Poll: US Delegation’s Kabul Visit Viewed as Leveraging Taliban for Hidden Agendas

DID Press: A new survey reveals that the public perceives recent visit of a U.S. delegation to Kabul as more than a humanitarian or diplomatic mission, with most respondents believing it involved prisoner exchanges alongside covert political and security objectives.

Following the trip, speculation grew over Washington’s true intentions. According to the poll conducted by DID Press Agency, only 8% of respondents believed the visit was solely aimed at a prisoner swap. None of the participants (0%) considered it merely a political move to pressure the Taliban caretaker government.

Around 23% of respondents saw the visit as an effort to open new negotiation channels and strike secret agreements, while 69% believed it was a mix of prisoner exchanges and broader political-security aims.

Analysts suggest this reflects a wider public perception that U.S. engagement with the Taliban cannot be just humanitarian gestures, but is part of a multilayered strategy involving humanitarian, security, and political files within a complex regional context.

Experts argue that the direct presence of American officials in Kabul, though publicly framed around detainee issues, served as a test of the Taliban’s reliability as a tool for advancing U.S. regional policies. As a result, public opinion largely interprets the visit not as a humanitarian step, but as a calculated political and security maneuver by Washington to shape regional dynamics.