Biden told allies in June US would ensure Kabul’s stability: report

President Biden told allies in the Group of Seven back in June the U.S. would ensure Kabul’s stability after withdrawing from Afghanistan, a British diplomatic memo obtained by Bloomberg showed.

Biden said “critical U.S. enablers” would stay in Kabul when NATO forces left the country at the summit in England with Group of Seven leaders including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, according to the document.

The British thought the U.S. would give enough security for their embassy to stay in place in Kabul.

The document said the U.S. was talking to allies about how the Taliban would “test the Afghan government militarily” before any peace talks could be made for President Ashraf Ghani to stay in charge, according to Bloomberg. 

The document came after the allies discussed in May keeping a civilian presence in Afghanistan after the withdrawal. However, a warning did come from Josep Borrell, the E.U.’s top diplomat, to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Taliban could have a great advantage after the troops pulled out.

Two months later those fears were realized as the Taliban took over the country in a matter of days after U.S. troops began to withdraw. 

The E.U. and U.S. have been working to evacuate citizens and Afghan allies from the area, a difficult task as the Taliban has surrounded the only airport out of the country.

Biden has said the Taliban has been letting American citizens through to get to the airport to evacuate, although many journalists on the ground in the country have disputed that claim.

The journalists have highlighted the dangers of getting past the Taliban to leave the country, with some U.S. citizens getting beat by the group.