FOR 20 YEARS
THE WHOLE WORLD
CAME AND MONEY
POURED IN,
BUT HOW DID IT
HELP US?”
—Haji Adam,
a tribal elder in
Kandahar ProvinceNearly 20 years after
the Taliban were removed
from power in Afghanistan
by the United States and
NATO allies, the Islamist
militants regained control
of the country. The Taliban
takeover was years in the
making, yet shockingly
swift. On April 14 President
Joe Biden announced that
U.S. forces would begin
withdrawing in May,
with all troops out by
September 11. By August 15,
the Taliban had seized the
capital of Kabul, Afghan
President Ashraf Ghani
had fled the country, and
Taliban fighters were
crowded behind a massive
desk at the presidential
palace alongside one of
Ghani’s former bodyguards
(at far left, in business suit).
AP PHOTO
PHOTOGRAPH BY
ZABI KARIMIKabul, AfghanistanRETURN OF THE TALIBAN
AUG. 15
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