America’s Afghan Debacle
The Taliban has announced its interim government, and its all-male, often-hardline makeup seems to have confirmed many observers’ worst fears. Why did the US mission in Afghanistan fail, and what is in store for the country under Taliban rule?
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Transcript
Elmira Bayrasli: Welcome to Opinion Has It. I’m Elmira Bayrasli.
An Islamic Emirate. That’s how Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders have described the country they now rule. And despite earlier promises of diverse representation, they’ve created an all-male interim government, packed with hardliners.
Archive Recording: The new Taliban showed its true colors, and you know what? They’re exactly the same colors as the old Taliban.
Archive Recording: I think the only people that are going to be surprised are those that believed the Taliban when they spoke about an all-encompassing government that would include women.
Archive Recording: It’s an all-male cabinet dominated by hardliners and includes an interior minister who is on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, with a $5 million bounty on his head.
EB: Meanwhile, fears that Afghanistan is set to become a hotbed for terrorist activity are growing.
Archive Recording: We begin in Afghanistan, where an explosion struck a Shia mosque during Friday prayers. It happened in the southern province of Kandahar. At least 15 people are reported dead so far, and scores are injured.