Kugelman: The U.S. Is Engaging with the Kabul-Based Taliban

RASC News Agency: Michael Kugelman, Director of South Asia at the Wilson Center, has stated that the United States has recalibrated its approach toward the Taliban, shifting its focus toward securing its strategic interests in Afghanistan through selective engagement. According to Kugelman, the U.S. decision to revoke bounty rewards for three senior leaders of the Haqqani Network marks a significant policy shift, signaling Washington’s evolving stance on the Taliban. He emphasized that the U.S. no longer deals with the Taliban as it once did, but rather employs a more nuanced strategy aimed at advancing its geopolitical objectives.
Recent developments suggest that Washington is deliberately sidelining the Taliban leadership in Kandahar and instead fostering engagement with the political wing of the group in Kabul. A high-level U.S. delegation recently visited Kabul for talks with Taliban officials, yet notably avoided traveling to Kandahar, reinforcing the perception that Washington is prioritizing engagement with more pragmatic elements within the Taliban hierarchy. Kugelman believes that America’s objectives in Afghanistan remain narrowly defined, with securing the release of American detainees, reclaiming abandoned U.S. weaponry, and leveraging Taliban cooperation in countering ISIS-K among its primary concerns.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, March 23, Kugelman suggested that lifting the bounties could serve as a bargaining tool to advance these strategic goals. “This approach is logical,” he wrote. “Kandahar remains isolated from Western diplomacy, whereas Kabul handles matters directly impacting U.S. interests ones that largely sidestep ideological and social considerations.” Kugelman further asserted that Washington appears inclined to strengthen its ties with the Haqqani Network, while deliberately minimizing engagement with the Kandahar-based leadership of the Taliban.
In a significant policy move, the U.S. government has recently delisted Sirajuddin Haqqani the Taliban’s interior minister and leader of the Haqqani Network along with his close associates Aziz Haqqani and Yahya Haqqani from its list of most-wanted individuals. Previously, Washington had offered a $10 million reward for information leading to Sirajuddin Haqqani’s capture, alongside $5 million bounties for Aziz Haqqani and Yahya Haqqani.