January 1, Internal memo warned Blinken of impending Taliban takeover

Secretary of State Antony Blinken received a confidential internal cable last month warning about the potential collapse of Afghanistan following the full withdrawal of US troops on Aug. 31.

Officials at the US embassy in Kabul sent a memo through the State Department’s confidential dissent channel on July 13 to warn Blinken that the Taliban was poised to take over the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“We appreciated the thoughts of the drafters, which reflected much of the thinking at the department and throughout the inter-agency. For example, the cable coincided with our launch of Operation Allies Refuge – the effort to bring SIV applicants to the United States,” a source familiar with the memo said. “We have consistently encouraged constructive use of the channel, which this was, and we conveyed that sentiment in our response

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• Internal State Department cable warned Blinken of pending Afghanistan collapse