Life is about to get much worse for many people in Afghanistan. The militant political party, the Taliban, have taken over the capital Kabul from the Western-backed and United Nations (UN) recognised Afghan national government, ending 20 years of insurgency and civil conflict, and occurring after the majority of United States (US) and allied military units rapidly existed the country earlier this year. In this episode, a UN diplomat and a retired UN diplomat, both from the Caribbean, discuss the implications.

For many of our Caribbean listeners, we know Afghanistan may be a mystery. It's a place where Caribbean nations will have had little political or diplomatic engagement, if at all. But it's a country that has featured consistently in world news and North American media since the early 2000s, and immediately after the September the 11th 2001 attacks. It's situated between Pakistan, Iran and China, among a few other nations. 

The complexity of its internal ethnic, political, and religious struggles, as well as the carnival of foreign interests that have a stake in its affairs, cannot be aptly summed up by narratives as simplistic as 'terrorists vs. America' or 'oppressed people vs. US imperialism'. Unfortunately, such narratives are what many here in the Caribbean will have adopted over time without having had much need to delve into the topic of Afghanistan, which to be fair, had little bearing on Caribbean development problems.

But, amidst the furore in the Western and international media over the chaotic collapse of the weak and vaguely legitimate Afghan national government - which NATO allies had been propping up for years - and the rather shocking ineptitude of the Biden administration in pre-empting the chaos with a more orderly and guarded evacuation of willing foreign nationals, the events in Afghanistan represent several important things. 

For the US and NATO, they represent the end of the post-9/11 era of coupling counter-terrorism with nation-building in the Middle East and Asia, as well as damage to US and NATO prestige. But it also represents the return of a volatile, militant political party (The Taliban) which was originally ousted by the US in the 2001 invasion for giving haven to terrorist networks (such as Al-Qaeda) that organised and sponsored attacks on the West. In summary, the Taliban's return is a threat to international security. 

For Afghans, the Taliban represents different things. For some, it's the party they want in power. But for many trying to flee, or now living there in fear, it represents the rebirthed supremacy of Islamic fundamentalism and all the accompanying repression - repression of women, girls, LGBT people, art, education, speech, and human and political rights. Importantly, there's an entire generation of youth since 2001, who have grown up not knowing such repression. For Afghanistan's neighbours, the Taliban's return also signals a potential migration/refugee crisis if more people flee the new regime. 

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are: 

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on August 22nd, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.