The Taliban not only took over Afghanistan, they preserved its political institutions, restored law and order, destroyed ISIS, and even made it safe for tourism. According to CNN:
About 691 tourists visited Afghanistan in 2021, rising to 2,300 the following year and 7,000 in 2023, according to the Associated Press, citing Mohammad Saeed, head of the Tourism Directorate in Kabul. More than 10,179 have visited the country since August 2021, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Tourism told CNN.
That’s a more than 1,000% increase. Think of how totally humiliating that is for the USA and NATO. The Taliban regime is literally safer for international tourists than the “western-style democracy” receiving hundreds of billions of dollars in military and humanitarian assistance.
Not only did the rules based world order get defeated by the Taliban, they’re unable to even replicate the victory elsewhere.
Apparently, designing cool flags is the only thing NATO-sponsored rebels are good at.