Does the U.S. have any real leverage over the Taliban?

Since retaking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban have tried to assure the rest of the world that their new government will be different from the brutal, oppressive regime that ruled the country in the years before the American invasion. They have vowed to respect women’s rights to some degree, forgive those who had allied with the U.S. military and prevent terrorist groups from using Afghanistan as a staging ground for attacks. “We want the world to trust us,” a Taliban spokesperson said.

Unsurprisingly, the notion of a kinder, gentler Taliban has been met with deep...