Afghanistan remains anything but peaceful as the United States works to extract itself from the country. While the U.S. is sticking to its plan to withdraw the bulk of its forces by the 2014 deadline, such a withdrawal is dangerously premature. Recent Taliban activity is proof that the U.S. has not brought peace and stability, and the situation is actually deteriorating. With U.S. assistance, the government can barely protect itself today, let alone once the U.S. is gone.

On June 25 at 6:30 a.m., the Taliban launched a bold, well-coordinated attack on the presidential palace. According to international officials, up to 10 terrorists in two explosive-laden vehicles endeavored to drive through two checkpoints before beginning their assault on the palace and surrounding buildings. Attempting to slip through heavy security, they disguised themselves in military outfits complete with fake vehicle passes. One was apprehended by checkpoint guards, but the other glided through the gate. They struck at a time when reporters were packed around the main gates of the palace in preparation for a scheduled press event with the president. The on-hand reporters ensured the assault was widely publicized.

The attack came less than a day after James Dobbins, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai about holding peace talks with the Taliban. The proposed talks were stalled after the U.S. agreed to speak with the Taliban without the Afghan government present. While the Taliban has agreed to engage in talks, it has not renounced violence against the Afghan administration.

Actions such as the audacious bombing of the presidential palace show that the Taliban still has a lot of power in the nation. The Taliban held control of Afghanistan from late 1996 until its ousting in December 2001. Despite being removed from power, the Taliban has not given up aspirations of ruling the country. By orchestrating an attack in the heart of Kabul on the home of the president, the Taliban is sending a message to the world that it will play a key role in the nation post-2014.

The terrorists also attacked the surrounding government buildings, including a former hotel that is used to house the cia in Afghanistan; the Defense Ministry was also targeted. The choice of targets shows that the Taliban is far from defeated. On the contrary, it is capable of attacking the highest echelons of the ruling body.

The devastation of the attack is compounded by the fact that the Taliban can rest easy knowing that it is unlikely to suffer any major repercussion from U.S. or Afghan forces. Even when the Afghan president is threatened, the U.S. pretends not to notice, instead focusing all its energy on extracting itself from the situation.

Taliban influence within Afghanistan has fluctuated over the years, but never been destroyed. The Trumpet has reported extensively on the U.S.’s inability to defeat the Taliban. Columnist Joel Hilliker wrote back in 2008, “The fact that the world’s mightiest military is absolutely befuddled and unable to suppress the Taliban is a vivid and shocking example of what happens when a nation’s pride in its power has been broken.”

The same broken will was evident when the U.S. pulled out of Iraq, leaving the nation unstable and incapable of controlling the violence (1,045 people were killed in the month of May, according to UN figures). America’s broken will and subsequent withdrawal from Afghanistan runs the risk of returning the nation to its pre-invasion days of Taliban rulership.

The Bible warns that the U.S., Britain and Israel will have the pride of their power broken (Leviticus 26:19-20). Attacks on Afghanistan’s presidential palace after years of occupation are evidence of that. Watch as the U.S. continues to ignore the obvious conclusion that things are not getting better in the Middle East, and refuses to step up to the challenge of finishing what it started in the region.

To learn more about why America’s war efforts are failing, and for an advance look at the biblically prophesied future of America’s military endeavors, read Gerald Flurry’s 2003 article “Why We Cannot Win the War Against Terrorism.”