Exclusive-In call before Afghan collapse, Biden pressed Ghani to ‘change perception’

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the White House, in Washington, U.S., June 25, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the last call between U.S. 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.

The men spoke for roughly 14 minutes on July 23. On August 15, Ghani fled the presidential palace, and the Taliban entered Kabul. Since then, tens of thousands of desperate Afghans have fled and 13 U.S. troops and scores of Afghan civilians were killed in a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport during the frenetic U.S. military evacuation.