President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all US troops has left other NATO countries, notably Britain, with little choice but to follow suit. Within hours of announcing the withdrawal, the Taliban were back in control of Kabul. The rapid reconquest of Afghanistan was a foreign policy disaster on par with Suez. But those who said there was no alternative offered the comforting assessment that the Taliban had changed during their time in exile. They were no longer the fundamentalist movement that hosted al-Qaeda terrorist training camps, but were more outgoing and tolerant, especially towards women. This has proven to be a self-serving balloon. Professionals, who had enjoyed educational freedoms offered since 2001 to gain qualifications, were suddenly sacked and told the men would give up their jobs. Thousands who could afford to do so have already left Afghanistan, the very people the country needs to flourish. It has been hit by new sanctions that have crippled the economy and development aid has been cut. Even the pledge that Afghanistan would not harbor terrorists proved fraudulent when al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul earlier this month. A year in it remains a night land.
