'The Taliban is on the move'

August 03, 2021 16:46

"Several factors work against the Taliban that weren't in place in the 1990s. First, say what you will about the Afghan military, but it's a much stronger and united force today than it was back then."

"The air force, in particular, is much stronger. The armed forces are in a much better position to hold off the Taliban today than in the 1990s," says Dr Michael Kugelman, deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC.

The Wilson Center is a non-partisan American policy forum tackling global issues through independent research and dialogue.

Dr Kugelman, one of America's leading experts on Afghanistan, discusses the return of the Taliban with Rediff.com's Archana Masih in the first of a multi-part interview. Read it here.

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