Reliance on ‘strongmen’ a weak strategy to repel Taliban

The perpetual violence and virtual anarchy of the warlord-era helped the Taliban movement to gain popularity with those Afghans who were prepared to sacrifice for the stability that the Taliban could provide them.

Afghan president Ashraf Ghani was appealing to ‘regional strongman’ Atta Muhammad Noor, pictured second from the left, to help prevent the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, as part of his last-ditch appeal to help repulse the Taliban advances, writes Scott Taylor.Photograph by ISAF Public Affairs

Opinion

BY SCOTT TAYLOR

August 16, 2021

OTTAWA—At the time of writing, Afghan government security forces had completely collapsed without a fight and Taliban forces in Afghanistan were in control of Kabul. Amidst all the chaos it was announced that both the U.S. and U.K. are redeploying thousands of combat troops into the Afghan capita...

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