The sudden collapse of Taliban power in Kabul and other cities in the north of Afghanistan, followed by the liberation of most of Afghanistan from Taliban control, happened much faster than expected in the United States and occurred while the administration was still debating the idea of including Taliban “moderates” in the new Afghan coalition government. The United States had never taken the Northern Alliance too seriously and was not very enthusiastic about it controlling, although largely formally, a substantial part of Afghanistan’s territory. Fully aware of the Pashtun factor as a key to any political settlement in Afghanistan, the United States has staked much not only on the Northern Alliance—or perhaps not even mainly on them—but also on the “nonextremist” Pashtuns, including what it saw or pretended to see as the “moderate” part of the Taliban. […]
Separately Together: U.S. and Russian Approaches to Political Settlement in Afghanistan
Memo #:
230
Series:
1
PDF:
PDF URL:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/ponars/pm_0230.pdf
Lead Researcher, Department of International Politics; Head, Peace and Conflict Studies
Affiliation
Institute of World Economy & International Relations (IMEMO), Moscow
Links
Expertise
Armed Conflicts, Insurgencies, Terrorism, Violent Networks, Political Economy of Conflicts, Violence and Ideology, Peacebuilding