there is certainly interpretation that s are held up and others that are equally valid in islamic law that are not. why? that s a public policy decision. reporter: and that s exactly where the taliban say they are changing. they want to engage on a global stage. they also have to take into account relationships that they have with powerful actors outside of the country. reporter: that leaves the u.s. and its allies with one key piece of leverage international recognition and legitimacy. hanging in the balance, the 20 years of gains and rights and liberties for the women and girls of afghanistan. kim, as you know, this is not just about what women are allowed to wear, how thick the hijab is, or what type of veil is required. these laws and rules, whatever is formed, will affect women and girls from cradle to grave. it will cover everything from
Take, for example, iran, a country ruled by a strict shia interpretation of islamic. there women and girls are subject to violent attacks. women are denied the right to make decisions about their lives without a male relative. and in saudi arabia, women must obtain permission for their most basic rights. men can file complaints for d disob disobedience. but there have been a shift in the kingdom. a driving ban was reversed. there are certain interpretations held up and other interpretations that are equally valid in islamic law that are not. why? that s a public policy decision. reporter: and that s exactly where the taliban say they are changing. they want to engage on a global
Afghanistan is suffering from severe drought. there s a longer, food crisis in afghanistan. they re suffering their third wave of covid and they re broke. all of that confronts a brand new government in transition as the taliban begins to try to find its feet and move from an insurgency to a government. this is an extraordinarily complex situation. absolutely. ambassador, blinken s got a tough job today but this does come from president biden, of course. what do you think of the president s decision and announcement yesterday in rejecting the pressure from britain and other allies to change his mind on that deadline? i understand why he took that decision, because it s frankly not entirely up to the united states president as much as we would like it to be. the reality is if you don t stick to the timetable agreed with the taliban for withdrawal of foreign troops, then people
Trigger these contingency plans to have u.s. forces stay in afghanistan longer. from the viewpoint of allies, it almost feels like boris johnson called that g7 meeting to say the ground has already shifted, contingency plans already need to be triggers. i m curious your thoughts on that. boris johnson called that meeting probably because he was in the chair of the g7 and this major international crisis was unfolding and they re trying to do something that was helpful. you re right that he hoped there would be the chance of extending that deadline. as i was saying earlier, this is not a unilateral decision. i don t know what my good friend bill burns has been doing in kabul talking to taliban leadership. it may be about terrorism and trying to assure that it s not
Would have resumed attacking u.s. forces from a position of strength. to continue to support the afghan government and security forces the u.s. would have had to increase its military presence significantly. if you believe this, as your predecessor does, there wasn t much of a choice left for biden to make. what do you think? i do think the president faced a binary choice. it was to either abide by the trump agreement of february of last year 2020 to withdraw u.s. troops by may 1st of this year or to face a slowly but steadily eroding security situation in favor of the taliban that would have seen a requirement to escalate with u.s. forces. so i think fundamentally that s the debate, those two choices are ones that framed up the discussions in the situation room and the white house leading up to the president s decision. the best of many bad choices, is that what he was left with? maybe the least worst.