JOHN O’DONNEL and RUPAM JAIN The Afghan central bank ran down most of its U.S. dollar cash reserves in the weeks before the Taliban took control of the country, according to an assessment prepared for Afghanistan's international donors, exacerbating the current economic crisis. The confidential, two-page brief, written early this month by senior international economic officials for institutions including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, said the country's severe cash shortage began before the Taliban took control of Kabul. It criticised how the central bank's former leadership handled the crisis in the months before the Taliban's conquest, including decisions…