U.S. officials provided Taliban with names of Americans, Afghan allies to evacuate

The issue came up during a classified briefing on Capitol Hill earlier this week, which turned contentious after top Biden administration officials defended their close coordination with the Taliban.

Biden officials contended that it was the best way to keep Americans and Afghans safe and prevent a shooting war between Taliban fighters and the thousands of U.S. troops stationed at the airport.

After the fall of Kabul, in the earliest days of the evacuation, the joint U.S. military and diplomatic coordination team at the airport provided the Taliban with a list of people the U.S. aimed to evacuate.

The list fed to the Taliban didn't include those Afghan names.

Still, that U.S. officials handed over a list of Afghan allies and American citizens and residents shows the extent to which they outsourced security of the airport's outer perimeter to the Taliban.

The Taliban has gone door-to-door in search of Afghan interpreters and others who helped U.S. and Western forces.

Peter Vasely, head of U.S. forces on the ground in Afghanistan, have referred to the Taliban as "Our Afghan partners," according to two defense officials.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/26/us-officials-provided-taliban-with-names-of-americans-afghan-allies-to-evacuate-506957