The Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist movement that controls 80 to 90 percent of Afghanistan, has launched a long-anticipated summer offensive to recapture the rest of the country. The fighting has been fierce, involving more than 100,000 men on five fronts. Civilian casualties have been high, since neither the government nor the opposition seems to care who they target. That indifference typifies the civil war that Afghanistan has lived through for the last 20 years.
In theory, that last parcel of territory is all that stands between the Taliban and international recognition. Although it controls most of the country, the fundamentalist government is recognized only by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The opposition Northern Alliance, led by Mr. Ahmad Shah Masood (a former Taliban general) and ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani, are recognized by the United Nations and all other governments.
In fact, when it comes to international recognition, territorial control is not the issue: Taliban policy is. There are two sticking points. The first is the government's oppressive human-rights policies, especially its attitude toward women. They have been forced indoors, obliged to don traditional Muslim shawls, the chador, and denied opportunities to work and be educated. Female foreign aid workers are subject to many of those restrictions, too.