Nancy Mace Says US Should Not Recognize Taliban Government

DID Press: U.S. Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, has described the Taliban as a terrorist organization and called efforts to legitimize the group “dangerous and reckless.” She said the United States should not recognize the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan.

Mace said she has introduced legislation titled the “Preventing Recognition of Terrorist States Act,” which would seek to designate the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization, classify the Taliban-led government as a state sponsor of terrorism, and prohibit U.S. federal agencies from recognizing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

She argued that Washington should not send “mixed messages” to its adversaries or provide legitimacy to groups it considers terrorist organizations, saying the United States should not legitimize “terrorists or terrorism.”

The proposal reflects continued opposition in parts of the U.S. Congress to any formal recognition of the Taliban authorities. Mace previously advanced similar legislation, but the earlier proposal did not become law.

Under current U.S. policy, the Taliban-led authorities in Kabul are not formally recognized by Washington as the government of Afghanistan. The debate over recognition remains tied to broader U.S. concerns about terrorism, human rights and the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls.