Introduction
In comparison to the enemies of the Taliban, the friends of this group are in a better situation, which is quite normal and natural. With the return of the Taliban’s Emirate to power, Afghanistan has turned into a haven for local and international terrorist organizations and networks, allowing them to fully utilize resources to grow and strengthen themselves. The Taliban, by supporting these terrorist organizations and networks, aim to extort concessions from the world on the one hand, while on the other, they rely on the active presence of these groups for their survival in power. Even ISIS, which currently opposes the Taliban, in a way helps maintain the Taliban’s hold on power. Therefore, the Taliban do not have a strong and resolute determination to eliminate ISIS. It is true that even if the Taliban were serious about eradicating ISIS, they would still be unable to do so. However, there are factions within the Taliban that may not even have the slightest interest in weakening ISIS, let alone destroying it. ISIS is a project that benefits the Taliban more if it continues to exist rather than being completely wiped out.
During the Karzai and Ghani governments, powerful factions supported the Taliban with the intent of sidelining their rivals and retaining power for longer. This deadly game ultimately led to the disgraceful collapse of Ghani’s government, resulting in harm to everyone involved—whether those playing the Taliban’s fifth column or those opposing them. The deadly nature of this game does not mean that the current regime in Kabul, or certain factions within it, will refrain from repeating it. In corrupt countries like Afghanistan, where nothing endures except corruption, an opportunistic regime driven by short-term gains has always been in power. In such chaotic circumstances, most leaders lack a strategic vision and try to exploit the crisis for their own gain. In the current ongoing game, both the Taliban and their friends are partners in crime and protectors of the caravan. ISIS or any other terrorist group will only be suppressed when it disregards the control strategy or challenges it.
Now that the Taliban control the game, they benefit the most from the current chaotic situation. In this scenario, the conditions of countries like Russia and Iran are noteworthy. They are still stuck in the foolish delusion that the Taliban are serious about fighting ISIS and therefore believe that supporting the regime in Kabul is necessary. Even the Americans are under the same illusion, believing that the Taliban are combating terrorist groups, including ISIS. U.S. President Joe Biden even suggested that there was cooperation with the Taliban in suppressing al-Qaeda, claiming that the network was crippled and no longer capable of attacking U.S. interests. However, the Pentagon quickly refuted Biden’s claim, and before that, multiple reports from the UN Security Council had accurately shown that al-Qaeda, with the full support of the Taliban, was significantly strengthening itself. In this article, which will be presented in several parts, we will briefly examine the status of the Taliban’s friends and the consequences of increasing cooperation among terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
Al-Qaeda Network
The al-Qaeda network was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, a year before the Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan and the end of the jihad in the country. The establishment of al-Qaeda at a time when the Soviets were on the verge of defeat indicated the larger plans the leaders of global jihad had in mind. According to the leaders of this terrorist network, Afghanistan’s jihad was the first phase and a trial run for global jihad, where Islamic extremists aimed to test their capacity and capabilities. After the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who succeeded bin Laden, remarked: “The battle with the Soviets was an educational phase to prepare the Mujahideen of Islam for the battle against the new global superpower, the United States. Moreover, it provided an opportunity for Arab, Pakistani, Turkish, Central Asian, and East Asian Muslims to fight alongside each other in Afghanistan’s jihad against the enemies of Islam.” The managers of the global jihad project required an open nursery and a free space where terrorism could proliferate freely to continue their mission.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri regarded the country as one of the nurseries for a new generation of jihadists. The rise of the Taliban allowed them to achieve this goal, turning Afghanistan into a hub of terrorism in the region. However, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 disrupted the plans for global jihad and led to shifts in the geography of terrorism. Despite this, Afghanistan, as an Islamic country with conditions favorable for the growth and reproduction of jihadists, never fell out of the Islamist’s crosshairs. Terrorists have exploited every available opportunity to return to Afghanistan. Now that the Taliban controls the country, al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups are striving to complete their unfinished project of establishing a terrorism nursery in Afghanistan.
According to credible reports, 300 al-Qaeda fighters, along with their families, numbering around 2,000 people, are currently in Afghanistan. The UN Security Council reports that this network has established training bases in Helmand, Nangarhar, Badghis, Zabul, and Nuristan. Al-Qaeda members serve as advisors to the Taliban, and some hold important positions within the Taliban regime. While Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda, was killed in Kabul—possibly due to intelligence provided by Kandahari Taliban in their rivalry with the Haqqani network—the relationship between al-Qaeda and the Taliban remains strong and enduring. There has been no tangible action from the Taliban that signals any hostility toward al-Qaeda. This group has never clashed with al-Qaeda and has always, as an ideological ally, hosted and provided safe havens for them in various provinces.
You can read the Persian version of this analysis here:
بخش نخست: دوستان طالبان | روزنامه ۸صبح
You can read part 2 here: Part 2: The Friends of the Taliban
