Trump’s choice for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan from his Green Beret days. This story could also impact the next administration’s opinion of the Taliban.

Establishing normal relations with the United States would help the Taliban gain international recognition for its pariah government, and the funds would be a huge relief for the cash-strapped Taliban, which is struggling to rebuild an economy devastated by sanctions and loss of income. international aid.

The United States and its Western allies have previously said they want to see the Taliban address human rights issues in Afghanistan and ensure that no terrorist groups thrive in the country before any meaningful engagement. But the human rights situation has only deteriorated in recent years, with the Taliban stepping up ever-tighter restrictions against women.

Biden has ordered the freezing of more than $7 billion in Afghan government reserves held in the United States since August 2021 and refused to recognize the Taliban as the country’s official rulers. Several US allies followed suit by depositing $2 billion into their financial systems.

Biden then agreed to release $3.5 billion in assets and transfer them to an independent Afghan fund in Switzerland to boost the country’s economy while keeping the money out of the hands of the Taliban, with the remaining half left to the families of the victims of the September attacks. November 11, 2001, attacks to be prosecuted in court. It is unclear how the Afghan Fund operates or manages financial transactions when the country is cut off from the global financial system.

Although a handful of countries, including China, Pakistan and Russia, have accepted Taliban diplomats, they do not formally recognize the government, which has been internationally condemned for repeated human rights abuses. China was the first country to grant diplomatic credentials to the Taliban last year.