If you’re a government that values the democratic rule of law and the protection of minority rights, the Taliban aren’t interested in gaining your respect.
The Biden administration doesn’t appear able to get its head around this truth. It doesn’t seem to realize that the Taliban are fanatics who believe themselves on an ordained mission to deliver the world unto Islamist medievalism. Instead, for whatever reason, Biden and co. seem to think that the Taliban are desperate for the same thing it values: feted invitation to the international community of nations.
The issue is becoming increasingly important as the Taliban rampages across Afghanistan.
Team Biden’s plan A was to abandon the Afghan national army and hope that they held the line. That failed. Plan B was to ask the Taliban to stop winning. That also failed. So now we’re on to Plan C: Claim that the Taliban crave moral recognition.
Responding to a question on Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that “the Taliban also has to make an assessment about what they want their role to be in the international community.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently observed that “an Afghanistan that does not respect the rights of its people, an Afghanistan that commits atrocities against its own people would become a pariah state.” Adding to the chorus, a State Department spokesperson told Axios that if the Taliban abuses human rights, “they will be an international pariah without support from the international community or even the people they say they want to govern.”
It’s hard to see where such delusional rhetoric finds its source. Say whatever you want about the Taliban, but it’s not as if they’re quiet about their value set. Speaking to Axios, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid observed that “we have never yielded to any foreign pressure tactics before, and we do not plan to capitulate any time soon either.”
Here’s a primer for the president and his staff: The Taliban are not interested in your earned respect. Nor do “the students” wish to learn the etiquette of high society diplomatic dinners. They are only interested in studying a warped interpretation of Islam and how to better dominate human lives. To that end, they will work with regimes such as China that care nothing for human rights.
Just don’t expect the Taliban to care too much when they get criticized on Twitter.
