After nearly 20 years the American-led war in Afghanistan is finally over (or is it...). The last US forces left last night, and on Tuesday, Taliban forces took control of the airport in Kabul, while Taliban fighters and supporters across Afghanistan rallied to celebrate the return of Islamic rule.
Senior Taliban leaders posed in front of a C-130 transport plane at the Kabul airport, the hub of the chaotic US-led evacuation operation in recent days. Fighters took selfies in the cockpits of Afghan military helicopters, which had been disabled before being abandoned by US troops.
The Taliban's top spokesman issued a statement calling for the reconstruction of an Afghanistan now firmly under Taliban rule.
"We hope that Afghanistan will not be invaded again, that it will be rebuilt, remain independent, and that a holy Islamic system will rule," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, as uniformed fighters in modern combat gear knelt on the tarmac and chanted "Allahu akbar".
Still, tens of thousands of Afghans who assisted the NATO war effort remain behind in Afghanistan, many still hoping to leave the country before they are imprisoned or executed by the Taliban. Additionally, the US left behind a small contingent of Americans (WSJ says between 100 and 200) and while Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged to do everything in the US's power to support them, right now, it appears there's little to be done, as all commercial flights have been suspended temporarily.
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