Taliban representatives show pride and confidence that they have, as they see it, defeated the U.S. The resultant sense of their own power makes them even more resistant to external influence than before. According to Taliban representatives, the current interim or acting (sarparast) government also has major achievements to its credit: ending over four decades of war; overseeing a massive improvement in security; and establishing stable, centralized power over the entire territory of Afghanistan for the first time in over 40 years.
