Antony Blinken Delusional About U.S. Withdrawal Insisting Taliban Takeover ‘Unlikely’ as Jihadis Declared Victory

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was consistently wrong about the outcome of the unconditional withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan, insisting that a Taliban takeover was “highly unlikely” Sunday, as the jihadis swept into Kabul after the collapse of the government.

Blinken was incorrect when he asserted that the unconditional U.S. withdrawal, a concession long sought by the Taliban, would not result in the fall of Afghanistan.

Secretary Blinken assured that the fall of Afghanistan after the departure of U.S.-led NATO troops was a far-fetched notion, even as the Taliban seized territory and U.S. intelligence warnings months before the withdrawal ultimately determined the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and military was probable.


Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. The Taliban celebrated Afghanistan’s Independence Day on Thursday by declaring they beat the United States. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Even the State Department’s own intelligence and research division described the failure of the Afghan forces to prevent the Taliban from conquering territory as a red flag, noting that the deteriorating security conditions could result in the collapse of the Kabul government, the New York Times learned from unnamed Biden administration officials.

Blinken defended Biden’s withdrawal plan to the bitter end. Contradicting his own department’s intelligence, Blinken provided an optimistic assessment even as the Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after the collapse of the Afghan government and declared victory.

“The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning

 everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely,” Blinken told CNN Sunday.

Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Zabi Karimi)

A day after the Taliban entered Kabul, Drew Holden, a freelance commentary writer, noted that Blinken has consistently been wrong about what the complete U.S. military withdrawal would mean for Afghanistan and the American embassy personnel.

Holden wrote on Twitter thread:

One of the most consistently wrong people is Antony Blinken, Biden’s Secretary of State.

He said of the withdrawal: “as the United States begins withdrawing our troops, we will use our civilian and economic assistance to advance a just and durable peace for Afghanistan.”
…
In April, while visiting Afghanistan, Blinken told Afghan President Ashraf [Ghani] – who has since fled the country – that Blinken was there to “demonstrate literally, by our presence, that we have an enduring and ongoing commitment to Afghanistan.”
…
I’m…not sure that one came to pass.

But perhaps Blinken’s worst prediction was from June where he said the US withdrawal wouldn’t lead to “some kind of immediate deterioration in the situation” that could happen “from a Friday to a Monday.”

CNN noted that President Biden declared last month, “The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.”

Then the network asked Blinken, “how did President Biden get this so...

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