Afghanistan: The US may be ending its 'forever wars' - but the misery will continue for the people left behind
The Taliban wants to re-establish a hard-line theocratic state in Afghanistan and, with foreign forces almost gone, the militants seem unstoppable.
Saturday 7 August 2021 17:51, UK
History in Afghanistan is in danger of repeating itself as the great powers withdraw, leaving the war-torn country spiralling into a vortex of endless violence.
When Mikhail Gorbachev ordered the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989 - confronting failure on the battlefield and facing the collapse of empire - Afghanistan was in a similar state of chaos.
The question for many now is not whether the Taliban re-emerges as the power on the throne - that seems almost inevitable - but how profound the violence will be.
Since the insurgents started their campaign, the areas held by government forces have been continually contracting - first in rural areas but now provincial capitals are starting to topple.
Extraordinary pictures are emerging showing the militants loading pick-up trucks with semi-automatic weapons - the spoils of war looted from the police headquarters when they took over the provincial capital of Sheberghan in Jawzan province with hardly a shot fired.
It follows the collapse of resistance in another important border city Zaranj - the first to go and this time in western Afghanistan.
In Zaranj, there are images showing the moment insurgents stormed the governor's compound, delivering a military and psychological blow to government forces.
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In April, when US President Joe Biden announced the full withdrawal of US troops, the Taliban controlled around 20% of Afghan districts.
By July, that number had jumped to 54%, with the Taliban on the brink of capturing more than half of the country's 34 provincial capitals.
The latest blow for the government is the capture of two strategic towns Zaranj and Sheberghan - they are key border cities neighbouring Iran and Turkmenistan.
American forces have stepped up airstrikes to slow the advance but they will finish at the end of this month and, in many places facing the Taliban onslaught, there is a sense of abandonment and resignation that more war is closing in.
The Taliban wants to re-establish a hard-line theocratic state and at the moment it seems unstoppable.
After 20 years, the US may be ending its "forever wars" - but the fighting won't end for the Afghan people.