Trans-Pacific View | Diplomacy | South Asia

America’s Changing Policy on Afghanistan

Washington has moved from an emphasis on human rights to “selective” contacts driven by specific cases. That’s a win for the Taliban.

Since the haphazard and hasty withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, Washington has not recognized the Taliban – or any other group – as the legitimate government in Afghanistan. Washington asserts that it advocates for an inclusive government that respects human rights, including those of women and minorities. 

Since August 31, 2021, the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan has suspended its operations, and the Afghanistan Affairs Unit (AAU) in Qatar serves as the U.S. diplomatic mission for Afghanistan. Despite this, there have been selective contacts between U.S. officials and the Taliban over the past five years, primarily concerning counterterrorism, the release of prisoners, and the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Afghanistan.

The United States claims that it maintains contact with the Taliban only for specific cases. Ambassador Gregory D. LoGerfo, the U.S. State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, said last week that “with respect to the Taliban, we engage them selectively when it’s in the U.S. interest with respect to very discrete security issues.” 

In response, the Taliban’s ambassador to Doha, Suhail Shaheen, told TOLOnews that “Afghanistan no longer poses a threat to any country,” and that the Taliban government has “worked to combat destabilizing groups.” Shaheen added, “As is clear to everyone, our country needs reconstruction, economic development, and cooperation in various sectors. Therefore, taking these interests into account and in light of our principles, we want to establish and maintain relations with other countries. This is the principled framework of our policy.” 

Even “selective” contacts with the United States are significant for the Taliban. The Trump administration has reversed the U.S. foreign assistance and immigration policy toward Afghanistan. Under the Biden administration, the United States disbursed over $3.8 billion for development and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan after October 2021. However, the Trump administration has terminated all foreign assistance to Afghanistan starting in mid-2025 despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country. 

Besides this, President Donald Trump halted programs to resettled Afghans who worked on behalf of the U.S. in Afghanistan during its so-called war on terror in the country. From August 2021 to mid-2025, over 190,000 Afghan nationals were resettled in the United States. Shortly after taking office for his second term, Trump ended these facilities and shut the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE). The current administration also suspended the processing of all visas to Afghan nationals, including Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs).

For the United States, Afghanistan is a matter of the past. Washington often shows reluctance to discuss the Afghanistan war, mirroring the political and cultural avoidance that followed the U.S. war on Vietnam between 1955 and 1975. Just like in Vietnam, Washington failed to meet its objective in........

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