WAPO:In quest for legitimacy and to keep money flowing, Taliban pushes for political deal with

[lindysalsagal]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/25/taliban-afghanistan-government/

In quest for legitimacy and to keep money flowing, Taliban pushes for political deal with rivals

By Susannah George, Yesterday at 7:48 p.m. EDT

KABUL — The Taliban is scrambling to reach a deal with former Afghan officials to establish a government that could gain international recognition, keep aid money flowing into the country and restore access to billions of dollars in international reserves.

Taliban leaders have shuttled between more than a dozen meetings over the past week with the few former Afghan officials who remain in Kabul, including former president Hamid Karzai; Abdullah Abdullah, former leader of national reconciliation council; and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former warlord-turned-politician. The meetings have been held in the presidential palace, former government offices and private compounds.

For the Taliban, a political agreement could help the group avoid again becoming an international pariah, which would push one of the world's poorest countries even further into poverty. For the former Afghan leaders, a deal would give them a share of power in Afghanistan’s new government.

At a news conference inside the former Afghan government’s media center, now adorned with white Taliban flags, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said meetings with former Afghan officials are an effort to seek “their advice about the future government,” so Afghanistan can “build a government that is accountable, serves the country and brings everyone together.’’
A former senior Afghan official present at several of the meetings said Taliban leaders conveyed that they “want to have a shared government.”

from me: Translation: They want a puppet prime minister to implement their religious tyranny.

[Phoenix61]

1. The Taliban is going to end up becoming the

government they despised and some other terrorist group will take their place.

[sboatcar]

3. Its hard to keep a cohesive government once you've

become exactly what you were fighting against.

[Phoenix61]

4. Exactly! nt

[vishnura]

5. I agree. Remember they are just made up of tribal lord's hard to keep them in check without moola.

[Phoenix61]

6. Or extreme violence which won't get them the

international standing they need to get the moola they also need. It won’t be long before they are being called sellouts to international capitalism.

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. Funny how "money" always ends up in the conversation somehow.

[Lochloosa]

7. They still have to deal with ISIS. They have not gone away.

[kentuck]

8. How much do they have in "international reserves"?

Is it something like $80 Billion?

[kentuck]

9. That should be encouraging news.

The Taliban is not stupid. They know that they are in a mess. They need help to run a government.

And who is going to run the airport when we leave?

Should the US keep a few people (a half dozen or so) to complete the process of evacuating those that wish to leave? Should they request rooms at the Embassy to continue the operation? But, only on the condition that the new "Afghan Government" provide the security for them?

[The Magistrate]

10. They Will Regret Any Deal Made With Hekmatyar, Ma'am

He is not only a bit worse than the general run, he is an inveterate double-crosser.

[lindysalsagal]

11. I'm going to type something that's really prejudiced

But hear me out:

I've never been in a gang or a desert nomad, nor do I identify with any particular tribe.

My loved ones have not suffered at the hands of any member of the above sentence.

I've always lived a safe, healthy, middle class american life. Mostly transparent government.

So, when I try to imagine the personal psychological paradigm of the typical successful afghan tribal lord who has learned to survive at the point of a gun in nearly unlivable climates and marginal civilizations, with minimal visible societal norms, no safety nets or healthcare, little education and no awareness of anything other than local muslim customs, am I wrong to assume that the ideas of trust, partnership, compromise, law and justice, integrity, honor and duty just don't really find much real estate to land on?

So, how do such tribal lords run a country the size of California?

How do they talk to each other? They probably have always hated each other and only want to dominate/kill each other. There's nothing like "working together for the common good" going on there. Are the languages common and can they all read? I seriously don't know. How does news spread? Are they connected with technology and can they differentiate between reliable news sources and rumor? If they try to designate a ruler to negotiate beyond their borders, will any of their agreements be kept at the local level?

I'm getting out my crystal ball and assuming they'll mostly starve or leave, and this local new "government" will be governing rocks and sand. If the people stay and survive long enough for another country to attempt to feed them and take over, how long will that last? How long will muslim traditions survive this constant chaos? The taliban think they're serving Allah? Serving him what, exactly?