Lessons from the Taliban: Ethnicity As An Antidote to Liberalism

Lessons from the Taliban:  Ethnicity As An Antidote to Liberalism

When people forget what made them successful, and when they ignore the obvious, when they ignore competent advice, then they make mistakes and bad things happen.  Nowhere is this all more evident now than in Afghanistan as the Taliban swiftly reoccupy the territory, cutting off land bridges to its neighbors Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and putting the Afghan security forces to flight.  The US military command effectively came to an end on July 12 when the last commanding general, General Austin “Scott” Miller “closed up shop” in Kabul relinquishing command of the US Forces in Afghanistan.  Thenceforth, the fighting would be prosecuted via long distance from the US by another four star general who would for the most part do little more other than to authorize air strikes on Taliban positions.[1]  As this is being written, the Afghan government announced it was in a defensive posture as it attempted to defend provincial capitals and also Kabul, after the United Nations headquarters in the western part of the country was attacked and car bombings started in the supposedly safe “green zone” of the capital city.[2]