President Biden’s announced intention to complete the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, exactly 20 years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, will complete a goal former President Trump wanted to meet, but did not, following advice from military leaders, who convinced him that a May 1 deadline was a bad idea.
The Taliban has made no withdrawal commitment and therein lies the problem with what used to be called the “war on terrorism” before, it appears, the United States decided to unilaterally surrender.
One of the principles of warfare is to know one’s enemy. The U.S., over several administrations, has failed to apply that principle.
The goals of the Taliban and international terrorism have been on display even before Sept. 11, 2001. According to War on the Rocks, a website offering analysis, commentary, debate and multimedia content on foreign policy and national security issues, the terror group openly states that any peace negotiations with the U.S. must be based on sharia law, an extreme interpretation of the Koran that many Muslims reject.
In fact, Taliban leaders have said any peace talks must have the same goals as jihad. Their stated objective is to “end the occupation” by American and NATO forces and re-introduce the “rule of sharia in Afghanistan.”