Afganistan 31. august 2021

The Taliban are celebrating after the departure of the last U.S. aircraft from Afghanistan, with militants strolling across the tarmac at Kabul airport and driving around the capital in military vehicles left behind in America’s scramble to exit. Taliban official Bilal Karimi said: “We have defeated the world’s most powerful country and gained our independence.”

“The Islamic Emirate wants a good and diplomatic relationship with the Americans,” Zabihullah Mujahed, the Taliban’s main spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday from the Hamid Karzai International Airport, which was the last place under American control.

The Taliban called for friendly ties with the U.S. and indicated they were close to announcing details of a new government just hours after the last American soldiers flew out of Kabul to end 20 years of war.

“A number of decisions were taken regarding the protection of public treasury goods and infrastructure and good treatment of the people and providing facilities to them,” Mujahed said in a text message to reporters. “Consultations were held on the formation of a new Islamic government and cabinet in the country.”

This month’s 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks that triggered the 2001 invasion will be marked with Afghanistan back under Taliban control, an outcome U.S. leaders could never have envisioned.