Five years of Taliban rule: has the world given up on Afghanistan?

The Week  |  Will Barker

Afghanistan faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis five years after the 15 August 2021 collapse of the Western-backed government and Taliban return. According to the World Food Programme, nearly 19 million people suffer acute hunger, while 4.7 million encounter life-threatening malnutrition alongside systematic restrictions on female education and civic life.

International actors are gradually recalibrating diplomatic postures, with Russia recognising the Taliban regime while the United Nations silently adjusts language to reference Kabul’s 'relevant authorities.' This structural disengagement reflects growing Western fatigue, highlighted by the United Kingdom halting evacuation plans for 7,000 eligible local allies who assisted coalition forces despite severe retaliation risks. Meanwhile, American diplomatic disengagement and reduced assistance underscore a broader operational shift toward tacit acceptance of local governance in Kabul. Despite persistent warnings from Human Rights Watch, foreign powers increasingly weigh practical diplomatic engagement against international isolation across the nation of 40 million people.

Comment

The erosion of post-withdrawal commitments demonstrates how international coalition cohesion rapidly degrades once primary combat operations terminate. By abandoning obligations established under operational frameworks like NATO's Resolute Support Mission, Western intelligence and security networks lose critical human-source intelligence nodes in Central Asia. The resulting vacuum accelerates regional realignments, forcing non-Western regional powers to establish unilateral security arrangements with de facto authorities in Kabul. This systemic retreat fundamentally alters Western credible deterrence in secondary theaters, where local proxies assess the long-term durability of bilateral security guarantees.

Strategic Question for Discussion

If the abandonment of human-source intelligence networks built under NATO's Resolute Support Mission becomes the template for coalition exits, how do expeditionary forces maintain partner trust during future counter-terrorism operations?

Share your assessment in the comments below.

To read in details click here