cover image: The Kabul Dossier

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The Kabul Dossier

2 Sep 2021

Attribution: Kabir Taneja, Sushant Sareen, Kriti M. Shah and Saaransh Mishra, “The Kabul Dossier,” O RF Special Report No. 158 , September 2021, Observer Research Foundation. Introduction The fall of Kabul to the Taliban is a watershed in contemporary history that will have ramifications on the prospects of the United States-led, two-decade ‘war on terror’ and the overall security situation in South Asia. The August 26 th attack at Kabul’s international airport, later claimed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), could be a portent of what lies ahead. The airport was then being used by the U.S. military to evacuate Americans and was also surrounded by Afghan civilians hoping to escape the country; the bombing killed some 170 of those Afghans and 13 American soldiers. In response, the US conducted a drone strike a day later in the ISKP stronghold province, Nangarhar. Washington D.C. might now have to manage security issues in Afghanistan in concert with the Taliban. This significantly alters the US’s ‘war on terror’ narrative, and places the Taliban — along with Pakistan — in a position of both strength and weakness all at once. The Taliban’s minders, both in the organisation’s Shuras[a] located in different parts of Pakistan, and those within the Pakistani Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), have plenty of work to do.
neighbourhood strategic studies neighbourhood studies issue briefs and special reports

Authors

Kabir Taneja, Sushant Sareen, Kriti M. Shah, Saaransh Mishra

Published in
India