The Taliban Have Not Moderated

An Extremist Regime Is Pushing Afghanistan to the Brink

When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, some observers suggested that their approach to governance might prove more moderate this time around. Twenty years had elapsed since the group was last in charge. The country had transformed dramatically, and with the fight against the United States over, tasks like collecting garbage and keeping the lights on now seemed largely nonideological in nature.

How Afghanistan’s Militant Groups Are Evolving Under Taliban Rule

Intelligence agencies worldwide are warning that Taliban rule in Afghanistan is radically reshaping terrorist and militant groups in South Asia and around the world.

Specifically, intelligence and counterterrorism officials say that despite Taliban promises to sever ties with al-Qaida and oppose terror groups such as the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate, as codified in the 2020 Doha agreement with the United States, there has been scant evidence of progress.

CENTCOM commander says captured fighters must be repatriated to avoid ‘ISIS 2.0’

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the outgoing head of U.S. Central Command, said that he wished during his tenure that CENTCOM did a better job of convincing countries to repatriate captured Islamic State fighters.

McKenzie spoke to reporters for the final time in his role on Friday morning, warning that a failure to repatriate captured ISIS fighters would ultimately lead to “ISIS 2.0 down the road.”

Biden’s China ‘pivot’ complicated by Russia’s war in Ukraine

President Joe Biden set out to finally complete the “pivot to Asia,” a long-sought adjustment of U.S. foreign policy to better reflect the rise of America’s most significant military and economic competitor: China.

But Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has made that vexing move even more complicated. China’s government has vacillated between full embrace and more measured responses as Russian President Vladimir Putin prosecutes his war, making the decisions for Biden far more layered.