One year after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, life under the Taliban remains brutal.

In August 2021, it took only 11 days for the Taliban to overwhelm Afghanistan's security forces and take over the government. That move came during the chaotic exit of U.S. forces and Afghan allies, including the loss of the lives of 13 American soldiers in a suicide attack outside the Kabul airport. 

Sights and sounds of desperation filled television screens after the Biden administration ordered U.S. forces to quickly leave Afghanistan. 

Some 80,000 Afghans evacuated through Kabul's international airport. As others tried to flee, the world saw how much the country had come to depend on American support during the last 20 years of war. 

One year later, the Taliban, which promised an inclusive, Islamic government, remains in power. The Taliban's promises to the Afghan people have not been kept, according to David Curry, the president, and CEO of Open Doors USA, who serves as a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

As the country struggles to live without American protection, religious persecution and terrorism are two major problems plaguing the people there. 

'Sanctuary of Terrorists': One Year After Afghanistan Pullout, 10,000+ Jihadists Flood Back In

"The Taliban is tightening control and people have gotten the message," Curry said. "And they're using this to continue to look for people who dissent from their Sharia laws and medieval views."

Since the U.S. departure, the country has experienced a health and hunger crisis due to a collapsing economy, plus years of progress in Afghan women's rights have also disappeared. 

Curry says the Taliban and ISIS-K are hunting down religious minorities. 

"Christians, Jews, and others. Basically, they started tracking them down with lists and now that's put many of these religious minorities on the run," Curry said. 

The Taliban has also allowed the country to become a sanctuary for terrorists. U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) believes terrorists in the region are preparing to attack. 

"The intelligence community has been very clear with those of us on the Armed Services Committee that Al-Qaeda and ISIS are rebuilding, and they fully intend to attack the West again," he said.  

U.S. intelligence continues to monitor Afghanistan from afar, including a recent secret drone attack that killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri. 

Even though America's longest ground war in history is over, the U.S. remains engaged in Afghanistan through a counterterrorism program called "Over the Horizon." Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow and director of research in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, says we'll have to wait and see whether it can prevent terrorists from remaining safe there.   

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