It is scary, depressing, and also incredible how comprehensively the Taliban is cementing their power and embedding themselves throughout the country. I am shocked they are sophisticated enough to implement biometric verifiable of political adversaries. Here are some other such news stories and social media accounts I read today about how the Taliban is pursuing control, many of which had photos and videos that made this tragedy feel very real to me:
1. The Taliban took over police stations and freed prisoners in virtually every town they captured. Many released were people jailed for terrorist activities or other crimes associated with fundamentalism, while others will simply welcome their liberators and join their ranks.
2. Taliban fighters went door to door confiscating weapons from private citizens, claiming they “don’t need them anymore”. Disarming the public ensures they will not face unexpected resistance.
3. A female journalist noted that overnight the town she was in changed, such that women were nowhere to be seen in the streets. There was also a clip of a female CNN journalist being asked to leave the immediate area because of her gender.
4. In Kabul, Taliban forcefully entered hotel rooms of foreigners, interrogated them, assaulted them if they resisted, examined/confiscated documentation, examined/confiscated electronics, and so on.
5. Taliban have begun questioning people to report on neighbors’ activities to identify US collaborators and members of the Ghani government. One woman tearfully spoke about how she’s afraid she and people she knows will be taken away from their family if people snitch.
6. Taliban have set up checkpoints controlling traffic within, into, and out of all significant towns and on all significant infrastructure.
7. The Taliban are testing out captured military equipment such as humvees, helicopters, and surveillance drones that the US left behind, to incorporate them into their military practice as soon as possible.
8. The Taliban have already begun forcing young girls to be married to their fighters in smaller towns.