Impact of the Afghanistan war

 

   Who is the Taliban fighting

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."

 

Impact of the Afghanistan war

NATO has accused China of raising the issue and expressed concern over China's growing military might