Blinken outlines path to legitimacy for Taliban

Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged the prospect of additional diplomatic contact with the Taliban in a speech marking the end of a dangerous evacuation effort and the withdrawal of the last U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

Going forward, any engagement with the Taliban-led government in Kabul will be driven by one thing: “our vital national interests,” Blinken said. “If we can work in the new Afghan government in a way that helps secure those interests … and in a way that brings greater stability to the country and the region, and that protects the gains of the last two decades, we will do it.”