By: Mohammad Baqir Saieer

This article reflects the views of the author and its publication by the Institute for East Strategic Studies does not necessarily mean the endorsement of the content.

Amid anomalies sparked by jihadist parties’ civil war, the Taliban rise from Kandahar province to face the Mujahideen government. Within two years, the group managed to take the control of most parts Afghanistan. There are different point of views regarding the formation of the Taliban and the role of the regional and trans-regional intelligence agencies in the group's successive victories during 1976-78, which are not the subject of this article.

Following the establishment of the Islamic Emirate and its extremist interpretation of the Islamic values, the way was paved for emergence of other extremist and terrorist groups in the geography of Afghanistan and the Islamic extremist groups from different countries flocked to the country. Al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, was one of the most organized extremist and fundamentalist Islamic groups that managed to go to Afghanistan after being suppressed in Egypt and some other Middle East countries. And Pakistani and US intelligence agencies made the most of the group.

Bin Laden had been leading the jihad project against communism and the Soviet Union in coordination with the ISI and CIA for many years. The Taliban emirate and its interpretation of the Islamic teachings provided more opportunities for al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. In the eyes of the Americans, after the defeat of the Soviet Union and the ideology of communism, bin Laden had no functionality, and therefore he did not receive much attention from the US intelligence service any more.

After a series of changes in the nature of the US foreign policy towards the Islamic world and replacement of anti-communism ideology with Islamophobia, some Islamic extremist groups also changed their strategy. Al-Qaeda, as mentioned earlier, was one of the most organized Islamic extremist groups which, with an incredible leap, started its own activities in various Islamic countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, against the interests of the West, especially the United States. From attacking to the US embassy in Libya to targeting the country's interests in various parts of the world, al-Qaeda intensified its hostile actions against the US. Over time, al-Qaeda carried out more sophisticated attacks and chose new ways to expand its activities, until finally one of the most sophisticated terrorist attacks in the world was carried out by this group on September 11 - an attack that stunned the whole world, especially the United States and its intelligence and security services. Following this attack, various US security and military organizations immediately began their investigations, and after a while, they announced that the attack had been organized by al-Qaeda within the territory of Afghanistan.

The United States ultimately decided to attack Afghanistan based on a Security Council resolution and the decision of all its domestic entities. Prior to the US invasion to Afghanistan, the Americans had repeatedly asked the Islamic Emirate and its top officials through various channels to extradite Osama bin Laden and expel his forces from Afghanistan, all of which were rejected by the Taliban. In his book, “88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary”, Robert Grenier (the CIA director for South Asia) writes that the Americans were ready to deal with the Taliban even up to the last minutes, but the Taliban leadership refused to respond to their demands due to its belief in the Islamic-Afghan values. Therefore, the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate became the target of relentless airstrikes of the international community and was dismantled over time.

Pakistan, however, supported the Islamic Emirate, and its warplanes repeatedly entered Afghanistan in violation of all international laws and norms to bombard the positions of the Northern United Front. By supporting the Taliban, Pakistan had managed to achieve one of its long-standing strategic goals and aspirations which was the formation of a pro-Pakistan regime. Following a major shift that happened in the political and security equations of the region and world, Pakistan made a tactical retreatment for a time and decided to support the new post-Taliban regime. But, it never surrendered and tried to re-energize the Taliban through the intelligence efforts.

After 2005, the Taliban gradually was revived and began its armed opposition to the Karzai government. This movement was not noticed in the beginning until the Taliban became stronger and its attacks on the positions of international and national forces increased. At first, Karzai tried to prevent the Taliban from advancing by giving political and financial concessions, but this had negative consequences instead of positive ones.
From 2005 to 2013, the Taliban tried to resort to the Guerrilla warfare and Hit-and-run tactics, but after the fall of several cities, districts and highways, the group practically became a main part of the war and peace equations in Afghanistan.

During this time, the Americans adopted an ambivalent approach towards the Taliban, sometimes calling them a terrorist group and sometimes a minor threat to US national security. In recent years, the Americans have been forced to gradually soften the Taliban's image in order to pave the way for the emergence of the group as one part of Afghanistan’s equation via creating a diplomatic atmosphere for the Taliban and giving too much concessions to them. Therefore, a political office has been opened for the Taliban and they were allowed to travel to other countries for consultation as well as gaining international legitimacy.

Now, the fundamental question is that what is the main purpose behind giving all these concessions to the Taliban?
The author believes that given the changes in the security, political, and strategic equations of the region and world, as well as the urgent need for the United States to be present in South and Southwest Asia, on the one hand, and its fear of forming an anti-American dragon in the region (consisting of China, Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan) on the other, Washington is looking for a strategic partner in the region, which, in addition to efficiency, has the capacity to manage the big issues of the region. Except for Pakistan, no other country in the region has these characteristics.

In addition to its historical cooperation in the fight against communism and preventing the Soviet Union from advancing towards the Indian subcontinent and South Asia, Pakistan has played a pivotal role in defeating the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. In addition to Pakistan's historic and strategic cooperation with the United States, the country’s potential and actual capabilities have attracted the US’s attention.

Pakistan is a nuclear-armed country that has one of the largest armies of the world. It has also one of the world's top ten intelligence agencies. Moreover, the country has the potential to form an anti-US axis in the region. That is why the Chinese are investing more than $400 billion in Pakistan.

In order to appease the Pakistani politicians and military officials, their demands must be taken into account. One of the long-standing demands of Pakistan is the formation of a pro-Pakistan political system inside Afghanistan. By achieving this goal, Pakistan will eliminate the biggest vital and strategic threat against its existence and will win the regional competition with India. The Pakistanis have always feared a pro-India political system in Afghanistan. They have not forgotten the bitter memories of Bangladesh's separation from Pakistan, and hence they are doing their best to prevent the establishment of a pro-India system in Afghanistan.

So, now Washington is willing to make concessions to Islamabad to receive the country’s cooperation. Giving concessions to the Taliban, legitimizing the group, freeing the group's prisoners, removing the obstacles of the group's leaders for traveling are not meant to exonerate the Taliban, but rather to appease Pakistan.

Mohammad Baqir Saieer, is a Master of International Relations