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Night Falls on Afghanistan: Again

(Asharq Al-Awsat-UK) Amir Taheri - Will the Taliban succeed in building a state in Afghanistan or will Afghanistan become another ungoverned territory in West Asia's arch of instability? The Taliban did not win on any battlefield because, outside a few locations such as Kandahar and Lashkargah, Afghan security forces either surrendered or ran away. Like the last time when they emerged as top dog in Afghanistan, the Taliban used a mixture of bribes, promises of safety and appeals to Pushtun tribal affinities to persuade army and police chiefs to sheath their swords. More importantly, most Afghans saw no reason to fight and possibly die for the U.S.-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The regime's corruption, incompetence, tribalism and cowardice prevented the shaping of a will to resist. Afghanistan has over 18,000 villages, where 76% of the population live, which have never really been governed by anyone. Among the urban population, numerous opinion polls over the past two decades show Taliban support hovering below 14%. This is why even in Pushtun-majority towns and cities, no one turned up to welcome the Taliban forces. Women dusted off their old burqas or stayed home while men started to grow longer beards. Yet in urban areas, millions of Afghans have had a taste of a different way of life and are unlikely to put the clock back 1,400 years as the Taliban demand. The writer was editor-in-chief of the Iranian daily Kayhan.
2021-08-23 00:00:00
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