Insider

Former Afghan Advisor: Biden’s Withdrawal Was the ‘Tipping Point’ for Afghanistan

Hamdullah Mohib, former Afghan national security advisor, spoke about what went wrong, who’s to blame, and what lies in store for his country.

ODonnell-Lynne-foreign-policy-columnist
ODonnell-Lynne-foreign-policy-columnist
Lynne O’Donnell
By , a columnist at Foreign Policy and an Australian journalist and author.
Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan's then newly appointed national security advisor, attends a ceremony in Kabul in 2018.
Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan's then newly appointed national security advisor, attends a ceremony in Kabul in 2018.
Hamdullah Mohib, then-Afghanistan’s newly appointed national security advisor, listens to national songs during the change-of-command ceremony at Resolute Support Mission headquarters in Kabul on Sept. 2, 2018. Massoud Hossaini for Foreign Policy

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed on Aug. 15, 2021, after senior leaders of the government, supported by the Western alliance for 20 years, climbed aboard helicopters and fled ahead of the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul.

Lynne O’Donnell is a columnist at Foreign Policy and an Australian journalist and author. She was the Afghanistan bureau chief for Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press between 2009 and 2017.

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