US abandoning Karzai and Northern Alliance in Afghanistan: Ramtanu Maitra makes the argument that as the US invasion of Afghanistan fails (or has already failed) the US will switch its support from Hamid Karzai and the Northern Alliance to a Pakistan/ISI-backed Taliban takeover of the country. Accepting this reality is probably in the strategic interests of the US but it will sit awkwardly with the Western public if they find the Taliban back in power again. Perhaps the Taliban needs to be renamed and the whole matter dropped in the memory hole.

US abandoning Karzai and Northern Alliance in Afghanistan: Ramtanu Maitra makes the argument that as the US invasion of Afghanistan fails (or has already failed) the US will switch its support from Hamid Karzai and the Northern Alliance to a Pakistan/ISI-backed Taliban takeover of the country. Accepting this reality is probably in the strategic interests of the US but it will sit awkwardly with the Western public if they find the Taliban back in power again. Perhaps the Taliban needs to be renamed and the whole matter dropped in the memory hole.