Passport

Guest of the Taliban

FILE; Paula Bronstein/Getty Images The inimitable Nir Rosen ventures out of Kabul to learn what is fueling the growing Taliban insurgency. The result is one of the best descriptions of the Taliban, and explanations for why the United States is losing the war in Afghanistan, in recent memory. Rosen goes to great lengths to stress ...

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591975_081020_taliban2.jpg
591975_081020_taliban2.jpg

FILE; Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

FILE; Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

The inimitable Nir Rosen ventures out of Kabul to learn what is fueling the growing Taliban insurgency. The result is one of the best descriptions of the Taliban, and explanations for why the United States is losing the war in Afghanistan, in recent memory.

Rosen goes to great lengths to stress the “greater degree of flexibility and pragmatism” the Taliban have recently displayed, as opposed to during their heyday prior to the U.S. invasion in 2001. From a willingness to allowing girls to get an education to relaxed restrictions on television and radio, Rosen suggests a Taliban restoration would avoid the harsh measures that characterized their rule.

But old habits, as they say, die hard. Rosen eventually finds himself caught in the middle of organizational infighting, and realizes the Taliban’s newfound niceties are on the verge of breaking down. “My mouth goes dry from fear; I feel as though I have lost my voice,” Rosen writes upon being arrested by soldiers loyal to a Taliban commander rival to his hosts. After sending frenzied text messages to his contacts in Kabul, he is eventually released.

But how “reformed” can the Taliban be when visiting journalists are almost beheaded at a whim?

Tag: Afghanistan

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