The Fall of Afghanistan: A New Taliban Rule

Wakil Kohsar/AFP

On the 15th of August 2021, Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, fell to Taliban forces, marking the end of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the 20 year Afghan War.

That morning, the Taliban entered the city facing little resistance. One Taliban commander noted “[they] didn’t see a single soldier,” with their forces making it to the city center in the hour, and the presidential palace by the afternoon.

Many NATO aligned embassies, including the Canadian embassy, were evacuated and closed the same day.

Hours earlier, the President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, fled to Uzbekistan with his family and close aides, reportedly with large sums of cash. He later denied these claims. In many ways, his departure marked the collapse of the Afghan government. As of the 22nd of October, Ghani was in the United Arab Emirates, purportedly on humanitarian grounds.

The only place in the capital still under control by the Afghani and US governments at the time was Hamid Karzai International Airport, the main airport in Afghanistan. The US and its allies evacuated more than 123,000 officials, diplomatic staff, and refugees out of the country from the airport until the 30th of August, when NATO forces abandoned the airstrip.

The fall of Kabul followed the rapid collapse of the Afghan defense and the capture of the overwhelming majority of Afghanistan’s provinces by the Taliban since the withdrawal of US troops on the 1st of May. International observers were shocked at the fast pace of the Taliban’s advancements. A US intelligence report dated the 12th of August reasoned that the capture of Kabul would take 90 days from that point: it took three.

In total, it took three months and two weeks for a decades-long mission in Afghanistan to collapse, with a Taliban-led interim government now claiming control over the nation.

The Taliban previously ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, with their regime characterized by a severe and distorted interpretation of the Islamic religious rules, known as Sharia law.

Under the Taliban rule, their version of Sharia was instituted into law. Rules that were once open to interpretation became fundamental laws. Music, television, film, and most forms of art were banned. Although many Islamic scholars and scriptures support the idea of women having jobs and getting education, the regime banned women from working and going to university. Additionally, they emphasized the role of modesty from traditional Islamic rulings but took away peoples’ Islamic right to choose. The Taliban made it mandatory for men to wear what they considered modest clothing and for women to wear the niqab when out and be accompanied by a male family member.

To install fear in civilians, the regime held public executions and punishment for people that broke these laws.

However, nearly all these restrictions were lifted when in 2001, following 9/11, the US and its allies invaded Afghanistan as part of the Global War on Terror. This invasion toppled the Taliban government and installed the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Many characterized the collapse of the Afghan government as a devastating failure for the United States. Public opinion in America and around the world was turned against the war in Afghanistan, considering the $2 trillion spent and the thousands of lives lost. The rapid collapse of the government only worsened public perception, with many believing nothing was gained.

The US Military’s withdrawal plan involved strengthening the Afghan government and military forces. However, the Afghani troops were poorly trained and unprepared for the long-planned Taliban offensive. This led to their quick capitulation. Under the Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban, NATO troops had to leave by May 2021, not leaving enough time for proper training to occur.

Many were quick to blame US President Biden, however, the wide consensus among the upper echelons of the US government was that all administrations since 9/11 were at least partly to blame. Retired Lieutenant General Daniel Bolger stated in an article by Politico that “There’s more than enough blame to go around…Generals and admirals — and I include myself — senior diplomats, and top intelligence leaders got it wrong over and over from start to finish.”

The future of Afghanistan is very uncertain. While many analysts believe that the Taliban will be more lenient than their previous government, they likely will implement harsh laws and extreme segregation of genders. The corruption that plagued the US backed government will no longer be a problem, with laws being enforced much more severely.

Economically, Afghanistan is facing a financial crisis, with extremely low levels of international trade and very little amounts of money entering the country. The United Nations predicts 95 per cent of Afghans will go hungry and 97 per cent may fall below the poverty line.

Only time can tell the true consequences of the Afghan War and the effects of the new Taliban government.