RFE/RL Analyst On Taliban: You Can't Oppress Half The Population Forever

As insurgents loyal to the Taliban have swept across Afghanistan, claiming numerous victories in the country’s provinces formerly controlled by the Western-backed government, hundreds of thousands of people -- among them many women -- are fleeing to the capital, Kabul, for safety. What happens next? Can the Taliban conquer the capital? What has been the driving force of their success so far? Is it the same Taliban we remember from the 1990s? Andres Ilves, RFE/RL's Near East regional director, discussed these and other issues on August 13.