![]() ![]() approach to the Taliban has been cautious engagement, while refusing to grant recognition, unfreeze assets or lift sanctions. Efforts on both these fronts necessitated some pragmatic cooperation with the Taliban.īroadly characterized, the U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who wished to depart, alongside the relocation and resettlement of tens of thousands of Afghans and dual citizens in the United States and the spiraling humanitarian and economic crises that put roughly 20 million Afghans at risk of starvation. policy attention on Afghanistan for the past year has been dominated by two issues: the evacuation of remaining U.S. engagement with the Taliban regime evolved since the Taliban took power? Like other donors, the United States seeks to put in place measures to ensure as little aid as possible reaches the Taliban. Nevertheless, development aid can help restore livelihoods and support delivery of health care and education. Further, aid is unlikely to induce changes in Taliban behavior or governance. The strongest lever is diplomatic recognition, and its power relies on the international community - particularly the United States, Russia, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan’s other neighbors - maintaining consensus on denying or granting recognition. Today, the United States’ main sources of leverage with the Taliban government comprise of: diplomatic recognition (which no country has yet granted) and a seat at the U.N., bilateral and multilateral diplomatic engagement, sanctions relief, unfreezing Afghan Central Bank assets held in New York, development aid and military action (against the Taliban themselves, or terrorists inside Afghanistan).Īll these levers are politically and logistically difficult to employ. And the United States failed to seriously pursue peace negotiations until it was too late, when the Taliban had the battlefield advantage and perceived Washington’s eagerness to withdrawal troops, and thus had little incentive to compromise politically. policies created an extraordinarily aid-dependent Afghan state. The United States bears some responsibility for the current situation. This dilemma, however, did not emerge in a vacuum. goals, and because the United States has limited leverage vis-à-vis the repressive regime. interests in the country even more difficult than before - because the Taliban’s ideology and many of its policies are inimical to U.S. Taliban control of Afghanistan makes securing U.S. interests in Afghanistan remain largely the same as they were before the AugTaliban takeover: to prevent terrorist groups in Afghanistan from threatening the United States or our allies to maintain regional stability to encourage inclusive governance and the protection of human rights, particularly the rights of women, girls and minorities and to address the humanitarian crisis - which deteriorated sharply after the takeover due to the cutoff of foreign aid - and promote economic recovery. What interests does the United States still have in Afghanistan and what tools does it have to pursue those interests? ![]() policy in Afghanistan and how Washington can advance its interests in Afghanistan over the long haul. engagement with the Taliban has evolved over the last year, how the killing of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul could impact U.S. Taliban officials declare victory at the Kabul airport on Aug. There has been little indication that the Taliban are interested in following through on the latter two issues and the recent killing of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul demonstrates that the regime has not met its pledge to cut ties with transnational terrorist groups. engagement with the Taliban has been limited and Washington has premised normalizing relations on the Taliban upholding counterterrorism commitments, respecting human rights and establishing an inclusive political system. citizens and partners in the country and addressing the country’s deteriorating humanitarian and economic crises. policy on Afghanistan has focused on evacuating remaining U.S. A year ago this month, the United States’ longest war ended, punctuated by the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Kabul.
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