x01a Research Archives

MIA Monthly – Amos Election

pgnewser October 30, 2026 0

In Issue 2026.30, Amos Elections, we cover Election Predicting, Lula’s Brazil, Brexit Reduxing

Our Situation Report has been replaced in this issue by our 2026 Election Report. We cover the issues, the laws, the races, and offer a prediction on the results.

Our Bellwether Digest covers Non-Citizen Balloting, Vucic’s Fall, Activist Judge Handcuffing

Tools of Engagement include resources to be informed in the news, informed in the elections, and how to build your own search engine.

In our Final Thought, Editor Paul Gordon Collier and Publisher Bill Collier offer their final word on the upcoming election.

I. 2026 Election Report: Pt. 1 – Issues, Election Laws, Ballot Initiatives

II. Bellwether Digest – Global Outlook, Headlines Missed, People Advance

III. Tools of Engagement

IV. Bellwether Report – U.S Politics – World – Culture – Market- Sci-Tech

V. 2026 Election Report: Pt. 2 – House Races – Senate Races – Predictive Analysis

VI. Final Thought – Last Comments on the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election

MIA Monthly 26 10 30 FINAL DRAFT WORD

Becoming Social

pgnewser October 30, 2026 0

III. TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT

A. THE BIRTH OF THE ECUMENICAL NATION-STATE

In our October 16, 2026, MIA issue Paul Gordon Collier wrote about his experience researching the immigration crisis in Europe. He wrote: “In the course of our research, we have discovered that the narratives around the three bellwether European countries we are using for this report are being buried by search engines that assure only progressive state media shows up in current news search results.

“Even when prompting AI to present data outside of the progressive state press, not one major AI deployed could comply. Even when we provided them with a list of websites that we use for news aggregate analysis, the AI could still not produce research results outside of the progressive state press.

“A couple of websites, like Breitbart and PJ Media, made it into the aggregation analysis process because they are some of the very few non-progressive sites that show up in current news searches.

“Without AI, the research process is considerably more time-consuming than with it. In order for us to have a more complete picture of views on the planvasion, it will take us a lot more time than we previously thought, therefore we are offering here a scaled down version of what the final report will be.

“We are in the process of building AI bots that will regularly search websites outside the progressive state press to assure we get current news research results not so overwhelmingly dominated by progressive talking points.”

Using search engines to get the latest news is fraught with non-disclosed filtering of websites not aligned with progressive orthodoxy. Our website, newslinkia.com/, archives news blurbs and links from a disparate news pool, one that includes the progressive state press and non-progressive state press.

If you want to get information on a current news story, we recommend you do one of three things, build your own news aggregate website, your own personal-use search engine, or use newslinkia.com/.

Our site is not comprehensive, so it should be used as a supplement to other sources, not the exclusive source.

Here are three sources for search engine builders:

Why Choose Programmable Search – Google

Build Your Own Search Engine – wiby.org

How to build a search engine: A complete guide for developers – meilisearch.com

B. JOAN OF HAMAS?

In our October 23, 2026 issue of MIA, we covered the French Riots. We reported: Here are four headlines that bellwether the progressive state press narratives on the French riots:

  1. FACT FOCUS: Trump and Republicans blame France’s immigrants for riots without evidence – AP News – This headline asks Americans not to believe their lying eyes, the hundreds of thousands of videos showing African and Middle Eastern men praising Allah while they unleash hell on French citizens.
  2. France has a proud tradition of protesting, and sometimes people lose their heads – abcnews.com – This headline attempts to make a somewhat grim joke; though the lesser context, the disproportionate outrage version of “lose their heads,” is their punchline, not the French Revolution. The article is accusing people of being hysterical for reacting with existential concern about what’s going on in France right now.
  3. France: Protests “brought the entire population together for a common purpose”– France 24 – This French publication is all-in on the riots, even attempting to popularize the riots by claiming everyone is participating in them. We wonder how the French citizens who are not in on the insurrection feel about this headline
  4. Looters Seize on massive French protests to raid and vandalize shops – France 24 – This is that same treasonous French press protecting the insurrection again. This headline is attempting to shift all the blame for the violence not on the politically motivated insurrectionists aiming to destroy the republic, but on “selfish looters.”

