This book tells the story of the United States relationship with the Taliban from the start of the Taliban movement until its retreat from Kabul in the face of the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. The US and the Taliban held countless meetings, but could never come to a workable arrangement, and this book examines both why diplomatic recognition was so important to the Taliban government and why the US refused to recognize it. It presents a concise, readable, and interesting perspective on US/Taliban relations from the fall of Kabul in 1996 until the fall of Kabul in 2001.

Jonathan Cristol is Research Fellow in the Levermore Global Scholars Program at Adelphi University, USA, and Senior Fellow at the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College, USA.

1. Introduction: Diplomatic Recognition and the Taliban Movement.- 2. The Rise of the Taliban.- 3. The Taliban Take Kabul and A New Friend Moves to Kandahar.- 4. US/Taliban Relations and the Intervention of Domestic Politics.- 5. The US and the Taliban Talk in Circles as the Bin Laden Threat Grows.- 6. Conclusion: One Last Chance.