Eurasia Review
After 20 years of war and spending a whopping amount of money, the Afghan government collapsed.
There are two basic questions about the recent developments in Afghanistan. First, why did the United States withdraw its forces without informing its allies; and second, how could the Taliban capture 90 percent of Afghanistan in a matter of days?
The first question was answered by Robert Ryan in a Clubhouse room with a group of his former friends. Ryan, a CIA agent who was on a mission in Afghanistan for many years, revealed that Khalilzad’s agreement with the Taliban was actually designed to close the US case in the International Criminal Court. The United States was under intense pressure from the court and went out of its way to obstruct the legal proceeding.
Thus, the two thousand billion dollars global coalition war funded by NATO members came to a dramatic end. The United States and its allies’ military presence continued for 20 years without any international protest. It was meant to fight terrorism, build a democratic government and nation in Afghanistan, and contain China, India, Iran, and Russia forever. However, not only did this war not achieve its goals but also, to the astonishment of the whole world, legitimized the Taliban and turned bad terrorism into a good one.
Concerning the second question, what really shocked the media and experts all around the world was how the Taliban could defeat trained Afghan government forces without central command and modern warfare tactics in a matter of days. Obviously, US troops’ withdrawal paved the way for the collapse of Ashraf Ghani’s government and the Taliban’s emergence, and the plunder of the multibillion-dollar US weapons left in Afghanistan.
But in fact, a good part of the Taliban’s success stems from a series of ‘shadow’ judicial systems that were launched 20 years ago throughout the country and are very popular with people. Due to the corruption and inefficiency of the government judiciary system, people have been going to these courts to resolve disputes over water, land, and criminal cases. Unlike corrupt government courts in Afghanistan, Taliban judges rule in less than a few hours without receiving a bribe based on sharia law. These courts are an important source of power and legitimacy for the Taliban among Afghans.
In addition, the Taliban set up a local intelligence-gathering system alongside these courts that collected intelligence about the weakness and abuse of power of local officials and commanders. Within a few days after the US withdrawal, the Taliban simply bought the corrupt officials and conquered Afghanistan. It is now enforcing its own laws and regulations which are accepted by most people in the occupied cities.
Usually, when the armed opposition of the government and the nation reach the cities from outside, people do not welcome them. But in Afghanistan, only a small number of people fled to Kabul or the borders after the conquest of each province by the Taliban. Even Ismail Khan, one of the legendary commanders during the guerrilla war with the former communist government of Afghanistan, did not leave Herat and told Taliban commanders after his capture that he would accept the Taliban if they treat people kindly. The current situation has forced all local officials to take the lead in cooperating with the Taliba…
