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What the Taliban Got Right  (Shadi Hamid, The Atlantic)
In the end, few Afghans believed in a central government that they never felt was theirs.

‘Only a Matter of Time’ Before Al-Qaeda Attacks Europe with Taliban Support in Afghanistan  (Alessandra Scotto Di Santolo, Daily Express)
Since seizing Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban have presented a more moderate face, saying they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law. But Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler, a Senior Director for the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) an international non-profit working to combat the growing threat of terrorism and extremist ideology, warned the group’s word should be taken with caution. Writing for Euronews, Dr Schindler urged the international community to remember that the Taliban were the first to provide support to al-Qaeda, allowing the terror group to build a huge network of terrorists. The terror expert warned that should western democracies impose economic sanctions on the unrecognised new ruling government of Afghanistan, the Taliban will most likely turn to al-Qaeda for cash. This, in return, will allow the terror group to have a firm presence in Kabul again, prompting fears of new attacks on the west. He wrote: “Due to the Taliban’s close ties with al-Qaeda and other affiliates, there is little doubt that apart from this being a significant military victory, it is also a victory for the insurgency’s propaganda with global implications and is seen as a significant step forward by the global Islamist terrorist movement.”

Facebook, Twitter Face High-Stakes Choice on a Voice for Taliban  (Naomi Nix, Bloomberg)
Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Google, already under fire for wielding outsized influence on political discourse around the world, are on the brink of another high-stakes decision — whether to give the Taliban a social-media megaphone. Their actions will have lasting impacts on the diplomatic stage and on the lives of everyday people in Afghanistan. The militant group’s rise to power is forcing Silicon Valley’s biggest internet companies to revisit their policies on how to treat controversial political actors.