Nancy Mace, a Republican member of the US Congress, has renewed her push to block any future US recognition of the Taliban rule, arguing that efforts to legitimize the Taliban would be “reckless and dangerous.”
Representative Mace of South Carolina made the remarks in a post on X while promoting legislation that would prohibit federal agencies from recognizing the Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan and require additional terrorism-related designations against the Taliban.
“The Taliban are terrorists, and any effort to legitimize them is reckless and dangerous,” Mace wrote.
Mace said she had introduced the Preventing the Recognition of Terrorist States Act, which she said would “formally designate the Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, classify the Taliban-led government as a State Sponsor of Terrorism and prohibit federal agencies from recognizing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”
“This legislation draws a bright line in the sand and makes clear, now and forever, the Taliban will never be treated as a legitimate government by the United States,” she said.
This comes as only Russia has formally recognized the Taliban rule since it returned to power in August 2021. Some countries and international organizations continue to maintain contacts with Taliban on issues including humanitarian assistance, migration and regional security.
Mace said any move toward legitimizing the Taliban would be dangerous, pointing to the Taliban’s record since returning to power.
The Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including bans on secondary and university education, restrictions on employment and limits on participation in public life. Those policies have drawn repeated criticism from the United Nations, human rights organizations and Western governments.
Under the proposed legislation, future US administrations would be barred from formally recognizing Taliban rule in Afghanistan. The measure would also require the secretary of state to pursue terrorism-related designations against both the Taliban and the rule they established after returning to power.
Mace first introduced the legislation last year and has since renewed her efforts to advance it in Congress, arguing that recognition of the Taliban would undermine US national security interests and reward a group that remains internationally isolated.
