The German Review

The German Review

Why German officials are talking to the Taliban

A German delegation just spent several days in the Afghan capital

Jörg Luyken's avatar
Jörg Luyken
Oct 08, 2025
∙ Paid
a view of a city with mountains in the background
Photo by Mohammad Husaini on Unsplash

Dear Reader,

It is just over four years since German diplomats beat a hasty retreat from Kabul in the summer of 2021 as the Taliban closed in on the Afghan capital.

The state apparatus that NATO countries spent two decades and countless billions of dollars building collapsed within weeks before the Islamist group that…

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