Since the haphazard and hasty withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, Washington has not recognized the Taliban – or any other group – as the legitimate government in Afghanistan. Washington asserts that it advocates for an inclusive government that respects human rights, including those of women and minorities. 

Since August 31, 2021, the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan has suspended its operations, and the Afghanistan Affairs Unit (AAU) in Qatar serves as the U.S. diplomatic mission for Afghanistan. Despite this, there have been selective contacts between U.S. officials and the Taliban over the past five years, primarily concerning counterterrorism, the release of prisoners, and the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Afghanistan.

The United States claims that it maintains contact with the Taliban only for specific cases. Ambassador Gregory D. LoGerfo, the U.S. State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, said last week that “with respect to the Taliban, we engage them selectively when it’s in the U.S. interest with respect to very discrete security issues.” 

In response, the Taliban’s ambassador to Doha, Suhail Shaheen, told TOLOnews that “Afghanistan no longer poses a threat to any country,” and that the Taliban government has “worked to combat destabilizing groups.” Shaheen added, “As is clear to everyone, our country needs reconstruction, economic development, and cooperation in various sectors. Therefore, taking these interests into account and in light of our principles, we want to establish and maintain relations with other countries. This is the principled framework of our policy.” 

Even “selective” contacts with the United States are significant for the Taliban. The Trump administration has reversed the U.S. foreign assistance and immigration policy toward Afghanistan. Under the Biden administration, the United States disbursed over $3.8 billion for development and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan after October 2021. However, the Trump administration has terminated all foreign assistance to Afghanistan starting in mid-2025 despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country. 

Besides this, President Donald Trump halted programs to resettled Afghans who worked on behalf of the U.S. in Afghanistan during its so-called war on terror in the country. From August 2021 to mid-2025, over 190,000 Afghan nationals were resettled in the United States. Shortly after taking office for his second term, Trump ended these facilities and shut the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE). The current administration also suspended the processing of all visas to Afghan nationals, including Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs).

For the United States, Afghanistan is a matter of the past. Washington often shows reluctance to discuss the Afghanistan war, mirroring the political and cultural avoidance that followed the U.S. war on Vietnam between 1955 and 1975. Just like in Vietnam, Washington failed to meet its objective in Afghanistan. The Taliban returned to power after the United States had fought against the group for almost two decades. That was quickly followed by a haphazard U.S. withdrawal, which indeed was a face-saving act. 

Afghanistan seems to have lost its place in public discourse and as a foreign policy priority in the U.S. after its withdrawal from the country. Perhaps that is why the country does not appear in Washington’s 2025 National Security Strategy or the 2026 National Defense Strategy. 

One of the few areas of contact between Washington and the Taliban are talks over prisoner swaps. In January 2025, during the last hours of the Biden administration, the Taliban released two American citizens, George Gelzmann and Mahmood Habibi, in exchange for an Afghan national. The swap was the result of several rounds of negotiations spanning over two years under the mediation of Qatar. Since then, several other U.S. citizens detained in Afghanistan have been released by the Taliban government. Even though these negotiations are merely for the release of U.S. citizens, for the Taliban, they present an opportunity to sit across the table with U.S. officials. The United States calls it an abhorrent practice of “hostage diplomacy,” but for the de facto rulers of Afghanistan it is a practical approach to showcase their rule over the country.

Another area of focus for the United States – at least in rhetoric – is the issue of human rights, particularly the rights of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. At the time of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, Washington used the Taliban’s gender-based repression as part of its argument for invading the country. In this regard, Laura Bush, the first lady, in a radio address argued that “the fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights of women.” 

However, in the 2020 Doha Process talks between the U.S. and the Taliban, there was no mention of the rights of women and girls. Moreover, the Trump administration is criticized for sidelining Afghan women in its contacts with the Taliban, which do not touch on rights issues. That leaves women and girls in Afghanistan in the lurch.

For Washington, it might be “selective,” issue-based diplomacy, but for the Taliban, it is a significant boost. Each round of negotiations gives a clear message to the international community that it is the Taliban’s de facto government that rules Afghanistan, despite sanctions and international pressure for almost five years. With or without recognition, it is the Taliban that get to sit at the table to negotiate with foreign officials. 

The Taliban with a slow and steady approach have extended their rule in the country without bowing to pressure from the international community. In fact, that pressure seems to have receded over time. The Taliban regime managed to get their first diplomatic recognition last year from none other than their erstwhile enemy, Russia, and have cozied up to another former enemy, India, over the past two years.