Quick/coming soon: Why Afghanistan?

 I wish I could say that I am surprised by the rapid fall of Afghanistan.  If you want some understanding of why the Taliban can take root in Afghanistan, you need some understanding of where the "mainstream" of Afghanistan is.  Pew did a cross-country analysis several years ago.  The Taliban are not the center of Afghan opinion.  But they aren't nearly as far from the center as they would be in most countries.  Some discussion of this survey, coming soon.