Joe Biden-Ashraf Ghani last phone call before Taliban takeover leaked

In the last call between US President Joe Biden and his Afghanistan counterpart before the Taliban seized control of the country, the leaders discussed military aid, political strategy and messaging tactics, but neither Biden nor Ashraf Ghani appeared aware of or prepared for the immediate danger of the entire country falling to insurgents, a transcript reviewed by Reuters shows.

Joe Biden and Ashraf Ghani spoke for roughly 14 minutes on July 23. On August 15, Ghani fled the presidential palace, and the Taliban entered Kabul. "...there's a need, whether it is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture," Biden told Ghani.

In the call, Joe Biden offered aid if Ashraf Ghani could publicly project he had a plan to control the spiraling situation in Afghanistan. "We will continue to provide close air support, if we know what the plan is," Biden said. The US president also advised Ghani to get buy-in from powerful Afghans for a military strategy going forward, and then to put a "warrior" in charge of the effort, a reference to Defense Minister General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi.