Antony Blinken Admits Diplomats Sent Cable Warning of Potential Swift Taliban Takeover … He Ignored It

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted reading an internal cable from about two dozen diplomats warning of the potential swift Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as U.S. troops were pulling out in mid-July, about a month before the jihadi group forced the collapse of the country’s government and military Sunday.

The group of U.S. diplomats reportedly sent the confidential cable, signed on July 13, through a so-called dissent channel and offered recommendations on ways to deal with the situation and accelerate an evacuation.

CNN learned from two unnamed State Department officials that “the diplomats decided to send the dissent memo because they felt previous warnings and recommendations they had made were being ignored and labeled alarmist.”

Blinken admitted reading the internal cable cautioning Kabul could fall when he and Gen. Mike Milley, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, were briefing lawmakers Friday about the post-Taliban takeover chaos engulfing the country.

In response to Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) asking, “when he read the dissent cable that said the Taliban would take over Afghanistan quicker, Blinken said he read it in mid-July,” Punch Bowl News Founder Jake Sherman wrote on Twitter. – READ MORE

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