Taliban's Sweeping Offensive in Afghanistan Was "Inevitable" and Stems from Brutal U.S. War

The Taliban have continued to seize territory in Afghanistan as the U.S. completes its withdrawal of ground troops from the country, with the militant group now controlling a majority of Afghanistan's districts and a quarter of provincial capitals. The strength of the Taliban offensive in recent weeks has put the future of Afghanistan's government in doubt. This kind of a crisis was inevitable whenever the U.S. pulled out, whether it had been 10 years ago, 19 years ago or 10 years from now," says foreign policy scholar Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. This was rooted in the nature of the U.S. occupation that began in 2001." Congressmember Ro Khanna calls American involvement in Afghanistan a fool's errand" that should have ended years earlier.