102
votes
Why are the Taliban winning against the Afghan army?
Corruption is rampant in Afghanistan, including in the military. They routinely take bribes and sell military equipment to the Taliban. Basically, the average ANA soldier is there just to collect a ...
- 7,593
80
votes
Accepted
Why are the Taliban winning against the Afghan army?
There are multiple reasons behind this (in addition to the corruption of the Afghanistan government).
Firstly, the Taliban is not some foreign movement that tried to gain a foothold in Afghanistan, it ...
- 1,060
79
votes
Why is China interested in supporting the Taliban?
One reason is that China is investing a significant amount in trying to build a land corridor through Pakistan to access ports in the Indian ocean as part of their belt and road initiative.
China is ...
- 7,468
76
votes
Why are the Taliban winning against the Afghan army?
This article in the Guardian today answers precisely this question:
It is a tale of two armies, one poorly equipped but highly motivated ideologically, and the other nominally well-equipped, but ...
- 16.2k
74
votes
Accepted
Why do the Taliban not try to conquer the Kabul Airport?
Here are two main reasons.
Firstly, Taliban wants to seek international recognition and not govern as a pariah. Gaining international recognition may potentially lead to the lifting of sanctions, ...
- 46.5k
71
votes
Why has 20 years of US occupation not removed the Taliban in Afghanistan?
TL;DR: The Taliban has lasted for so long because it has a durable organizational structure and safe haven in Pakistan. Undercutting the Taliban is more complicated than rooting out its network of ...
- 1,077
60
votes
Accepted
Why has 20 years of US occupation not removed the Taliban in Afghanistan?
The Taliban are not just a drug-running organization, not even predominantly a drug-running organization.
The US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan because the Afghan government at the time sheltered ...
- 106k
57
votes
Why do the Taliban not try to conquer the Kabul Airport?
That's literally the last thing a rational Taliban decision maker would want to do.
20 years after getting kicked out the Taliban are back in power. They did just fine oppressing Afghans from 1994 to ...
51
votes
Why is the media concerned about the sharia and the treatment of women in Afghanistan, but not in Saudi Arabia?
It's a little disingenuous to say they're not concerned about it, as much as it is to use 'the media' to describe a highly textured and diverse industrial sector.
That said, the status of women in ...
- 16.4k
50
votes
Why did the USA stay in Afghanistan for 20 years?
The question assumes that the US invaded Afghanistan solely to punish Al-Qaeda and its leader Osama Bin Laden. While this was indeed the main motivation, there are also some complex political reasons ...
- 16.2k
49
votes
Why did the US military leave Afghanistan in such a rush that they left so much equipment behind?
Some of the equipment was a bit more sophisticated than the "small arms" mentioned in the William Walker III's answer. I think that's also what the article in the question is referring to. ...
JJJ♦
- 38.9k
48
votes
What have the US and NATO done in Afghanistan for 20+ years?
TLDR:
It would be grossly unfair to think that the NATO and US military did not try their very best to win this. Many soldiers paid a very high price and are now justifiably very distressed. Pretty ...
44
votes
Why did the US military leave Afghanistan in such a rush that they left so much equipment behind?
Because they were ordered to. Having been deployed I can tell you it takes time to pack everything up and ship it out, especially when there is no sea port to move massive amounts of equipment. It's ...
- 2,339
42
votes
Why is China interested in supporting the Taliban?
Fact is, the new Taliban government is there to stay. Both the Russians and NATO took their shots at trying to keep Afghanistan under control. Both gave up eventually. Now the Chinese want to have ...
- 74.8k
39
votes
Does the Taliban government of Afghanistan have a written legal code?
This Q is pretty narrow in its title, but then asks more generally
My question is really whether it is just that - that local officials make whatever decisions they think most aligns with their ...