The French press has decided that “far right” candidates noticing the riots and the Islamists’ roles in the riots is problematic, even racist.

MS Now may take the case. Their mouthpieces decided to implore Americans to protest (meaning riot) here like they are in France over our economic woes. Not only are they pushing the narrative that this is an unaffordability protest, but they are also openly trying to trigger similar French-styled arsonist attacks against American businesses.

Another story from our Bellwether Digest that week showed Americans are mostly getting the kind of “news” highlighted above. We reported: LEFTIST NEWS AGGREGATORS DOMINATE U.S. NEWS – 58% of Americans are getting their “news” from far-left news aggregators that block non-progressive media from being seen. These four far-left news aggregators are run by progressive-controlled corporations aligned with the Democratic Party. The four aggregators are Apple News, Google News, Yahoo News, and Microsoft’s MSM.

Our news research compels us to track multiple news sites, on the left, right, and otherwise. Here are 10 sites that are not progressive which we regularly monitor. We encourage you to create your own RSS aggregate of these sites, or bookmark them so you regularly have sources for news not filtered through the enemy’s lens.

The Federalist – TheFederalist.com

PJ Media – PJMedia.com

American Thinker – AmericanThinker.com

Townhall – TownHall.com

The American Spectator – Spectator.org

Breitbart – Breitbart.com

Daily Caller – DailyCaller.com

The Daily Wire – DailyWire.com

Liberty Nation – LibertyNation.com

Just the News – JustTheNews.com

C. THE 2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS

In this issue of MIA, on page 2, we concluded our election report with this claim, “While we would not be shocked, or even surprised, if the Republicans hold on to the House, at this point we must assume they will not.

“A DNC win will trigger criminal investigations and prosecutions at state and local levels, bury our congress in constant sham hearings intended on convicting Trump and his allies of crimes they mostly didn’t actually commit, and embolden the street fighters that gave them this victory to ratchet up their violence.

“You will see more and more progressives openly calling for the American republic to be scrapped, to form a new constitution with a new name for their progressive state.

“We have long-recommended President Trump use every legal means possible to declare the Democratic Party an insurrectionist terrorist operation. We have called on him to use his emergency and insurrection act powers to arrest its leaders, prosecute them for treason, confiscate their assets (including the progressive state press, a treasonous information terror network), and punish the insurrections to the fullest extent of the law.

“We should not be holding elections in which Islamists and Socialists are allowed to rule over a country they all want to murder. Yet here we are.

“If it happens as we imagine it will, it is a judgment of God on the land, a land that accelerated its descent into progressive madness the day its own court protected child murderers from rightful prosecution.”

We suspect the results of the election will not be known on the first night so we encourage our readers to track those results, as well as the fall-out from those results on our website newslinkia.com/.

Our website contains archives of news blurbs and links of both the progressive state press and independent press. We tag our archives to make it easier for readers to follow certain topics.

Here are links to those tags that will be updated regularly throughout the week. These tags are related to the 2026 election:

2026 Elections

Senate Races

Alaska Senate Race

Maine Senate Race

Michigan Senate Race

North Carolina Senate Race

Texas Senate Race

House Races

Michigan House Races

Ohio House Races

PA House Races

Texas House Races

Election Fraud

Election Law

Mass Mailer Election

Voter ID

BREAKING: DOJ Comes Up Empty as Grand Jury Refuses to Indict January 6 Star Witness Cassidy Hutchinson– wltreport.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

BREAKING: DOJ Comes Up Empty as Grand Jury Refuses to Indict January 6 Star Witness Cassidy Hutchinson– wltreport.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The Justice Department just hit a major wall in its effort to indict Cassidy Hutchinson.

A federal grand jury in Washington reportedly refused to return an indictment against the former White House aide, whose testimony became one of the most explosive moments of the House January 6 committee’s televised hearings.

The rejection is especially striking because grand juries hear the prosecution’s evidence without a defense team in the room, and the government only needs to establish probable cause rather than prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

But even that lower threshold was reportedly not met.

