As the Taliban carve out their role in the international community by retaking Afghanistan, they also put the NYT in an awkward position [screenshots]

Yesterday, Jen Psaki, speaking for the Biden administration, told the White House press corps that “the Taliban also has to make an assessment about what they want their role to be in the international community.”

Psaki: "The Taliban also has to make an assessment about what they want their role to be in the international community."

Um, I'm pretty sure they decided long ago they were comfortable with "terrorist organization." #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/v8Ta8WDnnP

— John Cooper (@thejcoop) August 11, 2021

Well, it appears that after their assessment, the Taliban have realized that they want their role to be what it was before: bloodthirsty pro-Sharia terrorists hellbent on seizing total control of Afghanistan.

The Taliban is now marching on Kandahar City center. https://t.co/irNeTpRsN7

— Bill Roggio (@billroggio) August 12, 2021

This is fine:

We’re hearing additional reports of #Taliban executions of surrendering Afghan troops. Deeply disturbing & could constitute war crimes.

— U.S. Embassy Kabul (@USEmbassyKabul) August 12, 2021

Escalating Taliban violence, including executions of surrendered Afghan troops, shows a lack of respect for #HumanRights. Don’t erase Afghanistan’s human rights gains of the last 20 years.

— U.S. Embassy Kabul (@USEmbassyKabul) August 12, 2021

These tweets are horrifying in terms of their content, but also in terms of the fact that the world's superpower can't do anything but issue strongly worded tweets. pic.twitter.com/cRJvlZz8hX

— Sean T at RCP (@SeanTrende) August 12, 2021

The BIDEN administration has discussed evacuating the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, possibly by the end of August, @politico reports, revealing that a new U.S. military assessment says the Afghan capital could fall to the Taliban in as quickly as a month. https://t.co/vKcORpPr6V

— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) August 12, 2021

In light of recent events, we’re curious to see whether any scrubbing will be going on over at the New York Times opinion section.

Who remembers this gem from last year?

And yet here it is, in all its glory, in @NYTOpinion:

"What We, the Taliban, Want."
"I am convinced that the killing and the maiming must stop, the deputy leader of the Taliban writes." – Sirajuddin Haqqani, deputy leader of the Taliban, Feb 2020:https://t.co/hKj6oV6p8U https://t.co/MoqxH9B0fx pic.twitter.com/oXkSbR3Imp

— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) August 12, 2021

"We’re hearing additional reports of #Taliban executions of surrendering Afghan troops. Deeply disturbing & could constitute war crimes." – @USEmbassyKabul

"I am convinced that the killing & the maiming must stop…" – Sirajuddin Haqqani in @nytopinion https://t.co/JkZIOOgx91 pic.twitter.com/CiYEXRMi33

— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) August 12, 2021

Guess what they, the Taliban, actually wanted was for the killing and maiming to escalate.