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Editor鈥檚 note: This analysis was originally published by on July 22, 2021, before Taliban forces seized control of Afghanistan鈥檚 capital city, Kabul, on Aug. 15, as United States and NATO forces withdrew, and Afghani president Ashraf Ghani fled the country. It provides background and context on the history of the Taliban, but does not incorporate events occurring after its original publication date, including that 鈥渢here will be no transitional government.鈥�

For two decades, the Afghan government has relied heavily on American military power to defend against the bloody insurgency of the Taliban, a radical Islamic organization that seized control of the country in 1996.

During the Taliban鈥檚 five-year rule鈥攚hich was almost universally shunned by other governments but supported 鈥攚omen were prohibited from working, attending school or leaving home without a male relative. Men were forced to grow beards and wear a cap or turban. Music and other entertainment was banned.

Anyone not abiding by this code risked being publicly lashed, beaten, or humiliated. Women who disobeyed these rules were .

Twenty years have passed since the 2001 United States invasion that quickly toppled the Taliban regime. Most Taliban fighters today are under 30. Some weren鈥檛 even born in 2001.

What does the group stand for today?

The Taliban: Then and Now

The 2001 Taliban defeat was celebrated by Afghans inside and outside of Afghanistan.

Children started to fly kites and to play games鈥攂oth previously banned. Couples played music at their weddings, and women left their homes for work without fear of being beaten by Taliban enforcers. Many men shaved their beards. Afghanistan opened to the world.

Neither the Taliban nor violence disappeared as the climate of fear dispersed, but Afghans resumed some semblance of normal life.

Today, younger members of the Taliban, a group once known for eschewing technology, have adopted social media, TV, and radio to promote their extremist version of Islamic law. The rhetoric of their older leaders has changed since 2001, too 鈥� at least on the international stage.

During peace negotiations and on visits abroad, the Taliban鈥檚 leadership has expressed both a belief that women have  and a desire to reduce violence in Afghanistan. The group has also pledged to protect , which it has often attacked.

In very few areas of Afghanistan that the Taliban have controlled for many years, local members of the group have allowed girls to .

A New Emirate

But in newly captured areas, their policies are more hard line.

According to various reports by the Afghan stations Radio Liberty and Radio Salam Watandar, Taliban rulers in Afghanistan鈥檚 North and Northeast have asked families to ; said women should not ; and ordered men to pray in mosques and grow beards.

The Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission, an Afghan government agency, says  and social services halted in many Taliban-controlled areas, leaving 13 million people without public services.

All evidence suggests the  in restoring their old system of emirate, in which an unelected religious leader, or emir, was the ultimate decision-maker. No one could challenge his verdicts because he was believed to have a divine authority from God.

鈥淲hat has changed? Absolutely nothing,鈥� Ahmad Rashid, a Pakistani journalist who , told Germany鈥檚 Deutsche Welle newspaper in July 2021. 鈥淭he Taliban don鈥檛 believe in democracy. They just want the collapse of the government so they can reconquer Afghanistan and reimpose their system.鈥�

A Dubious Negotiating Partner

The U.S. troop withdrawal follows a controversial February 2020 U.S.-Taliban accord initiated by former President Donald Trump.

In the deal, the U.S. agreed to withdraw from Afghanistan鈥攆ulfilling a long-standing Taliban goal鈥攊f the Taliban ceased violence against American forces, severed ties with al-Qaida and other terror groups, and entered .

U.S. President Joe Biden has , but there is good reason to doubt the Taliban鈥檚 commitment to peace.

According to a , 5,459 Afghans have been killed since the 2020 U.S.-Taliban deal was signed, and the Taliban were responsible for 62% of those deaths.

In my decades of first working for the Afghan government and then , I have found no reliable historical evidence of the group鈥檚 abiding by any domestic agreement it signed with any party in Afghanistan.

It has  at meetings allegedly called to discuss a truce and denied schooling to girls after committing to educate them.

The Taliban have so far kept their promise to the U.S. not to attack withdrawing American forces. But ongoing talks with the Afghan government have not resulted in a cease-fire or power-sharing agreement for Afghanistan.

鈥淲hy were the Taliban going to compromise once the [U.S. troop] exit date was given?鈥� asked Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at a July 2021 conference on  I attended.

鈥淲hy would they listen to us when they are sensing victory?鈥�

Terror Connections

Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan hosted many terrorists who perpetrated attacks on American interests worldwide.

The terrorists included al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who planned  and the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in his home , but al-Qaida cells .

And the Taliban 鈥攁 violation of their 2020 accord with the U.S. According to a May 2021 U.S. government report, the Taliban 鈥渕aintain close ties鈥� with al-Qaida.

Recent reports from  say Pakistan-based terrorist groups are partnering with the Taliban to fight Afghan forces inside Afghanistan, too.

Journalist Ahmad Rashid says with the U.S. gone, the Taliban won鈥檛 likely strike a deal as long as the Pakistani military continues to give . The Taliban top brass is safe, while young Taliban fighters wage their insurgency in Afghanistan.

This story was first published by , and is reprinted here under a Creative Commons license.