly. As the Taliban took over Kabul, terrorists also hit the U.S. military near the airport. As we all know, a suicide bomb went off, killing 13 American troops.
