Taliban: Viewpoint: Why is the Taliban so important to the regime in the Middle East?

By 2006, the United States was in trouble in Iraq.In Afghanistan, Taliban With the help of Pakistan, a revival began to take shape.Soon Saudi Arabia and Qatar Join with external funds. Why? According to Antonio Giustozzi, one of the top experts on Taliban issues, this is partly at the request of Pakistan, which cannot afford to maintain the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Saudi Arabia has been with UAE Pakistan was one of the three countries that recognized the Taliban government in the 1990s, so this is not surprising, especially considering the kingdom’s record of supporting the cause of radical Islamism.

Why did Qatar take in the Taliban?

Qatar is more interesting. First of all, the then Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was a diplomatic activist, and he passed on this trait to his son and successor Sheikh Tamim. Qatar contributed to a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, between Fatah and Hamas, between Lebanese factions, and even between Sudan and Darfur (2013).

Qatar also flirts with radical Islamists, especially the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. It is one of the largest external financiers of ISIS/Da’esh. It supports the Arab Spring protests in Libya and Syria. The Taliban is another one.

Second, Giustozi said that Qatar wants to support the Taliban as a way to limit Iran’s influence on the Karzai government.Ironically, by 2017, Qatar has become closer to Iran And a group of Islamic organizations have incurred anger and blockades from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

when United States-Taliban The engagement begins?

By 2011, the United States hopes to have a place for diplomatic contact with the Taliban. Qatar is voluntary. It is suitable for the United States because its largest air base in the region is located in this wealthy little state. However, the then President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, expressed opposition, and Pakistan quietly expressed opposition, feeling that its influence was declining. For example, Karzai would rather the Taliban set up an office in Turkey.

But Qatar has the upper hand and appears to be more neutral, and middle-level Taliban leaders, such as Mullah Abdul Salim Zaif, have moved there. The Taliban opened a political office in 2013. The first negotiation was about the release of Sgt. Bobberg Dahl, an American soldier. The Taliban hope to release five of its personnel from Guantanamo Bay.

Pakistan may have given up space to Qatar, but they arrested Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and imprisoned him in prison, so the Taliban in Qatar is not as effective or independent as it should be.

As the United States began the long process of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, the Qatar office became the focus of negotiations between the United States and the Taliban.

Are there other competitors?

The UAE is clearly to relocate the Taliban. The UAE was one of three early supporters of the Taliban in the 1990s. The leaked telegram quoted Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to the United States, telling U.S. officials that the UAE was frustrated that they did not give the Taliban space. Given that the UAE cancelled recognition of the Taliban after 9/11, it is curious why they want it back.

According to reports, the UAE’s strategic goal is to promote reconciliation in Afghanistan and between the Taliban and the United States. (Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled Kabul and landed in the UAE on Sunday, so there are connections at both ends.) Second, like other Arab countries, the UAE does not care about US intervention in Afghanistan and hopes to help end it. They also wanted to ease the Taliban and tried to get the Taliban to abandon Osama bin Laden’s access to the facilities in the UAE, but they were unsuccessful.

However, in 2017, the UAE’s relationship with the Taliban collapsed after its special envoy, Juma Mohammed Abdullah al-Kaabi and five diplomats died after an explosion in Kandahar. The UAE has also positioned itself as a moderate Muslim country and a global financial center, opposed to the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, and has a low tolerance for the Taliban. Saudi Arabia maintains close ties with almost all the different Taliban factions.

Who is the dark horse?

Iran, obviously. For tactical and strategic reasons, the Shiite revolutionary regime flirted with the Taliban for a period of time. Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansur was killed by a U.S. drone while driving from Iran into Pakistan. Osama bin Laden’s son took refuge in Iran, as did Al-Qaeda’s head of operations Saif Adel. Iran is happy to support the Taliban tactically to allow the United States to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Now the United States is out. The question is will the old Shiite Sunni mistakes be resurrected? Or will Iran’s investment in the Taliban last?