Zawahiri Killing Gives Afghanistan an Opening With US
By restraining al-Qaeda and its own fighters, the Taliban could use this moment to shed its pariah status and seek much-needed economic aid.
The Taliban have a decision to make.
Photographer: Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP/Getty Images
The US drone strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul on Sunday caught the Taliban leadership both red-handed and flat-footed. Their promises to prevent the country from once again becoming a terrorist haven have been exposed as lies: The al-Qaeda leader was living in the Afghan capital, reportedly in a house belonging to a top Taliban leader.
Three days after the killing, the Taliban was still struggling to formulate a response. That might be because Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme commander, and his leadership team, recognize both the opportunity and the challenge presented by Zawahiri’s killing.