Luke Coffey and Jeff Smith
In August 2021, as the Biden Administration was pursuing a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban seized control of the country with a rapid military offensive. Now, the Islamist fundamentalist group is seeking international recognition. At the time of this writing, no country in the world has formally recognized the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan—although China, Iran, Pakistan, and Russia have signaled varying degrees of openness to doing so.
The Taliban has also been pressing the United Nations to receive a new representative from Afghanistan to replace the existing one. The “caretaker” Taliban government is comprised of hardliners and officially designated terrorists. The U.S. should lead international efforts to block any recognition of the Taliban as the formal government of Afghanistan.
A Terrorist Government
The Taliban announced its so-called caretaker government in September. One thing is clear: The “new Taliban” looks a lot like the old Taliban. Not only were no women appointed, the country’s women are once again living in fear, and forced to cover up to Taliban satisfaction when outdoors. While a small number of ethnic minorities received a few relatively junior positions, no leaders of Afghanistan’s significant minority groups—the Uzbeks, the Tajiks, and the Hazaras—were included.
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