Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, told CNBC that while there was “no reason to celebrate,” the current state of Afghanistan was not as bad as it was a month after the Taliban came to power and fell Kabul had forecast.
“In a country where the Taliban and the government were at odds for so long, there haven’t been nearly as many murders as I would have predicted … on The News with Shepard Smith.” “I must say, [it’s] less bad than I would have expected after a month of Taliban rule. ”
While there have been reports of less violence in some areas, the humanitarian number in the country is getting worse. Foreign aid and food are running low, and the United Nations is warning that a million children may starve to death.
O’Hanlon repeated the UN warning and pointed out to host Shepard Smith that the Afghan interim government is not inclusive and consists entirely of Taliban hardliners.
“No women, no modernists, no secularists, no reformers, no former government. Even if the amnesty promised by the Taliban seems to at least keep people alive, it does not really give them a say in the new country.”