Compared to the Taliban from the late 1990s, the Taliban of 2021 appears very different on TV news clips. There is no question that the quality of the telecast has improved, but so has the look of the Afghan militant outfit. The weapons they use look brand new and shiny; they have Humvee-type vehicles that are in excellent working order; the clothes they wear are clean and new; their neat hairstyle is a significant departure from the tousled look of yore.
The Taliban of 2021 no longer look like the rabid, ragged, disheveled militia they used to be while caning and executing women (and men) during their barbaric rule over Afghanistan, as could be seen on grainy, shaking visuals. Head of the Taliban delegation Abdul Salam Hanafi (R), flanked by Taliban officials (2R to L) Amir Khan Muttaqi, Shahabuddin Delawar and Abdul Latif Mansour, walk down a hotel lobby during the meeting in Qatar’s capital Doha on August 12, 2021. Apparently, Afghanistan’s negotiators have proposed a power-sharing agreement to the Taliban as a way to end fighting in the country.
Today, they appear as a disciplined legion of well-fed and well-to-do fighters on a mission to take over the country. Why would they not appear smug and self-satisfied? The organization is flush with funds since nothing spells success like a fat wallet. Where do the Taliban’s funds come from? How much money does the Taliban have?
Forbes ranked the Taliban fifth richest of the 10 ‘Terrorist’ organizations they featured in 2016. In 2012, ISIS had a turnover of 2 billion USD and was the number one organization. The Taliban at number five had an annual turnover of $400 million. It was in 2016 when Forbes listed the Taliban’s primary sources of revenue as drug trafficking, protection money, and donations, and it was not even the dominant force in Afghanistan. According to a NATO report accessed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Taliban had an annual budget of $1.6 Billion in 2019-20, a 400 percent increase compared with the Forbes figures of 2016. According to RFE/RF, the Taliban earned their dollars through different revenue streams.
- Mining: $464 million
- Drugs: $416 million
- Foreign Donations: $240 million
- Export: $240 million
- Taxes: $160 million (Protection/Extortion money?)
- Real Estate: $80 million
NATO’s confidential report indicated that the Taliban leadership was aspiring to self-sufficiency in order to become an independent political and military entity. In recent years, the organization has reduced its reliance on foreign donations and contributions. During 2017-18 it received an estimated $500 million, or about half of its total funding from foreign sources; by 2020, this had dropped to roughly 15 percent of their revenue.
For that same fiscal year, Afghanistan’s official budget was $5.5 Billion, of which less than 2 percent went to defense. America provided the bulk of the funding for the ‘keep Taliban out of Afghanistan project’. In spite of the rush to get out of Afghanistan, the US spent almost a trillion dollars over 19 years directly fighting the Taliban or training Afghan forces to fight them.
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In Afghanistan, it appears that the Taliban are the better business venture getting more bang for their buck than the United States. Based on economic principles, the Taliban’s return on investment (ROI) is increasing every day. If they fill the void left by the US and NATO forces dislodging, Their business will flourish and higher profits are almost certain as Afghanistan prepares itself for defeat.
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