Taliban on standby

Joe Biden has set out in his first few months in the White House to differentiate his administration from that of Donald Trump. But on one policy they are in agreement: US troops are to leave Afghanistan. The date chosen for their departure – September 11 – is deliberately symbolic as the 20th anniversary of the attacks on America that drew the country into its longest conflict.

That began as a Nato action, the first time Article 5 of the treaty under which all members come to the aid of a nation under attack was invoked. Its initial purpose was to deny the al-qaeda terrorist group a base from which to launch similar raids. However, it morphed into a war to keep the Taliban out of power in Afghanistan and ended up with the Pashtun majority regarding the Western presence as tantamount to an occupation.

Vast amounts of blood and treasure have been expended in what looks to have been a forlorn attempt to hold the Taliban back through programmes of investment and education. A young, educated middle class had started to take root in Kabul, but these Afghans fear the worst and are leaving. Many have been targeted by a murderous campaign directed at judges, activists, students and others in civil society.

President Biden’s timetable differs from his predecessor’s by just a few months but the consequences will be no different. It will end America’s longest war (and any remaining British troops will return, too) and under the Doha agreement there are supposed to be talks in Turkey next week to pursue a political settlement. But with foreign troops leaving, there is nothing standing in the way of the Taliban and a return to their brand of medieval religious authoritarianism.