You have to acknowledge the Taliban is the new ‘governing entity’ of Afghanistan, former US diplomat tells RT

 

16 Aug, 2021 17:15

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A member of Taliban stands outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, 

Afghanistan on August 16, 2021. © Reuters

The hastily evacuated US Embassy in Kabul is unlikely to stay vacant for long, retired US Army colonel and diplomat Ann Wright told RT, saying that Washington accepting the Taliban takeover would benefit the Afghan people.

The lightning takeover of Afghanistan and downfall of the Western-backed government has prompted the US to abandon its Kabul embassy, with a hasty and chaotic evacuation underway from the city’s airport. The massive multimillion-dollar facility, however, is unlikely to remain abandoned for too long, Wright, who helped to reopen the US mission after the 2001 invasion, told RT.

“I would anticipate that it’s going to be opened,” Wright said. “The Taliban is reaching out to the international community to say: your facilities will be safe, your diplomats will be safe, and I think it’s an outreach of the new administration.”

 

Given the Taliban’s stance and the signals it has already sent out to the international community, the sooner the US and other countries accept the new reality, the better, Wright believes.

“You have to acknowledge that it’s going to be the governing entity in Afghanistan, that they want to have relationships around the world,” she added.

I anticipate the United States will reopen its embassy and conduct governmental relations with the new government of the Taliban.

Wright believes that acceptance of the Taliban takeover would ultimately be beneficial for the people of the country, who have endured decades of never-ending wars. Moreover, the sooner it happens, the more mutually beneficial the US-Afghan relationship could be, she says.

“I think [the US] can have a definite impact, but not a military impact. I hope that there are relations, so the people of Afghanistan can benefit from the huge amount of international aid the US does have for other countries,” she said.

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Over the past two weeks, the Taliban has mounted a countrywide offensive against the government troops. The group captured most of the provincial capitals, overtaking multiple locations without engaging in fighting. The offensive culminated on Sunday, when it entered Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.