Taliban were a myth, their invincibility was a myth, most of the analysts never really thought that their coming and now going would be like a whimper. No guerilla war can be pursued with success unless it is fully supported by the common people. The Taliban are treated as aliens in the whole non-Pushtun belt in Northern Afghanistan and in Herat in the West. They had to leave several cities in a huff because they expected no support from the local people. The rejoicing in the streets of Kabul at the arrival of their opponents would indicate what kind of treatment they should expect if they ever tried to sneak back into the area as guerillas.
They just folded. I had no doubts about this falling of house of cards, we were very fair and now also I don't think that any comparisons on guerrilla wars are true or realistic. On Tuesday the Taliban forces fled Kabul in the darkness of night without firing a single shot, thus abandoning the people of capital to their fate. They had earlier withdrawn from a number of cities including Mazar-i-Sharif, Bamian and Herat without giving battle. All these towns had been won by them after enormous bloodshed. Their withdrawal from 80 percent of the country is being described as a tactical retreat and the Taliban supporters expect them to win back the lost areas through guerrilla war. This is a new myth, which is bound to explode like several others floated earlier. Without external support no amount of freedom fight can succeed, mountain do grow wheat, the surrounding areas are now hostile to Taliban and water is really scarce, they would also need continuous supply of weapons and communication. All this is seriously missing.
Iqbal Latif
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