The disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 stands as the single greatest foreign policy failure of the Biden administration. The chaotic and deadly exit not only left thousands of Afghan allies stranded but also fundamentally damaged America’s global standing. For adversaries like Russia and China, it signaled an opportunity to test the limits of US resolve. For allies, it cast serious doubts on America’s reliability as a partner.

Just months after the debacle in Kabul, Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an action undoubtedly influenced by the perception of American weakness. The Taliban, having swiftly seized control, imposed brutal restrictions on women, crushed dissent, and provided sanctuary to terrorist elements. The consequences of this strategic failure continue to reverberate, making it imperative that a second Trump administration takes decisive steps to repair the damage and restore US credibility in the region.

One of the most crucial shifts in US policy under a renewed Trump administration should be the unequivocal recognition that the Taliban are not and will never be allies of the United States. The Biden administration maintained de facto relations with the Taliban despite their egregious human rights violations, and even Trump’s own first-term Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, engaged in direct negotiations with the group. However, these engagements have yielded nothing but failure. The Taliban have proven time and again that they are an unrepentant extremist organization incapable of reform.

From the moment the Trump administration returns to power, it must take a hardline approach, making it clear that the US will not engage in diplomatic normalization or provide any form of legitimacy to the Taliban.........

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