Reports that the Taliban were willing to embark on a provocative gesture that saw them sting the United States in the eye were answered by a spokesman for the terrorist suit who said they were rumors, even when the U.S. was ready to lament the nearly 3,000 people who died on 9/11 from terrorists who found safe haven in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s.
Crisis in Afghanistan: live updates
The idea that the Taliban themselves will return to power in Kabul is very pleasing to many Americans, who see unrepentant terrorists imposing the same brand of fundamentalist Islam as in the 1990s.
“The humiliation of having the Taliban inaugurate a government on September 11, twenty years later, full of the FBI’s most wanted list, is hard to overestimate,” tweeted Bruno Macaes, author of Geopolitics for the End Time. , shortly before it was announced that there would be no inauguration on September 11th.
According to reports, the main Taliban are fighting for the spoils of war despite appointing interim administrators, some of whom are banned terrorists.
U.S. President Joe Biden also contacted China to discuss bilateral issues, including the differences he frankly acknowledged. Although the reading of the phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday did not specifically mention Afghanistan or the Taliban, who have openly embraced China (which has corresponded), a White House statement said the disclosure “was part of the United States.” an ongoing effort to responsibly manage competition between the United States and the PRC. ”
“President Biden stressed the enduring U.S. interest in peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and the world, and the two leaders discussed the responsibility of both nations to ensure that competition does not become in conflict, “the statement added. China has quickly moved into the strategic space ceded by the United States to Afghanistan.
Amid growing concern and unease in US geopolitical circles about the return of terrorists to power in Kabul, the Biden administration is currently studying the issue in the short term, recognizing the Taliban’s help in removing citizens. Americans trapped in Afghanistan.
“The Taliban have collaborated in facilitating the departure of U.S. citizens and permanent legal residents on charter flights from [Hamid Karzai International Airport]. They have shown flexibility and have been business and professional in our relationship with them in this endeavor. This is a positive first step, “a White House National Security Council spokesman said.
The U.S. president is expected to visit the Sept. 11 Memorial in New York on its 20th anniversary amid ongoing unrest among critics of the administration who believe he gave way to the Taliban too easily. “Stay away Joe Taliban!” read a meme criticizing Biden’s treatment of the situation.
Washington and its allies still seem to think they will be able to convince the Taliban to moderate their stance with the economic levels at their disposal.
“You’ve heard us say that the lack of inclusiveness, the background, the background of some of the people involved, is a cause for concern. It certainly doesn’t reflect what the international community is and what, as part of that, the States United States was waiting to see, ”State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters at the daily briefing.
“We note that this is a provisional interim government. We note that some of these positions remain unfulfilled. Therefore, what will be important to us is not just the composition of any future government in Afghanistan … again, we will try to make it inclusive, try to make it representative of the people that the Taliban seek to represent, ”he added.
But the Taliban have rejected criticism on that front, saying essentially that the U.S. should be concerned about its own business, especially when it comes to treating women.
After excluding women from a list of interim ministers announced earlier this week, a Taliban spokesman said women should stay with children who give birth.
“It is not necessary for a woman to be in the cabinet. A woman cannot be a minister … it is as if you put something around her neck that she could not wear. They should give birth and raise children according to Islamic Ethics. Protesting women cannot represent all women in Afghanistan, ”Taliban spokesman Sayed Zekrullah Hashimi told TOLO News.