The statements from the U.S. administration that the Taliban risks international isolation if it pursues a military victory in Afghanistan are unmoored from reality. It is part of the Taliban’s ideology to reject modernism and the international community — and the reputation won by forcing the U.S. to leave is worth far more than aid budgets. And indeed, having earned a reputation for abandoning its mission, its friends, and its allies, it is the United States that may actually feel more isolated.
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