VICTORY LAP

Taliban Optimistically Calls for Friendly Relations With U.S. After Final Troops Leave

The militia’s leaders declared victory during a stroll around Kabul’s international airport.

The Taliban has taken a victory lap of Kabul’s international airport hours after the final U.S. troops took flight—and its leaders have, optimistically, called for friendly relations with the Biden administration. According to Bloomberg News, Zabihullah Mujahed, the Taliban’s top spokesman, held a press conference Tuesday from Hamid Karzai International Airport. He reportedly declared that the Taliban is seeking “good and diplomatic relationship with the Americans,” but added: “We highlight to every occupier that whoever sees Afghanistan with an evil eye will face the same fate as the Americans have faced... We’ve never given up to pressure or force, and our nation has always sought freedom.” Mujahed said the Taliban will now attempt to restart operations at the airport, and confirmed that U.S. troops destroyed unspecified equipment before leaving.