POLITICO cited three U.S. and congressional officials as sources detailing the move which was “designed to expedite the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan”.

The move is said to have “angered lawmakers and military officials.”, POLITICO reports. 

“Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” said one defense official to POLITICO.

“It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean.”

Reportedly, officials in the Biden administration argued that providing the names to the Taliban was the best way to keep Americans and Afghans safe and prevent a shooting war between Taliban fights and U.S. troops at the airport in Kabul. 

POLITICO reports that, 

“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. Those names included Afghans who served alongside the U.S. during the 20-year war and sought special immigrant visas to America. U.S. citizens, dual nationals and lawful permanent residents were also listed.”

“They had to do that because of the security situation the White House created by allowing the Taliban to control everything outside the airport,” one U.S. official told POLITICO.

This is a troubling revelation considering the Taliban has reportedly been going door-to-door searching for Afghan interpreters and others who helped the U.S. and other Western forces.

Read the full report from POLITICO here.