The foreign minister of the new Taliban-led Afghan government, formally known as the Islamic Emirate, said Monday that Afghanistan wants to have good relations with countries around the world.
“Afghanistan has sent the message of positive relationship with the whole world. We do not want to interfere in any country’s internal affairs, and we expect the same from other countries to not interfere in our internal affairs,” Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said at an event in Doha.
Muttaqi said Afghanistan’s geographic location means the country could serve as an important economic crossroads in the region. “The Islamic Emirate is determined to fully utilize the capacity of Afghanistan being a crossroad and be part of an economic revolution,” he said.
The foreign minister also discussed the final weeks of the US presence in Afghanistan and said former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s sudden departure from the country is why the Taliban entered Kabul. “We wanted to enter Kabul through negotiations, but the fact the ex-president and the security organs fled, Kabul faced the gap of power, there was a vacuum, so we were asked to enter Kabul and ensure the security of the city,” he said.
Muttaqu and other Taliban officials were in Doha for two days of talks with the US that were held on Saturday and Sunday. Washington made it clear that the meetings were not linked to potential US recognition of the Taliban-led government, and the talks were focused on humanitarian aid and safe passage for US citizens and allies.
Good relations with nations, but not for women and girls.
Some like the burquas.
Heck, we’re unsex masking in the West now.
The best way to help the Afghan people is to recognize the objective reality that the Taliban is indeed the government of Afghanistan and establish and broaden the inflow of humanitarian aid (which is a step that seems to have been partially taken in Doha last week). You don’t have to like them or ascribe to them good will. The fact is that what they want is to be in power in Afghanistan, which is why Taliban fighters and US soldiers were so close to each other they were killed in the same bombing. The former had likely been threatened with death if they provoked or attacked American soldiers. They want us OUT. They have a practical political interest in actually keeping out any terrorist groups that would attack the West, possibly spurring a reinvasion if the gods of fate are feeling really dickish. Will they succeed is another question. But much like before and like with Iran in Iraq, it doesn’t matter if the US and Taliban are not actively allying, they will be the de facto ground force co-belligerent to USAF air power, keeping their chatter open for the other to hear, for the US to know where not to bomb, and for the Taliban to know where not to be.
“They have a practical political interest in actually keeping out any terrorist groups that would attack the West”
Not that any terrorist group needs a country to plan an attack on the west. I had to say that. That bullsh*t is what got us into Afghanistan in the first place.
Not to nitpick, but the more honest subtitle is
“The U.S. is holding out on recognizing the new Afghan governent [until the Afghan opium trade is affirmed sacred and protected for NATO and the CIA].