What does this mean? From beginning to end, the West fought the war the same way. B-52 bombers were used to conduct the first airstrikes of 2001. In August, attacks that ended the US presence in the region came from this same aircraft.
The Taliban made great strides in the meantime. The Taliban started the war with AK-47s, and other conventional weapons. But today, they use mobile telephony to not only improve their weapons and command-and-control systems but also to conduct their strategic communications and influence operations.
Why is this uneven and underwhelming technological progress?
War of choice vs existential war
The war in Afghanistan was a matter of survival for the Taliban. They had to adapt to survive when they were confronted by hundreds of thousands foreign troops from NATO countries. Although their majority of fighting equipment is simple and easy to maintain (often a Kalashnikov and some ammunition, a radio and a headscarf), insurgent groups have required them to develop new technology or find out about existing technology.
From beginning to end, the West fought the war the same way. The Taliban made great leaps, however.
Roadside bombs or IEDs are a key example. These weapons were the most deadly weapon to inflict casualties on all sides. They were originally activated using pressure plates like mines. By the middle of the war, the Taliban had developed them so they could be used anywhere there was a mobile signal. The innovations made by the Taliban are more important because their technological base was lower.
The strategic level was where the Taliban made their technological breakthrough. They are acutely aware of the past failures of their government service and have tried to correct them. They preferred to remain in their own world between 1996 and 2001. There was one photo of Mullah Omar, their leader. The Taliban have built a sophisticated public relations team that harnesses social media both domestically and internationally. IED attacks were usually recorded on a mobile phone and then uploaded to one or more Taliban Twitter feeds. This was done to aid in recruitment, fundraising and morale. Another example is the automatic scraping of social media for key words like ISI supportreferring Pakistan's security service. This relationship has been established with the Taliban. Then, an army of online robots are unleashed to send messages trying to refashion that image.
