The U.S. Should Support Diplomacy, Not Armed Resistance, in Afghanistan

After a military retreat by Afghanistan’s National Resistance Front last week in the Panjshir Valley, the group’s head of foreign relations, Ali Nazary, appeared in Washington last Friday to vow that it would continue holding out against the Taliban and to seek military assistance for doing so. Yesterday, The New York Times reported that the NRF has hired lobbyist Robert Stryk to seek military and financial support for their ongoing fight against the Taliban.

The NRF has made similar entreaties to the U.K. and France, as well as other countries closer to Afghanistan. They are one of only several militant groups with the potential to muster an opposition to ongoing Taliban rule. This flurry of effort to attract external backing signals that the Taliban will not go unopposed despite their recent appearance of a military victory. How the international community responds will make all the difference.