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The author, who currently serves as the president of Open Society Foundations, shares a personal anecdote from their time as the co-chair of the first official donors conference for post-Taliban Afghanistan in 2002.
I vividly remember my return to Kabul as the first senior UN official after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. The arrival of America and its allies was mostly met with warmth and acceptance. However, I encountered a moment of dissent when an elderly Afghan woman handed me an egg, expressing her anger over the destruction of her chicken farm during the invasion. As cameras captured the scene, I responded with a remark downplaying the significance of a few eggs lost in the pursuit of freedom.
It remains a somber memory. As we approach the second anniversary of the Taliban’s declaration of victory on August 31, 2021, the situation in Afghanistan has worsened. The number of Afghans requiring immediate assistance has risen from 18.4 million to 28.8 million. Additionally, 6 million people are on the brink of famine. Women and girls face the brunt of this crisis, as they not only suffer from the Taliban’s assault on their rights, including the right to work and education, but also from the broader hardships of poverty and hunger.
Afghanistan finds itself isolated once again, with no diplomatic recognition, dwindling aid, and sanctions that have frozen its assets. In countries like the US and Britain, there is a tendency to downplay the policy failures associated with Afghanistan, conveniently forgetting them in the run-up to the next elections.
However, this is part of a recurring cycle of geopolitical and regional competition that consistently fails to prioritize the well-being of the Afghan people. During much of the 1980s, the Soviet Union engaged in a bloody war against mujahideen groups, some of which were armed and funded by the US. In the 1990s, the rise of the Taliban initially garnered indifference from the West. The 9/11 attacks and subsequent invasion changed this stance, leading to the establishment of a fragile, over-centralized republic in the 2000s and 2010s. However, this republic crumbled when Western governments withdrew.
Whether it has been through proxy wars, neglect, invasions, or sponsorship of insurgents, outsiders have consistently failed to serve the interests of the Afghan people. These failures have often paved the way for the next tragedy in the country’s history.
One may argue that the current isolation of Afghanistan is justified in light of the Taliban’s brutality, human rights abuses, and misgovernment. Limited talks have failed due to the Taliban’s refusal to cooperate without diplomatic recognition. However, this isolation disproportionately harms the victims of the regime.
The United Nations has called for $3.26 billion in assistance this year, but only 25% of that amount had been received by early August. Britain’s contribution has plummeted from $454 million last year to just $23 million so far this year. In cases where women have been able to work despite bans, it has often been thanks to local, informal arrangements.
If we truly want to prioritize the well-being of ordinary Afghans, including the woman with the egg, we must engage with the regime, even if it means making nominal concessions. A contact group consisting of Western powers, Afghanistan’s neighbors, the Taliban, and ideally Afghan civil society can work together to achieve a more humane counter-narcotics strategy, improved aid distribution (especially for women and girls), and greater clarity on sanctions to encourage foreign investment in areas such as irrigation. This approach would also involve engaging with Afghan actors beyond the Taliban, laying the groundwork for a more inclusive political system.
All parties involved have a vested interest in preventing Afghanistan from descending into further chaos. Famine, state failure, and renewed conflict in Afghanistan would have devastating consequences for Pakistan and the wider region. Moreover, it would trigger a new wave of refugees fleeing the country. Currently, Afghans constitute the largest group attempting to cross the English Channel.
Western and other leaders now face a straightforward choice: perpetuate “Great Game” politics or, for once, prioritize the people of Afghanistan. The past three decades of the former approach have brought us to where we are today. A new approach is long overdue.
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