Leaving Afghanistan
What happens after the forever war ends?
The Year Kabul Fell Again
A stunning Taliban takeover left Afghanistan—and the world—transformed.
Why the Taliban Still Love Suicide Bombing
The group is normalizing death and despair in the Islamic Emirate.
U.N., World Bank Under Pressure to Offer Aid to Afghanistan
The existing sanctions regime on Taliban leaders makes it hard for the world to help the Afghan people.
Afghan Refugees Get Cold Welcome in Pakistan
The Taliban takeover has pushed many Afghans over the border and into another kind of limbo.
Taliban takeover
Taliban Splintered by Internal Divisions, External Spoilers
Pakistan said to be supporting alternative jihadi groups to undermine the Taliban and maintain leverage over Afghanistan.
12 Million Angry Men
The Taliban promised justice. They are hard-pressed to provide it.
The Taliban Don’t Need the West
Afghanistan’s new rulers have shown themselves to be skilled—and ruthless—diplomats. 
The Taliban’s Sharia Is the Most Brutal of All
The Afghan government is imposing punishments that have no comparison elsewhere in the Islamic world.
Regional dynamics
Qatari Diplomat: ‘There’s a Serious Need for Engagement’ With the Taliban
Qatar’s assistant foreign minister discussed the Taliban, the need for a clear road map, and Afghanistan’s uncertain future.
Afghanistan Is No Treasure Trove for China
The country’s mineral wealth remains largely theoretical.
Afghanistan Is a Bigger Headache for Tehran Than It Is Letting On
Iran cheered the U.S. withdrawal but is nervously hedging its bets with the Taliban.
Pakistan’s Friendship With the Taliban Is Changing
Expect a recalibration of the relationship by both sides now the Taliban are in power.
Refugee crisis
Will Afghan Refugees Stranded in Southeast Asia Be Resettled?
After the fall of Kabul, some countries are opening their doors. Afghans who have been stuck in Malaysia and Indonesia for years are hoping that they will not be forgotten.
The United States Needs an Afghan Refugee Resettlement Act
Legislation passed in the wake of the Vietnam War could provide a blueprint for today’s policymakers.
Biden Sparked a Refugee Crisis. He Must Help Europe Bear the Cost.
The chaotic U.S. withdrawal has already led thousands of Afghans to flee.
How to Avoid Humanitarian Catastrophe in Afghanistan
The Biden administration should maximize diplomacy and prioritize support for front-line organizations.
Women in Afghanistan
School’s Out in the Taliban’s Afghanistan
The Taliban say modern education is of no use as the country heads toward economic meltdown and starvation.
The Tragic Fate of Afghanistan’s Journalists
Many are fleeing or in hiding. Women, some locked out of their outlets, are in particular danger.
‘They Left Us to the Taliban’
Six Afghan women describe their feelings of fear, anger, and betrayal in the wake of America’s departure.
In Taliban’s New Afghan Emirate, Women Are Invisible
“All the women of Afghanistan have one fear, the Taliban,” said former deputy defense minister Munera Yousufzada.
Latest Stories
‘The Taliban Have Not and Will Not Ever Change’
Ismail Khan, fabled warlord and former governor, is back again on the front lines to fend off the Taliban advance.
Afghanistan’s War Splinters as Southern Tribes Fight for Spoils
Key cities including Herat and Kandahar could be the next to fall as Afghanistan’s nightmare continues.
Stop Assuming the Taliban Will Win
With ethnic warlords reviving their militias, the Afghan war—even without the U.S. military—is more balanced than it seems.
A Taliban Victory Would Be ‘The Return of a Dark Age for Afghanistan’
Shukria Barakzai, a prominent women’s rights advocate and former politician, shares her thoughts on the U.S. withdrawal and Afghanistan’s uncertain future.
Iraqi Kurds Keep Faith in U.S. Despite Drawdown
The United States’ longtime partners in northern Iraq are watching Afghanistan go to pieces after the U.S. pullout with “wishful thinking.”
India Resists the Taliban Bandwagon
As Blinken heads to New Delhi, he could find some surprising common ground on Afghanistan.
U.S. Officials Make Last-Minute Push to Get Afghan Spies Out Before Withdrawal
Intelligence assets who worked for the CIA now face deadly reprisals.
As Taliban Expand Control, Concerns About Forced Marriage and Sex Slavery Rise
In some Afghan towns, women are fleeing ahead of insurgent takeovers.
A ‘Life and Death Fight’ Against the Taliban in Central Afghanistan
Bamiyan, home to the Taliban-wrecked Buddhas, might be the start of Afghanistan’s pushback against the insurgents.
China and the Taliban Begin Their Romance
Beijing has its eyes set on using Afghanistan as a strategic corridor once U.S. troops are out of the way.
Central Asia Braces for Fallout of U.S. Pullout From Afghanistan
Since the war began, America has had one lens for Central Asia. What happens now?
Biden’s Afghan Withdrawal Will Spark the Next Refugee Crisis
The European allies that fought alongside the United States will face the fallout as thousands of refugees flee the Taliban, giving fodder to far-right parties.
India Is Scrambling to Get on the Taliban’s Good Side
After decades of supporting the Afghan government, New Delhi is planning for its potential fall.
‘It Will Not Be Just a Civil War’
Afghanistan’s foreign minister on what may await his country after the U.S. withdrawal.
Is Biden Haunted by Vietnam? Should He Be?
The president said this withdrawal will be nothing like what happened in 1975, but there are some striking parallels.
The Top Five Debriefing Questions About Afghanistan
How to make sense of Washington’s longest war ever.