The rapid collapse of Afghanistan to Taliban rule has forced the United State’s to end it’s 20-year long presence overseas in a desperate flee. 

A United States led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 during the Bush administration had the objective of displacing insurgents from power. However, the recent US withdrawal that was initiated by former President Trump, freed a clear objective for the Taliban, a radical militant organization, to seize the Afghan government and security forces. This withdrawal was made in part with a peace deal signed with the Taliban in February 2020 to end the conflict in the Middle East. This peace deal involved the Taliban pledging to cut ties with terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan. However, the Afghan government was excluded in this conversation and tension between the Taliban and Afghanistan continued to progress since the February deal. The deterioration of the peace deal was explicitly evident within the past few months as Taliban fighters began to overtake provincial capitals with the goal of overtaking all of Afghanistan. The Taliban announced their objectives of ensuring order and public safety, according to the New York Times, however, western embassies and Afghan citizens are fleeing the country in a rapid manner rooted in the fear that the Taliban is going to attack though those who worked with the United States or the previous government. There is also prevalent fear that the Taliban will impose harsh Islamic law where women’s rights are often infringed upon in a violently oppressive manner.

As the Taliban starts to exert more control, chaos and violence overwhelms the country. On August 26, two suicide bombers and a gunman attacked the Kabul airport that resulted in the death of at least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops. Western officials warned of an attack just hours before, demanding the evacuation of the airport, but in the situation of a mass flee, the advice went unacknowledged by many who had the main focus of getting out of the country. An Islamic State group, ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the attack afterwards. Amongst the devastation and fear that overtook the Kabul airport, the U.S. military were still able to depart the country on August 30.

As of September 6, the Taliban has claimed complete control over the Panjshir province, the last among Afghanistan’s 34 provinces known to resist the Taliban. Panjshir, itself, is a strategic mountain terrain that is abundant in mineral resources and has been the target of the Taliban since the initial insurgency. However, the National Resistance Front in Afghanistan (NRF) refutes this claim, and only continues to appeal to Afghans to join the resistance against the Taliban takeover. These pockets of resistance organization groups still remain and only progress in gaining traction

As the United States continues to balance and question its involvement in Afghanistan, President Biden continues to argue that there is clear indication that the United States military can not transform Afghanistan into a modern and stable democracy. According to the latest Marist poll, President Biden’s approval rating has dropped to 43% amidst the withdrawal decisions. This decline has been attributed to the independent community with a 10 point drop of approval, resulting in only 36% of independents supporting the current administration. With independents serving as a key swing group for Biden, a majority disapproval rate does not bode well for the President’s first term. From the domestic front to an international level, the Taliban takeover has devastated the globe, and will only continue to develop; furthering the need for major political leaders to take action.