WE CAN ALWAYS LEAVE THEM AT THE ALTAR:

Dramatic changes in Afghanistan have surprised the Biden Administration and almost everyone else. According to some reports, the Taliban themselves did not expect to take over the country so fast. What is more surprising is that the Taliban are restraining them from taking revenge for the treatment that they had received when the US invaded the country and ousted them from power. The US did not treat Taliban prisoners kindly either. Yet the Taliban do not seem to be taking revenge. One glaring example of this is the treatment they gave to Ismail Khan, the former governor of Herat and a cabinet member in the Karzai Administration and known for his anti-Taliban stance. Some reports even suggested that they had dispatched him to negotiate a peace deal with the Kabul government. According to some latest reports, the Taliban leaders are meeting the former government leaders including Hamid Karzai and other minority leaders about forming the next government.

It is also significant that in spite of capturing huge arms and ammunition they are not attacking or interfering in US evacuation efforts. All these look like goodwill gestures on the part of the militant group. Therefore, in our view, it will be wise to engage more seriously with the Taliban to discuss the future of the country and secure US interests.

Why should the US talk to the Taliban? The answer is simple. We have made mistakes: we have misjudged the situation in Afghanistan, we were at war with the truth and the stakes are very high. Therefore, we need to develop the courage the face reality.

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