Hillary Clinton video predicting Afghanistan chaos goes viral

Former Secretary of State called it ‘a wicked problem’ in May

A video of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warning of the “huge consequences” of a US withdrawal from Afghanistan has gone viral.

Chaos has unfolded in the country’s capital Kabul following the collapse of the government and the takeover by Taliban forces.

Seven people were killed at  the city’s airports as thousands of Afghans stormed the runways at Kabul International Airport, with people clinging to the fuselage of a US military plane as it taxied.

President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday and just hours later Taliban leaders took control of the presidential palace.

Ms Clinton warned of the possibility of the Taliban seizing control of the country again in a May interview with CNN.

“This is what we call a wicked problem,” Mrs Clinton told the news network in the spring.

“There are consequences both foreseen and unintended of staying and of leaving.

Ms Clinton, like Joe Biden, supported the US invasion of Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Mr Biden ordered US troops begin withdrawing from the country on 1 May with the goal for US forces to be completely gone by 11 September. Former president Donald Trump had pledged to remove all troops by 1 May had he been re-elected.

Ms Clinton was asked about Mr Biden’s decision in the May interview by CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.

She said that the “two huge consequences” of the withdrawal would be the resumption of activities by extremist groups, and an exodus of refugees into neighbouring countries.

She called for “immediate” action to extricate Afghan citizens who had helped the US military and civilian efforts in the country.

The US State Department has now evacuated all its embassy personnel to the airport, which is controlled by the US military.

The US has 2,500 troops stationed there, and a total of 6,000 will be there within the next few days, according to officials.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin authorised a third battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division brigade combat team that was headed to Kuwait to instead go to HKIA airport.

US intelligence had predicted that it would take weeks for the civilian government to fall to the Taliban, but in the end it took just days.