The Taliban’s Response to Trump’s Afghanistan Address

Late last January, the Taliban’s principal spokesman, writing under the nom de plume Zabihullah Mujahid, published an open letter to Donald Trump. Noting “the presidential change of your country,” he wrote that he wished “to share with you a few realities about the ongoing war in Afghanistan.” In a little under two thousand words, Mujahid laid out his argument: the Taliban could not be defeated by the United States, the war was unnecessary, and the U.S. should go home. “President of America!” he concluded. “Perhaps some contents of this letter...