Not sure. He had been taking a lot of heat for permitting a free for all at the southron border but not allowing any of our Afghani allies in at all. So he was kind of playing out the Kobyashi Maru right there, the no win scenario. (Star Trek reference).
Afghanistan
The Mula 'Abd al-'Ani Brader, No. 2 in the Taliban, recently entered the presidential palace in Kabul, with American approval and mediation by Qatar, as part of negotiations on an orderly transfer of power to the Taliban.