Taliban 2.0. What they say

This text is based on recent interviews with two high-ranking and serving Taliban officials which took place in August 2021, shortly before the Taliban took over Kabul. They are summarized in their raw form but accompanied by brief comments by the authors. The interviews were conducted under conditions of confidentiality, and the interviewees are treated anonymously, since they partly deal with some sensitive internal debates within the movement. However, both officials are aware that extracts from our conversations with them are being published. Many of the messages and viewpoints referred to below resonate with official and publicly available Taliban statements.