On August 17, a reporter asked National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, “Do you think the Taliban of 2021 is any different from the Taliban of 2001?” His answer :

On what we expect from the Taliban going forward, this is something that will need to be watched and observed over time. Whether they are in fact prepared to fulfill their obligations to basic human rights and the human dignity of individuals, the safe passage of people through the airport, the fair and equitable treatment of civilians, is something that they’re going to have to show.

I come to this with no expectations, but only with the feeling that they will have to prove to the international community who they will end up being.

After a few months of observation, the similarities between the Taliban of 2001 and the Taliban of today are hard to overlook. Yesterday Radio Azadi, part of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, reported:

When the Taliban took power in August, the militant group vowed it would not resurrect the violent religious police force it imposed during its first term in power. Hard-line supporters have said they will limit themselves to preaching Islamic values ​​of modesty and dignity.

But nearly five months after regaining power, the Taliban Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice resumed its role as implementer of the group’s radical interpretation of Islamic law.

In a series of decrees released in recent weeks, the ministry has imposed restrictions on the behavior, movement and appearances of residents, especially women and girls.

During the Taliban’s first rule from 1996 to 2001, the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice established one of the most brutal reputations of any organization in the history of the world. Its executors are those who committed the horrific human rights violations that characterized the Taliban regime before the American invasion. Of Washington post ministry report in September:

Accounts from the time detail the forces patrolling the streets, closing shops and markets at times of prayer. They beat people caught listening to music and disapproved of dancing, kites and American hairstyles.

Squads of the ministry’s morality police punished those who broke the codes of modesty, with too thin beards or exposed ankles. They have banned girls from school and women from the workplace and from the public eye. A woman could not venture outside without a male guardian.

Radio Azadi reports that this time around, the ministry ordered traders to behead mannequins in stores because they regard them as idols, and Islam strictly prohibits idolatry. (The report also cites a more traditional Muslim scholar who says this interpretation is incorrect because models are not idols at all.)

The ministry said in December that women who wish to travel more than 72 kilometers should not be allowed to do so unaccompanied. He “also ordered all vehicle drivers to refrain from playing music in their cars and not to pick up female passengers who were not wearing Islamic hijabs covering their hair,” the report said. This order is enforced by checkpoints all around Kabul.

Men have been ordered to grow beards and prayers are compulsory. The Taliban “had ordered clerics in mosques in the capital to roll call and report those who did not show up,” the report said.

This part of Radio Azadi’s history stands out:

Rabia, a woman from Mazar-e Sharif who did not reveal her real name, said the Taliban was directing all of their resources towards controlling the lives of citizens rather than tackling the myriad of issues facing the country is facing, including a plummeting economy and a devastating humanitarian crisis. crisis.

The Taliban “must pay attention to many more important issues that we are grappling with,” she said.

In August, Andrew Stuttaford wrote: “No government – especially one with a fragile claim to legitimacy, nothing democratic – will ever experience a sudden drop in its country’s standard of living. This is something the Taliban may soon discover as they attempt to consolidate their grip on a society notoriously fragmented along ethnic lines. It seems that Rabia has put her finger on this exact problem now that the economic collapse is well underway.

On August 11, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “The international community will closely monitor the behavior of the Taliban. They also have a range of tools in their arsenal to take action if they wish. “

Sullivan and Psaki will they review their words in the face of the evidence? Didn’t the Taliban clearly demonstrate, in Sullivan’s words, “who they will end up being”? What were these tools in the arsenal mentioned by Psaki?

Are they even paying attention?