A Taliban spokesman said Monday that the Taliban are ready to normalize relations with many countries, including those that “invaded” Afghanistan, a signal that the group wants to open up with the West.
Spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told Arabi21 that the “Taliban movement in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” would “build relations with all neighboring countries, including Pakistan, within the framework of mutual respect, while taking into account national interest.”
The Taliban has been trying to ease concerns over their treatment of women. During previous Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, women were not allowed to work or go to school, something Taliban officials say will be allowed under the new government while maintaining that the law will be guided by Islam. Ahmadi said, “Women will be granted all the rights according to Islamic Sharia.”
Discussing the changes the Taliban have made since 2001, Ahmadi mentioned the “amnesty” that was granted to people who worked under the now-defunct US-backed Afghan government. “The first and most important change for Taliban is the change that brought peace and general amnesty to the country, which is the establishment and activation of institutions and addressing people’s problems smoothly,” he said.
As the Taliban is seeking international recognition, it is promising that groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS will not gain a foothold in Afghanistan. Mohammed Naeem, another Taliban spokesman, told Saudi TV on Sunday that al-Qaeda is “not present in Afghanistan in the first place.”
US officials have been hyping the threat of ISIS-K, the Central Asian ISIS affiliate. The Taliban is a sworn enemy of ISIS-K and has fought against them for years. The US has helped the Taliban fight ISIS, even providing them with air support. Last year, a report from The Washington Post revealed that a unit of the Joint Special Operation Command (JSOC) was operating drones in support of the Taliban. The JSOC unit called themselves the “Taliban Air Force.”
With Iran? That I doubt.
Actually, the “New” Taliban have seemingly abandoned Sunni exclusivism and Pashtun nationalism. They’ve reached out even to Hazara, which, from the point of view of the “Old” Taliban, would be like the KKK reaching out to minorities and even making a black Jew a Grand Lizard or something.
True they even made a hajara guy governor onetime. Just think of the incredulous foot soldier who comes in to find a guy who is a supposed heretic is the top man in charge 🙃
Here is an article that looks at the latest report from SIGAR which very clearly outlines the mistakes that Washington made in Afghanistan:
https://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2021/08/can-washington-learn-from-its-mistakes.html
It will be interesting to see if Washington learns from the mistakes that it made when it tried its nation-building exercise in Afghanistan.
Yep keep your friends close keep your enamies closer , sounds like a good plan to me , the Americans are desperate to get their hands on Afghanistans natural resources , so beware of your enamies bearing gifts.
Will the principles and values of the United States Government Change?
Will the principles and values of the United States political class change?
Will the principles and values of the United States power elite change?
Will the principles and values of the Military, Industrial, Surveillance, Security State change?
Will the principles and values of the citizens of the United States change?
History repeats because man’s passions simply do not change.
Democritus, circa 460 – 370 B.C.E.
After a short time, on to Syria, oops!, already there. On to Lebanon, Iran and … China?, Russia? … options, options, options … so many options.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.”
Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, p.146
dennis hanna
If the Taliban wants to survive it has to change.(Period). China sees great potential in Afghanistan for its B&R Initiative. Beijing wants to extend its fast railways connections to Eurasia through Afghanistan to Iran as well and further west-wards to Sirya and Lebanon with access to the Mediterranean . This will open up these countries to rebuild its infrastructure and trade with bordering countries. Afghanistan has a lot of raw materials, such as iron ore, copper etc. There are however conditions. Taliban has to break with ETIM the East Turkistan Islamic Movement a terrorist organisation (recently taken of the terrorist list by the US) that was creating mayhem among the Uighurs in Xinjiang province. China is supported by Russia, both are secular societies that won’t tolerate religious (Islamic) intolerance.