The shock wave of the Taliban's return to Kabul
Audio 02:06
Some of the new faces of Afghanistan, after the capture of the presidential palace in Kabul by the Taliban on August 15, 2021. AP - Zabi Karimi
By: Cyril Payen
5 mins
The conquest of power in Afghanistan by the Taliban, after a lightning offensive and the fall of Kabul without a fight, seems to take everyone by surprise.
The Taliban have taken over the reins of the country, twenty years after being driven out, and are stepping up gestures of appeasement.
So have they changed?
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It is enough to observe the reaction of the Afghans, the main ones concerned. Because past the astonishment at the return of the Taliban as victorious and especially the pathetic spectacle of the formidable rout of their army supposed to defend their cities and their regions then, coup de grace, the flight of President Ashraf Ghani, hundreds of thousands of Afghans did not wait and threw themselves headlong into the exodus to the Pakistani, Tajik, Iranian borders or even in front of the surrounding walls of the Kabul airport, the terrible images of which have been around the world. Because the majority in Afghanistan is convinced that the Taliban 2021 vintage has little difference from the 1996 vintage where they reigned in terror, despite appearances.
But yet, are we talking about a general amnesty, a return to peace and even an “
inclusive government
”?
Less than a week after their triumphant arrival in the streets of Kabul, incidents are multiplying across the country.
Kabul's military airport, secured by the US Marines during the evacuation airlift, is surrounded by increasingly aggressive Taliban fighters facing the thousands of families gathered at the North Gate.
A United Nations security report reveals that militiamen are now going door-to-door, list in hand, to hunt down activists or former UN or embassy collaborators ... While waiting for the imminent return of their spiritual guide Mullah Hakundzada, the Taliban know they have defeated the world's first army and are in full force.
Also, the promises of inclusiveness and amnesty today only bind those to whom they made them.
International community in dispersed order
Between rout and anarchic evacuation but also wait-and-see or even commitment, the international community and the countries of the region are advancing in dispersed order against the new Taliban.
Twenty years ago, only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates recognized the Taliban regime.
The real change today comes from the look, pragmatic or cynical, that the foreigner has on the future Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
In addition to their colossal ideological breakthrough, the Taliban have in their hands a treasure of natural resources which attracts all the envy.
And friendships, from Moscow to Tehran, via Ankara and of course Beijing, which would see there too, one more opportunity to overturn the traditional codes of a globalization dominated by the West.
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Afghanistan
Taliban