During the Taliban's takeover of what remained of Afghanistan on Sunday, its commanders made it plain that they wanted to see the whole world under the rule of Islamic law.
According to Forbes, a Taliban commander known as Muhammed Arif Mustafa told CNN's Clarissa Ward that Islam would continue to fight.
"It's our belief that one day mujahedeen will have victory, and Islamic law will come not to just Afghanistan, but all over the world. We are not in a hurry. We believe it will come one day. Jihad will not end until the last day," he told the news correspondent.
Taliban commander to CNN: "It's our belief that one day mujahideen will have victory, and Islamic law will come not to just Afghanistan, but all over the world. We are not in a hurry. We believe it will come one day. Jihad will not end until the last day." pic.twitter.com/XN60idZvT4
— CasualtiesOfTheDay (@Ayei_Eloheichem) August 15, 2021
According to CNN, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin described the Afghan army's "lack of resistance" as "extremely disconcerting," referring to the fact that the United States has been training them for more than two decades.
Austin pointed out that although the Afghan army had all the resources they needed, including 20 years of training by coalition troops and sophisticated weaponry, "will" and "leadership" were intangibles that simply could not be purchased.
"And that's really what was missing in this situation," he said.
CNN also reported that at a meeting for legislators, Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley warned that terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda may use Afghanistan to regroup sooner rather than the two years that had been predicted prior to the fall of the Afghan government.
Milley said that this may result in a more serious terrorist threat than previously anticipated.
Also by CNN, after the Taliban seizes control of the presidential palace, its militants are placed on high alert to maintain city order.
According to the UK Independent, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was said to have left Kabul at about 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday. This makes the Taliban the de facto rulers of the nation.
As of Sunday evening, Eastern Time, a tense ceasefire was reportedly in place in Kabul.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that the group does not want to fight in the country's capital, which they are on the verge of seizing completely.
Meanwhile, the Western State Journal (WSJ) reported that President Joe Biden predicted that the United States' departure from Afghanistan would go in a "secure and orderly way," adding that a Taliban invasion of the nation was "not inevitable."
He added that the Afghan army outmanned the Taliban in numbers and was "as well-equipped as any army in the world."
What Is the Taliban's Role in Afghanistan?
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Taliban wanted to destabilize the U.S.-backed government in Kabul and reestablish its rigid interpretation of Islam throughout Afghanistan.
It began when the United States invaded Afghanistan and quickly toppled Mullah Omar's government after the Taliban refused to surrender Bin Laden. Mullah Omar and other leaders of the Taliban sought shelter in Pakistan while waging an insurgency to reclaim power in Afghanistan.
The United States and the Taliban struck an agreement outlining a 14-month timeline for America to remove all of its troops from Afghanistan.