Link to Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/9/us-taliban-to-hold-first-talks-since-afghanistan-withdrawal
In the Qatari capital of Doha, both the United States and Taliban Officials have taken the first steps into establishing mutually beneficial relations in the wake of the US abandonment of its military operations in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban, now at the helm of the entirety of Afghan government, have been facing a colossal humanitarian and human rights crisis on the horizon as the country, already highly dependent on international humanitarian support for around 18.4 million Afghans, sustains even more problems from the displacement of more than 500,000 Afghans by the US withdrawal and the extended effects of the pandemic. There have also been three cases of religious terrorism recognized by the UN within this past week, the last of which which took place on October 8th in Kunduz where a suicide bomber attacked a mosque with a congregation of over 300 at prayer. 100 of the victims were killed or wounded with the number still rising. Consequently, the agenda of the Taliban at the talks in Doha is largely concerned with sorely needed US humanitarian aid, including COVID-19 vaccines, as well as a request that the US dissolve its economic ban on the central bank of Afghanistan. The US aim in the meeting is to evacuate US citizens and Afghan refugees still left behind from the original US departure and for the transitional Taliban government to allow progress in women’s rights and freedoms as it moves forward.
This situation reminds me of the present struggle in Hong Kong, where a strong British presence and influence over the island created a people that lived differently and separately from the rest of China, similar to the way the war isolated eastern Afghanistan from the west. To me, this is a painful regression of women’s rights in the Middle East, especially for the women that had lived in the US controlled parts of Afghanistan and enjoyed new freedoms as a subset of American lifestyle and values. All the people that had accustomed themselves to these changes have now had the rug completely swept out from under them. I think, sadly, it will take many more years to gain back just the smallest modicum of the ground that had been gained in human rights, as change without pressure from outside forces is virtually beyond the realm of possibility if the current situation continues. Beyond Afghanistan, the outcome of these talks will shape the evolving dynamic in the Middle East and human rights as a collective will likely fall into decline with the rise of the Taliban to power over all of Afghanistan. From a United States standpoint, it will mean yet another country with an opposing world view that will be out of the reach of democratic influence from the US.
These talks are a prime example of how two countries can set aside their national interest because of the forceful need for common good cooperation. The United States and the Taliban are polar to each other in terms of ideological standpoints and have just come out of a 19 year war, yet they have come together to negotiate because of the power that each side holds over the other. On both sides there is leverage, through America’s ability to deal with the Afghan humanitarian and terrorism crises and through the Taliban’s control over many US citizens, refugees, and the direction of Afghanistan’s new government. Thus, there was only one choice without conflict for the US and Afghanistan and the choice was to begin relations with these talks.