- 145k
37
votes
Accepted
To whom could one make a FoI request regarding the Afghanistan evacuation
Depending on the exact nature of the information you're after, the relevant body is most likely to be the Ministry of Defence, or failing that, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
...
CDJB♦
- 105k
37
votes
Why is the West concerned about the enforcement of certain attire on women in Afghanistan but unconcerned about similar European policy?
According to western moral values, the two examples are not similar.
There is the belief in many western countries that certain clothing is degrading for people who have to wear it, specifically the ...
- 106k
36
votes
Why is the media concerned about the sharia and the treatment of women in Afghanistan, but not in Saudi Arabia?
This question is starting out from a false assumption, that the media does not regularly cover, mostly in a negative fashion, events in Saudi Arabia concerning both sharia and its treatment of women.
...
34
votes
Accepted
What are the differences among ISIS, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban?
TLDR:
Persecute civilians locally
Attack civilians in Western countries
Military operations
Can be engageddiplomatically
Taliban
✔✔ (1994-2001)2021+: ???
allowed Al Qaeda operationsleading to 9/11
✔✔...
33
votes
Are there any reliable indications on popular sentiment in Afghanistan for/against the Taliban?
Are there any reliable indications on popular sentiment in Afghanistan for/against the Taliban?
The sentiment is largely against the Taliban. From Bloomberg, The World Told Afghan Women It Had Their ...
- 34.4k
31
votes
Accepted
What role does China play in Afghanistan today?
Between 2000-2017, China was not very active in Afghanistan. China did not contribute troops to fight the Taliban, though it did provide several hundred million dollars of foreign aid to the Afghan ...
- 1,077
31
votes
Why do the Taliban not try to conquer the Kabul Airport?
You implicitly assume that both:
The Taliban could successfully overrun the Kabul airport
The Taliban believe they could overrun the airport, to a high degree of confidence
The Taliban have excelled ...
- 469
29
votes
Accepted
What's the point of continuing not to recognize the Taliban government of Afghanistan?
Here's Recognition and the Taliban @ Brookings may not be a final answer, but it does have info that provides some insights:
During the Trump administration’s negotiations with the Taliban in Doha, ...
26
votes
Accepted
Is the US allowed to execute an airstrike on Afghan soil after withdrawal under the provisions of the agreement that enabled it?
(This answer is analyzing the import of the agreement referred to in the question, not international law, which is another aspect)
Pretty much. About the only hard commitment the Taliban got nailed ...
25
votes
Accepted
Is Taliban a terrorist organization in China's and the US's eyes?
There is no point in discussing whether an organisation is a terrorist group. The only possible answer that I can give is is it classified as a terrorist group. And since you tag "united-states&...
- 115k
25
votes
Accepted
Are there any reliable indications on popular sentiment in Afghanistan for/against the Taliban?
You can judge the answer by the reality on the ground.
As of right now [mo: 11AUG21],the only areas remaining under the control of the puppet regime are basically some districts near Kabul, plus the ...
- 1,172
25
votes
Why do the Taliban not try to conquer the Kabul Airport?
Really?
they could get revenge,
They don't need revenge, they need to rule (i.e. money and power)
they could catch prisoners/hostages,
Short-term benefit with long term risks.
they could "...
- 5,668
23
votes
Does the Taliban government of Afghanistan have a written legal code?
No, they don't have an official legal code yet. Yes, they have plans to create some kind of a legislative body and write laws after forming the government. Yes, they already have written statutes, but ...
- 3,593
21
votes
What have the US and NATO done in Afghanistan for 20+ years?
A scathing take, answering the question, or at least going to the origins of the protracted military action, can be found in this 20-year retrospective piece (and rant), entitled "Was There A ...
- 2,652
21
votes
Why did the US military leave Afghanistan in such a rush that they left so much equipment behind?
One would think that if the US military were to leave Afghanistan, they would surely take any equipment that might fall into the wrong hands...
One would be naive to think this.
Nearly every time the ...
- 16.4k
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