Something new they immediately found: The Taliban fighters who are now the policemen don’t demand bribes like police officers did under the U.S-backed government of the past 20 years.
Still, there are dangers. On Sunday, a bomb outside Kabul’s Eid Gah mosque killed several civilians and targeted Taliban members attending a memorial service. No one took responsibility for the bombing but the rival Islamic State group has ramped up attacks against the Taliban in an IS stronghold in eastern Afghanistan.
The Taliban say they will bring back their previous punishments. The only question is whether they will carry them out publicly,ADVERTISEMENT But so far, they appear to have brought relief from corruption. Before the Taliban takeover in August, people had to pay bribes simply to settle a utility bill. Rampant fraud in the military was one reason it collapsed so quickly in the face of the advancing Taliban. Despite the overt graft, the U.S. and Europe poured billions of dollars into the government with little oversight.
Zabihullah, who like many Afghans goes by one name, is from central Ghazni province, where the insurgents waged some of their most bitter battles during the last two decades. “America invested lots of money in Afghanistan, but it was a mafia that was running the country,” he said.
Westerners hope that Afghan-style governance by Afghans will fail after failing to impose Western-style governance on Afghanistan.
They don’t think the Taliban is corrupt?
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”
No human population, not even the people of Afghanistan, comprise more idiots than sensibles.