Afghan President Rebuffed Biden’s Request to Falsely Claim Taliban Were Losing: ‘Mr. President, We Are Facing a Full-Scale Invasion’

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President Joe Biden pressured Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to paint a picture of his country that suggested it was winning its war against the Taliban in the weeks leading up to the United States’ withdrawal, according to a transcript of their final phone call published on Tuesday.
“I need not 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 fight against the Taliban,” Biden said in his final phone call with the Afghan leader before Afghanistan’s fall, according to a transcript published by Reuters.
“There is a need, whether it is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture,” Biden said.
The 14-minute call took place on July 14. The Taliban overran Kabul on August 15, prompting Ghani to flee from his presidential palace the same day.
The transcript showed Ghani taking a skeptical view of Biden’s argument that trying to change public perception would alter reality on the ground. “Mr. President, we are facing a full-scale invasion,” Ghani replied, “composed of Taliban, full Pakistani planning and logistical support, and at least 10-15,000 international terrorists, predominantly Pakistanis thrown into this, so that dimension needs to be taken account of.”
Ghani said the United States had been “very generous” in its assistance, but asked that it continue to provide air support to the Afghan military. He noted that Afghan forces had been trained to “heavily” rely upon it, but he said that because of agreements between the U.S. and the Taliban, U.S. personnel had become “extremely cautious” about using its offensive capabilities against the Taliban.
“The urban resistance, Mr. President, [has] been extraordinary,” Ghani said. “There are cities that have taken a siege of 55 days and that have not surrendered.”
“Look, close air support works only if there is a military strategy on the ground to support,” Biden replied, before ending the call.