the swiftest land grab in the nation s history. seizing more than half of afghanistan s provincial capitals. five years ago, the picture looked very different. the group was split over a new leader, after he was killed in a u.s. drone strike. the leadership settled on a quiet religious scholar, who is rarely heard from or seen. cloaked in secrecy, his two deputies set about building up the taliban in all of afghanistan s 34 provinces. the taliban s military commanders were persuaded that the group should join peace talks. one prize being the release of thousands of veteran fighters from afghan prisons. sensing the u.s. was exhausted by the afghan conflict, the taliban simply waited and planned. they joked americans had the watches, it had the time. it raised hundreds of millions
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