The Patriot Post® · In Brief: Checking in on the Taliban

Here we are at the seven-month mark after Joe Biden’s disgraceful, disastrous, and deadly retreat from Afghanistan. How are things going back in the seventh century?

The Wall Street Journal editorial board lays it out, and it’s not pretty:

It was obvious [in August] that the Taliban hadn’t changed and talking about moderation was an attempt to deter sanctions and diplomatic isolation. Now, with the world watching Ukraine, the group is returning to form.

Women and girls are familiar targets. This month the government broke a promise to reopen schools for girls above the sixth grade. Women can’t board airplanes unless traveling with a male relative. Public parks will be segregated by sex. Some male government employees have reported being told to grow a long beard or risk losing their jobs.

Taliban authoritarians are also banning entertainment and technology in certain areas, all while cracking down hard to free speech and dissent. It’s a return to the “glory” days of the 1990s. But there’s more, says the Journal:

Last month the Taliban announced a ban on Afghans leaving the country. Although a government spokesman later walked that back, the risk of a ban on exits is real. That could be a death sentence for some of the thousands of America’s Afghan allies and their family members still trapped in the country.

Afghanistan became a sanctuary for al Qaeda the last time it was ruled by the Taliban, which hasn’t cut ties with the terror group. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie of Central Command said recently that the U.S. is tracking terrorist activities in the country but hasn’t made an over-the-horizon strike since U.S. troops departed.

The chaotic and deadly U.S. withdrawal eroded U.S. security and credibility, but spare a thought for the Afghans now ruled by barbarians. They will suffer most.

Wall Street Journal subscribers can read the whole thing here.