Increased Taliban Activity Demonstrates Danger of US Withdrawal

On June 22, Taliban fighters attacked the Afghan parliament in Kabul. A car bomb exploded outside of the Parliamentary compound and six gunmen tried to enter the Parliament building, first through the destroyed gates and then through a construction site. Afghan security forces fought them off and all six were killed.

The attack occurred just ahead of the introduction of Mohammad Masoom Stanikzai, the government nominee for defense minister. He was going to review his policies and plans before the Parliament took a confidence vote. On his Twitter account, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed the group’s responsibility, stating that that they purposefully targeted Parliament on the day of Stanikzai’s introduction.

Also on June 22, Taliban forces edged closer toward the city of Kunduz, the capital of the Kunduz province along the border separating Afghanistan from Tajikistan. The province, which used to be held by the Taliban, is strategically important because of its agriculture and control over smuggling and trade routes that branch into the rest of Central Asia. Two months ago, the Taliban advanced to the edge of the city of Kunduz but were pushed back by the military. Now, they again control large amounts of territory in the province. If they recapture Kunduz, it would become the first Afghan city to fall to the group since the US helped push the Taliban out of power in 2001.

On June 23, Afghan military forces were able to recapture Chardara, a district of the Kunduz province along the northern edge of the city, though the Taliban claimed it still had control over the area.

The surge in Taliban violence and its large territorial gains have raised questions over the wisdom of withdrawing US troops. The withdrawal timetable, announced in 2014, aimed to decrease the amount of US troops in Afghanistan from 32,000 at the time of the announcement to being almost nonexistent by the end of 2016. The departure of many troops was delayed earlier this year to prevent a situation similar to Iraq, where US forces were removed, leading to a resurgence by the Islamic State, previously known as Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Along with US military commanders, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has requested that Obama remove troops at a slower rate than originally planned so that the country does not become “a launching pad for global terrorism,” but Obama still plans to remove almost the entire US force by his original drawdown date. However, the Taliban has become more violent and Afghan troops have been having difficulty fighting back without US support, demonstrating that Afghanistan may not be ready for a total US withdrawal by 2016. Additionally, the country faces threats from the Islamic State, which has been trying to gain support and draw from the Taliban. A complete lack of US presence could lead to a collapse of the gains that the Afghan military has made and lead to Taliban-IS fighting and a reemergence of Jihadist ruled Afghanistan.