What the Middle East conflict reveals about the Taliban

One of the longest running debates around the Taliban is whether the movement really pursues a vision of “Islam in one country”, with its ambitions confined to establishing an Islamic system within the borders of Afghanistan. ISKP critics of the Taliban lambast them for confining the jihad within artificial boundaries. But the Taliban’s political opponents have long warned that the Taliban harbour extra-territorial ambitions and ultimately wish to drag Afghanistan into a global jihad. 

The repercussions of the unprecedented 7th October attack by Hamas on Israel have played out in Afghanistan, shining more light on the isolationist versus expansionist impulses within the Taliban.

This episode considers how Taliban leaders and ranks have responded to the latest round of conflict in the Middle East. Most reports of Taliban volunteering to deploy to the Middle east turn out to be products of wishful thinking. But the threat of Taliban and other Afghans being tied into a regional network of Islamist militias and proxy conflict is real. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is wooing the Taliban and Afghan’s and Afghans are already taking up arms in conflicts a long way from home. 

Podcast produced by Colm Heatley.