One year has passed since the chaotic withdrawal of the American military and the collapse of the Afghan government. During this time, the Taliban has proven they were much more apt to conquer the country than govern it, as economic collapse and food shortages have brought yet another chapter of hardship and suffering for the Afghan people. Though the Taliban’s return to power was forged through bloodshed, hoping to get international recognition, the group promised less oppression toward women, less brutality toward minority groups, and a commitment to keeping Afghanistan from becoming a terrorist haven. According to experts and local observers, the Taliban thus far has failed on all these promises. Women over the age of 12 are banned from education, protestors have been crushed through violence, and al-Qaeda is operating in the country.
The assassination of al-Qaeda’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, supported the Biden Administration’s claim that the United States could maintain counter-terrorist operations without boots on the ground. At the same time, Zawahiri’s presence in the center of Kabul represents an ominous sign and further emphasizes the assertion by U.S. intelligence that the Taliban can’t be trusted not to let al-Qaeda return to the country. Each day, Afghanistan heads toward an intensifying humanitarian catastrophe; a fertile field in which radical organizations can grow. Thus, the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan promises to remain an issue for U.S. foreign policy, both strategically as well as out of concern for the people of the country.
Questions and Background
- Was the Biden Administration right to withdraw from Afghanistan?
- What are the short-term and long-term implications of a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan for U.S. national security interests?
- Can the United States wage successful counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan without boots on the ground?
- The U.S. government has refused to release the $7 billion in frozen Afghan central bank assets. Is it wrong to keep this money frozen, or is it an important tool to get Taliban compliance?
- What moral and material responsibilities does the United States have toward the Afghan people?
Can the Taliban Be Contained?
Saad Mohseni. Foreign Affairs. August 16, 2022.
Zawahiri Killing Exposes Biden’s Foreign-Policy Contradictions
Ilan Berman. National Review. August 5, 2022.
LISTEN: After the Fall: Lessons Learned and Unlearned in Afghanistan
Bradley Bowman, LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster, Clifford D. May, Bill Roggio. Foundation for Defense of Democracies, August 19, 2022.
WATCH: Afghanistan One Year Later: Consequences & Responsibilities
Daniel F. Runde, Bill O’Keefe, LTG (Ret.) Michael K. Nagata, Rep. Peter Meijer. Center for Strategic & International Studies. August 15, 2022.
WATCH: Wesley Morgan’s ‘The Hardest Place: Adrift in Afghanistan’s Pech Valley’
Gabriel Scheinmann, Wesley Morgan, Gen. Joseph L. Votel, AHS Virtual Book Talk, June 28, 2021.