February 20, 2026
Afghanistan Under Taliban Rule Makes the World Less Safe
This article was originally published in The Diplomat.
The Taliban regime is expanding its provision of national sanctuary to terrorist groups with regional and international aspirations, according to the United Nations’ Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team’s 2025 annual report, issued in December 2025. The report notes that the Taliban continue to allow al‑Qaida and its violent offshoots, such as the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate. It details the existence of terrorist training camps, extremist religious schools, and safe houses linked to lethal TTP attacks across the border in Pakistan.
The world has shifted focus away from Afghanistan, much as it did in the lead-up to September 2001, giving dangerous networks room to rebuild. The Taliban are becoming an inspiration to other groups and the safe haven of choice.
The Taliban deny this reality. The international community is fooling itself if it assumes that this threat is contained. Avoiding a repeat of 9/11 requires tightening worldwide sanctions on the Taliban, supporting Afghan political forces advocating for non-violent change, and providing safe haven to Afghan allies with a well-founded fear of persecution, torture, or execution if they were returned.
The Taliban’s claim that their government has controlled the activities of al‑Qaida, a condition of the 2020 Doha Agreement with the United States, is negated by the U.N.’s findings. The Monitoring Team reports that al‑Qaida “provides ideological guidance” to other terrorist groups and acts as “service provider and multiplier” for them. The report highlighted the operation of religious schools (madrassas) in eastern and northeastern provinces, where al‑Qaida “indoctrinates children and trains them to become fighters.”
Read the full article in The Diplomat.
More from CNAS
-
In Brief: Increasing Tensions Between China and Japan Create Risks for the Region
Commentary
This article was originally published in War on the Rocks. China’s latest pressure campaign targeting Japan serves multiple purposes for Beijing. One is to redirect domestic p...
By Jacob Stokes
-
China May Grab a Lead in the Race for Military Fusion
Commentary
This article was originally published in The Wall Street Journal. America’s top diplomat for nuclear-weapons issues, Undersecretary of State Thomas DiNanno, revealed this mont...
By David Feith
-
Hearing on “India, China, and the Balance of Power in the Indo-Pacific”
Congressional Testimony
Commissioners, thank you for the opportunity to testify at today’s hearing. There are few relationships that have the potential to be as consequential to the balance of power ...
By Lindsey Ford
-
Commentary
Defense / Indo-Pacific Security
Trump’s NATO DilemmaThis article was originally published in Foreign Affairs. Last November, Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, startled a gathering of European officials at the Berl...
By Sara Moller