Anthropic Says It Will Revolutionize Biology—Some Day– www.wired.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Anthropic Says It Will Revolutionize Biology—Some Day– www.wired.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

AI giant Anthropic and CEO Dario Amodei have repeatedly claimed that the company’s models will revolutionize biology and drug discovery. But in its IPO filing Monday, Anthropic struck a humbler note, acknowledging its lack of experience in physical experimentation and the potential pitfalls of drug development. Wherever it’s going, it seems, it will take some time to get there.

Two years ago, Amodei wrote that he was “open” to the idea that AI systems could produce a thousand years of progress in biology in just five to 10 years. In August, he said on X that “Anthropic is ramping up its efforts very quickly in biology and medicine.” In the same post, he predicted that AI will make it possible to cure most human diseases in the next five to 10 years and promised a “deluge of AI-accelerated drugs.” The company also promoted the discovery of a “Crispr-like” enzyme by Claude in September.

While the new IPO filing still touts AI’s ability to “profoundly accelerate the rate of progress in biology and medicine” and compress “decades of scientific progress into years,” it’s reserved about how it will turn the potential into the actual.

The company says that its teams “need first-hand experience doing scientific research and drug discovery” and that its life sciences activities will require it “to engage in activities outside our historical experience as a software and research organization.” That includes handling potentially hazardous materials, operating laboratory equipment, and complying with a bevy of regulations.

Extreme risk protection orders are designed to prevent gun violence. But how do they impact the people subject to them?– phys.org

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Extreme risk protection orders are designed to prevent gun violence. But how do they impact the people subject to them?– phys.org
News Source
EXCERPT:
About 125 people die from gun violence through homicide or suicide in the United States every day. Many more are injured by firearms. Extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), known in California as gun violence restraining orders, are designed to keep firearms temporarily away from people at risk of harming themselves or others.

Texas Claims Rio Grande Islands In Fight Against Cartels– dailycaller.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Texas Claims Rio Grande Islands In Fight Against Cartels– dailycaller.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The Texas government announced that the Lone Star State has added nine islands along the Rio Grande to its territory, bringing additional land along the U.S.-Mexico border under state jurisdiction.

Located in the Rio Grande River, the islands cover about 66 acres of land that would now fall under the Texas State jurisdiction, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham announced Monday. These islands were annexed for fear that they would become safe havens for Mexican drug cartels that operate in the area, NewsNation reported.

“Yes — the Texas General Land Office (GLO) has identified nine islands along the Texas-Mexico border, totaling roughly 66 acres, as property belonging to the State of Texas,” an official from the GLO told the DCNF.

“As Texas Land Commissioner, I have a responsibility to protect every acre of state land entrusted to the General Land Office. For years, the ownership of these islands has been uncertain, limiting the ability to ensure they are properly monitored and protected,” Buckingham said in a Monday press release. “Now that the GLO has confirmed these nine islands belong to the State of Texas, we are notifying our law enforcement partners so that they can gain access to these state-owned properties to patrol, inspect and clear them of any illegal activity they may encounter, consistent with the law. Texas land will never become a safe haven for cartels, human traffickers, smugglers, or other criminal organizations.” (RELATED: US Deploys 500 Troops To Rio Grande Valley Combatting Cartels)

Protesters file complaints with Attorney General’s Office alleging torture at hands of Jalisco state police officers– mexiconewsdaily.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Protesters file complaints with Attorney General’s Office alleging torture at hands of Jalisco state police officers– mexiconewsdaily.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Officers are alleged to have physically and verbally abused dozens of demonstrators protesting foul tap water in Guadalajara on Oct. 11, later holding them for hours in dismal conditions and, in some cases, torturing them.

Europe struggles to top up gas storage at four-year high prices ahead of winter – Business & Economy– tass.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Europe struggles to top up gas storage at four-year high prices ahead of winter – Business & Economy– tass.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. In late October, European countries continue to inject small volumes of gas into underground storage facilities (UGS) ahead of the cold season, despite prices hitting a four-year high, according to TASS calculations based on data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).

Meanwhile, several countries have been net-withdrawing gas from European UGS facilities for the second consecutive week – with withdrawal volumes outstripping injections–signaling the gradual start of the heating season in the region.

To date, Europe has managed to inject only 75.5% of the gas volumes required for the upcoming winter, which amounts to 51 billion cubic meters.

