Chinese analyst: The Taliban have not changed enough.
A professor at the Institute of Middle East Studies at Shanghai University of International Studies wrote in an article that the United States launched a war in Afghanistan in 2001 under the pretext of eliminating the Taliban, but today, two decades later, Afghanistan has never been stable.
“Fan Hongda” wrote in an article:
The United States launched a war in 2001 to overthrow the Taliban. US troops have been stationed in Afghanistan for 20 years since the war began, and despite Washington’s help from the Afghan government and allied forces in the 20-year war, Afghanistan has never been stable after two decades of US war. It has not arrived.
The Biden government announced on April 14, 2021 (April 25, 1400) that it would complete the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan by September 11. As US forces withdraw, Afghan government forces come under heavy Taliban attacks and the security situation in the country deteriorates rapidly.
If the current internal conflict escalates further, Afghanistan is likely to become a hotbed of terrorism or extremism. The war waged by the United States and the subsequent occupation and now the irresponsible withdrawal have not only caused devastating catastrophes in Afghanistan, but also posed security threats to the border areas of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries.
China and Iran are actively helping Afghanistan achieve peace and stability because of international moral considerations and its own interests. Although Russia does not share a border with Afghanistan, it has obligations under military agreements with Afghanistan’s other neighbors (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan); Therefore, Russia is also very concerned about the situation in Afghanistan.
Currently, Taliban-controlled areas are on the rise, and the group controls most of the border crossings with several neighboring countries. The Taliban has once again become a key force that cannot be ignored in Afghanistan’s political arena. Without the participation of the Taliban, any peace plan can hardly succeed in Afghanistan. Afghanistan and the international community need to realize this.
The Taliban experienced failure in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. At the time, the Taliban regime was recognized by only three countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. However, in the past few years, countries such as the United States, Russia, Iran and China have held talks with the Taliban. Many high-ranking Taliban officials have also lived in Qatar for some time. This shows that these countries have to some extent recognized the position of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The Taliban has changed from 20 years ago. For example, it has been actively involved with the United States, Russia, China, Iran, and other countries, indicating that the Taliban are increasingly paying attention to their international reputation. After all, the success of a political force rejected by the international community is very difficult today. The Taliban, which has suffered a painful defeat in governance, can understand this.
