Let's talk about the Taliban. He has been fighting
the government and its allies in Afghanistan for 20 years. Today they
look stronger than ever. And now the Americans are going home.
Biden wants to leave by September 11 and that could
strengthen the Taliban. So who exactly are the Taliban? How is it that
they have so much power? And why are people worried that they will take over
Afghanistan?
To understand
the Taliban, you need to know what happened in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Afghan
guerrillas fought the Mujahedeen against the Soviet occupation
for nine years. He even received money and weapons from the CIA.
The Soviets
withdrew in 1989 and the next few years were marked by chaos. By 1992, tribal
leaders were facing a full-blown civil war to fight for power. Two years
later, the Taliban militia began to gain traction. Many of its members were
educated in conservative religious schools across the border in Afghanistan
and Pakistan, and some fought as mujahideen. And they had their own plans
for the country.
By 1996, the
Taliban had seized the capital. He declared Afghanistan an Islamic Emirate and
began to impose his strict interpretation of Islamic law. Then came Nine
Eleven. The United States was after al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden,
who went into hiding in Afghanistan with the help of the Taliban. The Taliban
said they wanted proof that he was behind the attack.
And when they refused to hand him over immediately,
the Americans attacked. Within months, the Taliban were ousted and Afghanistan
got a new interim government. Three years later, it received a new constitution
and Hamid Karzai was elected president.
While this was going on, the Taliban regrouped. They
wanted the foreigners to go out and they wanted to go back. This was followed
by years of devastating conflict - and still continues. More than 40,000
Afghans were killed. At least 64,000 Afghan soldiers and police and more than
3,500 international troops were killed. The United States alone has spent about
1 1 trillion on war and reconstruction projects. And despite all this,
Afghanistan is still deeply unstable and the Taliban is still a force to be
reckoned with.
Today, the Taliban have about 85,000 full-time
fighters and training camps across the country. And the area under their
control is growing. The Taliban now control one-fifth of Afghan districts. The
upper half of the districts are considered competitive, meaning the Taliban
have a strong presence in most of them. And they control parts of some major
highways. They are also organized.
The Taliban
leader is Habibullah Akhundzada. He heads the council, which oversees
about a dozen commissions in charge of finance, health, and education. Below
them are local officials in charge of daily services. So in a way, the Taliban
have established a parallel state. They even run their own courts, which may be
very popular among Afghans.
All this control has made them rich too. According to
Taliban members and a UN committee, they make 1.15 billion a year. He always made a lot of money by growing
opium poppies and the drug business. But they have also found other ways to
generate revenue.
Last year, he made millions from mining and commercial
minerals, and even methamphetamine. They have their own system of tax collection
and also receive money from abroad - although this has been denied by dubious
sources such as Pakistan and Iran.
Over the years, the international community has tried
to negotiate with the Taliban and the Afghan government - or at least talk
about dialogue. There was even a meeting in the Maldives on one occasion. And
during a brief Eid battle in 2018, the Taliban and Afghan soldiers were seen
mingling in Kabul - even praying together. But overall peace talks have not
been very successful.
Who is the Taliban fighting
Now the question is, what will happen when about
10,000 American and NATO troops leave? Will the Afghan government survive? And
what will the Taliban do? Well, the prospects for peace and stability are not
looking good. As peace talks continue, about 1,800 Afghan civilians have been
killed or injured in the first three months of this year. That's 30% more than
last year. There has also been a wave of killings that people blame on the
Taliban.
Afghans are
already asking themselves what life would be like if the Taliban regained
power. Will they tamper with the constitution that protects basic human rights?
In a New York Times review, the Taliban sought to clear things up by saying
they wanted an "Islamic system."
Where Islam
includes women's rights. From the right to education to the right to work.
"And now there are some places under Taliban control where girls go to
school. But not everywhere. So, how much support does the Taliban have? Well,
according to a public opinion poll in 2019, 85% of the people." No
sympathy for them. "People can do it."
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