As of October 26, European UGS facilities were 74.93% full, down from 82.9% a year earlier and 14.65 percentage points below the five-year average for this date. This remains the lowest level recorded for this date since monitoring began in 2011. EU storage facilities currently hold approximately 82.1 billion cubic meters of gas, which is 9.4 billion cubic meters less than last year and the lowest volume since 2013. Gazprom previously forecast that European gas inventories might fail to reach even the 75% mark, warning of a challenging autumn-winter season for the region.

Flávio Bolsonaro Flees to America After Judge Orders Seizure of His Passports Following Election Defeat › American Greatness– amgreatness.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Flávio Bolsonaro Flees to America After Judge Orders Seizure of His Passports Following Election Defeat › American Greatness– amgreatness.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has reportedly fled to the United States after losing to Socialist President Lula da Silva in the country’s presidential election by 4.4 million votes (51.8 percent to 48.2 percent).

“The plane is in flight, and the final destination would be Florida,” Brazilian online newspaper Metropolis reported Tuesday morning. “The information was confirmed by people close to the parliamentarian’s family.”

Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, initially called for the election to be annulled due to a last-minute two-hour extension of voting hours in a district favorable to Lula. The extension was ordered by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin just three minutes before the scheduled 5 p.m. close purportedly because of transportation issues.

But the challenge was considered unlikely to succeed because only 35,000 votes were cast during the extended hours, and the margin of defeat was substantial, the Guardian reported. Bolsonaro effectively conceded defeat on Monday,  after President Donald Trump indicated he would not intervene, despite calling the vote “rigged.”

When asked for his thoughts on the election, Trump told reporters the vote “looked terrible” and “like another rigged election.”

“I didn’t take sides,” Trump said. “Elections have to be indisputable, and it looked very bad to me.”

Red, Blue States to Rekindle Voters’ Abortion Rights in Midterms

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Blurb:

Voters in four states will decide abortion measures next week in contests to protect access and, in one case, roll back a constitutional protection voters approved in 2024.

Idaho, Virginia and Nevada voters will all decide on legal and constitutional protections for abortion on Nov. 3, while Missouri will be asked to reconsider rights they endorsed just two years ago. The states are hotly-contested battlegrounds for interest groups fighting over abortion access since the Supreme Court stripped federal guarantees on the procedure in 2022, which triggered a patchwork of restrictions across the US and spurred ballot measures in the ensuing …

Watch: El-Sayed Staffer Lets His True Feelings About Americans and the Muslim Brotherhood Slip in Devastating Undercover Video– www.westernjournal.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Watch: El-Sayed Staffer Lets His True Feelings About Americans and the Muslim Brotherhood Slip in Devastating Undercover Video– www.westernjournal.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

A ranking member of Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s organization has said the quiet part aloud — and there was an undercover camera rolling. In a video published Monday by the […]

The post Watch: El-Sayed Staffer Lets His True Feelings About Americans and the Muslim Brotherhood Slip in Devastating Undercover Video appeared first on The Western Journal.

 

Arctic shipping: China and Russia expand grip, can Europe fight back?– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Arctic shipping: China and Russia expand grip, can Europe fight back?– www.cnbc.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The icebreaker Tor (right) at the port of Sabetta in the Kara Sea shoreline on the Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic circle, some 2450 km of Moscow.

Kirill Kudryavtesev | AFP | Getty Images

China and Russia are tightening their grip on Arctic shipping routes, turning the rapidly warming region into a new geopolitical battleground with Europe.

Moscow and Beijing last week have agreed to expand freight traffic along Arctic shipping corridors, increase services between their ports and deepen cooperation on building polar vessels.

The agreement came after the EU unveiled a new Arctic strategy aimed at countering growing Russian and Chinese influence in the region.

Although the competing moves underscore how the once-remote region is turning into a strategic prize, analysts said that Europe’s ability to challenge the emerging China-Russia partnership remains limited, given Moscow’s control over the main shipping corridor and Beijing’s growing commercial clout.

Europe cannot realistically challenge Chinese and Russian dominance of Arctic shipping in any meaningful timeframe.

