When the Taliban jihadist organization returned to power in Afghanistan a year ago on Monday, its spokesmen promised one thing above all: the new and improved Taliban regime would be “inclusive.”
Taliban representatives who would go on to powerful offices in what is now the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” could not stop using the word. Their ministerial cabinet would be “inclusive.” Their institutions would be “inclusive.” Their diplomatic stances on the larger world stage would reflect the alleged newfound “inclusivity” the Taliban learned from warring with America for 20 years.
Taliban jihadists never specified exactly how they defined the word, but much of the world — from the Chinese Foreign Ministry to the United Nations to Secretary of State Antony Blinken — publicly expressed hope that the new language expressed optimism and hope that two…
