A victorious Taliban is inspiring a new generation of Islamic extremists

Jonathan Schanzer

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On May 15, 1989, the Soviet army withdrew from Afghanistan. The Soviets, who had been slugging it out for 10 years with Islamist fighters, finally threw in the towel. The withdrawal was immediately hailed as a significant victory by Afghanistan’s mujahideen.

The impact of the Soviet withdrawal was immediate. The Taliban soon emerged from the chaos of Afghanistan, forging an Islamist state. The nation became a safe haven for a number of extremist groups, include one forged by a mujahideen fighter named Osama bin Laden.

But the shockwaves were not limited to Afghanistan.

The Taliban marked the first-year anniversary of their takeover after the country’s western-backed government fled and the Afghan military crumbled.AP/Ebrahim Noroozi

A month later, a coup d’état brought to power a Muslim Brotherhood government in Sudan. Khartoum became a safe haven for terrorist groups around the world.

Nearby, Islamists organized themselves and secured electoral victories in Tunisia. Jordan experienced similar convulsions when the Islamic Action Front, a Muslim Brotherhood splinter faction, made significant electoral gains.

The Palestinian organization Hamas evolved alarmingly from a popular protest movement to a terrorist group dedicated to Israel’s destruction. A suicide bombing campaign soon followed. Meanwhile, violent protests and firebombing attacks inspired by an Iranian fatwa against author Salman Rushdie rocked Australia, Norway, India, France, Pakistan and the United States.Iran-backed Islamic Jihad launched 1,000 rockets on Israel this month.AP/Adel Hana

Could President Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan last year create a similar domino effect? Could the propaganda victory the Taliban achieved in 2021 encourage Islamic extremism in other nations just like it did 32 years ago?