Alicia Garcia-Herrero

APAC & MEA Chief Economist, Natixis CIB

Romania says Russia-run sabotage network set fire near weapons factory | Russia-Ukraine war News– www.aljazeera.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Romania says Russia-run sabotage network set fire near weapons factory | Russia-Ukraine war News– www.aljazeera.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Romanian authorities say they have uncovered a network “coordinated” by Russia that they believe was responsible for a fire at an industrial site near a state-owned weapons factory in September.

Romania’s Intelligence Service said on Monday that the blaze in the central city of Brasov on September 14 was “part of a wider campaign of sabotage operations coordinated” by Russia amid its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The agency said the operations were aimed at arms manufacturers and “other targets of military and industrial interest”.

“These actions are intended to intimidate, undermine defence capabilities and weaken the contribution of the targeted states to European and regional security,” it said in a statement.

Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro Says Court Banned Him From Leaving Country– www.ndtv.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro Says Court Banned Him From Leaving Country– www.ndtv.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Flavio Bolsonaro on Monday said a Supreme Court justice had banned him from leaving Brazil, one day after he lost presidential elections and refused to concede defeat.

“I was served with an order to hand over my passports and I am also banned from leaving the country,” the right-wing senator said, denouncing “a clear attempt to intimidate me.”

HORRIFYING FOOTAGE: Islamic Group Massacres Christians with Machetes In Africa– gellerreport.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

HORRIFYING FOOTAGE: Islamic Group Massacres Christians with Machetes In Africa– gellerreport.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

HORRIFYING: New footage shows Boko Haram Islamic jihadists in Africa massacring Christians with machetes.

This year alone, more Christians have been killed in Nigeria than Palestinians in three years of war.

Jordanian security forces say they’ve arrested three men in deadly church attack– abcnews.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Jordanian security forces say they’ve arrested three men in deadly church attack– abcnews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

AMMAN, Jordan — The Jordanian air force carried out strikes against groups in Syria in retaliation for Friday’s attack on a Greek Orthodox Church in Karak that killed nine people, Jordanian state media reported Monday.

It said the operation “resulted in the killing and wounding of many members of these terrorist groups and the destruction of a number of their vehicles.” It did not specify who the groups were or the precise location of the strikes. There was no immediate comment from Syrian officials.

Earlier Monday, Jordanian authorities arrested three men for last week’s attack, which also wounded more than two dozen people. The arrests followed a dawn shootout, and all three men were wounded, officials said.

The attack struck the Greek Orthodox Church during a funeral in Karak, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of the capital, Amman, on Friday. Karak is home to a minority Christian population.

The attack shocked the nation, and Jordan declared three days of mourning for the victims. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack; the attackers’ motive remained unknown.

Ilhan Omar Denies Her Real Name is ‘Ilhan Nur Said Elmi’– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Ilhan Omar Denies Her Real Name is ‘Ilhan Nur Said Elmi’– www.breitbart.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) denies using an alias in the United States after a federal court filing referred to her as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi,” the same last name as her ex-husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Allegations have circulated for years that Said Elmi is Omar’s brother.

“My name is Ilhan Abdullahi Omar,” the Somalia-born congresswoman told FOX 9 News.

Omar is listed as “Ilhan Omar” in her junior-year yearbook from Edison High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, FOX 9 reports.

Last week, a court filing from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro referred to Omar as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi,” stirring up years-long allegations that the congresswoman was, at one point, married to her brother.

“Before the Court are three Applications to unseal ex parte materials and proceedings related to a federal search warrant for the personal residence in the District of Columbia of Congresswoman Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar,” the filing reads.

In an interview with MS NOW’s Chris Hayes last week, Omar was asked if she was related to her ex-husband. Omar responded, “Not to my knowledge,” a reply that went viral online.

Anthropic’s sensitive internal data was exposed, and AI helped make it happen– www.digitaltrends.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Anthropic’s sensitive internal data was exposed, and AI helped make it happen– www.digitaltrends.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

AI companies spend enormous amounts of time convincing us their technology is safe and secure. But what happens when those same companies become targets of increasingly sophisticated AI-powered attacks? Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is now facing that question. According to a Washington Post report, cybersecurity startup Cathedral discovered vulnerabilities that let its researchers access sensitive information in Anthropic’s internal systems.

