The assassination of Taliban leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in an American airstrike two days ago is an important achievement in the fight against terror and Islamist extremism in Afghanistan and beyond. It is encouraging to learn that at least when it comes to Afghanistan, the Americans are not listening to their own advice or to the moralistic preaching they direct at others. When they saw the chance to get rid of the leader of one of the most violent and dangerous organizations in the Muslim world, they did not hesitate for a moment and carried out the "targeted assassination" (without a trial...), thus avenging the terrorist attacks he was responsible for in the past and preventing attacks the Taliban was planning for the future. The incident does not signal the organization's demise or the end of the bloody war in Afghanistan. This is a long and arduous fight with sharp peaks and valleys, but the side that refuses to surrender and give in will ultimately emerge victorious, or at the very least will save the lives of its soldiers and civilians. Former U.S. President George W. Bush's decision in 2001 to invade Afghanistan and destroy the Taliban regime was widely criticized and is seen by a considerable number of people as the cause for the ongoing conflict there. We must remember, however, that Bush decided to invade Afghanistan after he was left with no choice, and only after the Taliban had provided Osama bin Laden the base of operations from which he planned and ordered the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington. Truth be told, the Americans transitioned too quickly and perhaps without much forethought from the first phase of fighting against terrorism and violence, in the name of which it invaded Afghanistan, to the pretentious and largely hopeless phase of nation and state building. This ambitious goal emerged to be beyond their capabilities, but the quagmire in which the U.S. found itself in Afghanistan does not diminish the legitimacy of the war against the Taliban -- throughout the Bush and Obama eras alike -- which always was and remains a defensive war. Upon entering office some eight years ago, U.S. President Barack Obama declared he would withdraw his forces from Afghanistan. The reality on the ground, however, forced his hand. The Taliban continued to enjoy the support of large portions of the local population, and its fighters even won impressive gains in their war on the American-propped Afghan government, which revealed itself as inefficient and corrupt. In light of the Taliban's successes, which threatened to destroy the country, Obama was forced last year to announce that the U.S. military would maintain a presence there. This presence did not only focus on defending the cities and villages in Afghanistan from Taliban attacks. The American strategy, which we are also seeing in the fight against the Islamic State group, is not only predicated on targeting the organization's leaders and military commanders, but its political, economic and financial echelon as well. Obama discovered, therefore, that although one can declare a desire to disengage from Afghanistan, it is entirely uncertain that Afghanistan will disengage from him. And if the country falls back into the hands of the Taliban, it will proceed to hunt Americans the world over. Indeed, under the Taliban's patronage, al-Qaida operated freely in the territories under Taliban control, spreading its tentacles to the far corners of the globe. One of these tentacles, ISIS, was originally al-Qaida's branch in Iraq but is now an independent organization that has become a greater threat to the world than its archetype. America, therefore, is determined to wage an uncompromising war, illustrated in part by the decision to assassinate Mansour two days ago. The war in Afghanistan is still far from over. The Taliban is still deeply rooted in the realities of life in Afghanistan. Even worse, it also controls parts of Pakistan, where Mansour was killed. But Afghanistan was the first base of operations for radical Islamist global terrorism. It was the first arena of conflict, even if not the last, between it and the free world. From here we can understand the importance of pursuing the fight against the Taliban, at all costs and without compromise, until it is defeated --- either militarily or politically.
