What the Taliban achieved and failed to achieve in five years

Five years ago, the Taliban entered Kabul triumphant, almost 20 years after the collapse of its first government, triggered by the invasion of Afghanistan led by the United States. As US and other troops scrambled to leave, chaos and a bombing attack took the lives of nearly 200 Afghans.Today, Kabul is no longer a chaotic city dotted with reinforced walls to protect from bombings or roamed by armed personal convoys blocking the traffic. It is a cleaner, calmer city that is learning to live again.On this anniversary, it is worth looking back at what the Taliban has accomplished, where it has failed, and what the coming years may hold.What the Taliban got rightOne of the Taliban’s major failures during its first reign between 1996 and 2001 was its inability to capture all of Afghanistan. The provinces that resisted its rule eventually became the bases from which the US and its allies fought it.The Taliban appears determined not to repeat that mistake. It now controls all of Afghanistan and is able to maintain relative security and safety. This is quite remarkable considering the threat posed by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) during the final years of the pro-US governme...