Tobias Elwood goes over the top ...

 ... but it will be necessary to open up communications with Afghanistan's leaders.

Corruption was rife in the Afghanistan under American "guardianship". The facts were kept hidden from Western governments and the media. Officials from the top to the bottom of the economy extracted bribes. It is no wonder that the Taliban was able to take over the country in a bloodless coup. The assertion in the MP's video that the de facto rulers of Afghanistan have eradicated corruption is therefore credible. Nor could they avoid tackling the production of opium poppy, considering that the use of narcotics is contrary to Islam. (Whether they have eliminated poppy growing entirely is a matter of speculation, since it is believed that illicit opium trading funded opposition to the Hamid Karzai government.) Those two successes, together with the increased security, should be given credit.

However, to give praise to the Taliban unalloyed with condemnation of its atavistic policy towards women was a mistake. The one great achievement of the Karzai government was to liberate Afghan women to fulfil their potential in civil society. The savage, lethal, reversal of this should have been condemned in Elwood's presentation. Those women professionals and parliamentarians who managed to escape the putsch as well as civil rights groups in the West are appalled.

It could have been different. The Taliban government was initially ready to allow agot least education of young women. In making this concession, they expected reciprocation from the West - certainly the unfreezing of Afghan state funds held in America, if not formal recognition. The US was obdurate, so the hard-liners in Kabul have had their way.

It is probably too late to restart meaningful negotiations with Kabul. However, regional leaders still have significant power. Some provinces have even kept schools for girls open. The Taliban rule depends to some extent on the complaisance of provincial governors. One trusts that lines are kept open there. Commerce may be the key where diplomacy fails.

There are geopolitical considerations, too. Afghanistan has unexploited mineral wealth, including rare-earth elements critical to modern electronics. China is already expanding her mining interests in the country. Having ensured Russia's exit, the West should not leave the door open for China to take over.