Viewpoint: What Happened To The Taliban?

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani made an offer to leaders of the Taliban to recognize them as a legitimate political group this week. The offer was part of a proposal that president hopes could end a decade and a half of war in the country.

The Taliban, still classified as a terrorist organization, started in Pakistan while Afghanistan was occupied by the Soviet Union.

The Taliban have been in Afghanistan since 1996 and were there alongside Al Qaeda as the 2000s dawned and have been at the center of many problems in the region, as well as taking responsibility for terror attacks across the world.

Yet, many current college students don’t seem to know what’s going on in Afghanistan. They don’t know anything about the Taliban.

“I have no idea about politics.” According to Raneisha Uchiha, a senior at Manhattanville College.

It seems more students know about ISIS, who has been causing mass atrocities in Iraq and Syria, than the Taliban.

Which brings up the question of what President Trump has done to try to stop the Taliban and ISIS.

Currently, President Trump’s own behavior has been appearing in the news more than refugee’s suffering or politics from around the world.

President Bush attempted to stop Osama Bin Laden, President Obama helped stop Osama Bin Laden, but President Trump has been dealing with problems only within the United States.

Trump has recently rejected talking to the Taliban about making peace.

“When he announced an Increase in U.S Troops to  Afghanistan in August, U.S officials said the goal was to force the Taliban to negotiate a political settlement,” writer Roberta Rampton said in a piece for Reuters.

It seems that until President Trump starts approaching these issues the United States won’t accomplish their goals