The researchers used AI agents to identify potential entry points in less than 12 hours. Interestingly, they didn’t need to crack Claude itself. Instead, they exploited weaknesses in third-party business applications that Anthropic uses for everyday operations. Anthropic’s security testing program disclosed the findings, which allows outside researchers to identify and report vulnerabilities.

The researchers found more than they expected

Once inside, Cathedral’s researchers uncovered routes to information that companies would generally want to keep private. This included employee salary details, job offers, meeting transcripts, and internal Slack conversations about Anthropic’s advanced AI models. The most concerning part is how the researchers got there. Rather than attacking Anthropic’s core AI infrastructure, they targeted ordinary business software used for administrative tasks and customer management.

It’s a reminder that even companies developing some of the world’s most advanced technology can be exposed through the everyday tools their employees rely on. Anthropic acknowledged that the researchers accessed a limited number of internal sales, human resources, and IT systems. However, it emphasized that the incident did not compromise customer conversations with Claude, the company’s underlying AI models, or their source code and model weights. The company also said its security systems detected some suspicious activity before Cathedral submitted its findings. It then blocked access and disabled the affected applications until their vendors addressed the vulnerabilities. Anthropic maintains it has found no evidence that anyone else exploited the same weaknesses.

Pro-life group calls euthanasia ‘safeguards’ bill the ‘silent death act’– www.lifesitenews.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

Pro-life group calls euthanasia ‘safeguards’ bill the ‘silent death act’– www.lifesitenews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The Canadian Liberal government released a new bill designed to look good on paper by banning euthanasia for those with mental illness. However, in reality, if passed, a pro-life group says the “godless” law will allow people to be euthanized without their consent.

Bill C-41, also known as the “safeguards act,” was introduced Tuesday by Liberal Justice Minister Sean Fraser. The bill permanently blocks euthanasia, or Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), for those with mental illness. However, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) warned that it allows a “godless policy” of euthanasia to continue, leaving only doctors and nurses as a check and balance. 

CLC national president Jeff Gunnarson, in comments to LifeSiteNews, blasted the new bill, saying it is “referred to as a ‘safeguards act,’ but it would be far more accurate to call it the ‘silent death act.’”

“We now see consent being whittled away when it comes to euthanizing sick people,” he said. “Where this slippery slope inevitably leads is euthanasia without consent — a horror that is not without historical precedent.” 

The law sets out guidelines that will allow any Canadian adult to give an advance request to die by MAiD. Canada’s Justice Department claims that the new law does not mean a person would die by euthanasia automatically.

The Anti-Taliban Resistance Has Survived. Can It Win?– warontherocks.com

pgnewser October 28, 2026 0

The Anti-Taliban Resistance Has Survived. Can It Win?– warontherocks.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

As the Taliban enters its sixth year in power, it remains more powerful than it was before the Sept. 11 attacks. The Taliban’s flag flies in all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. While only Russia has formally recognized the group as the country’s government, China and the United Arab Emirates have officially accredited or accepted Taliban ambassadors and exchanged diplomatic staff, with Pakistan, Qatar, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Turkey establishing de facto working relationships with the Sunni Deobandi group. Even its archrival, the Islamic State in Afghanistan, has seen its attack activity decline after years of counter-terrorism operations.

However, beneath the surface and far from the spotlight, the anti-Taliban resistance — a motley crew of over a dozen groups led by former leaders of the previous government — has survived despite having neither an established cross-border military sanctuary nor an overt state sponsor, two key ingredients for a successful insurgency. In the last two years, these groups have multiplied, and the tempo and geographical reach of their attacks have expanded.

Despite the anti-Taliban resistance’s modest gains, Western governments should consider preliminary public engagements with resistance leaders if Pakistan’s outreach bears fruit and the groups gain traction after unifying, while making future support contingent on their ability to seize and hold territory. Maintaining these relationships, many dating back more than 20 years, will preserve the West’s options should Pakistan’s relationship with the Taliban continue to deteriorate or should the Taliban prove unwilling or unable to constrain al-Qaeda’s external operations from its training camps in Afghanistan.