This week marked the second anniversary of the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Some bad decisions were made by the commander-in-chief during that time.

One thing that Joe Biden was adamant about as he was questioned about the potential vacuum of leadership after American military members left Afghanistan was that the Taliban would not rush in and take over the country. At least, not right away. So, what happened? The Taliban rushed in and took control of the country right away. Just in case you needed to be reminded, Joe Biden is always wrong about absolutely everything, especially foreign policy matters. Always.

Here on our site, we have regularly written about how things are going in Afghanistan. When the Taliban took over, American officials were assured that this time around, the Taliban would be a kinder, gentler version of their old selves. No one believed that except the nincompoops in the Biden administration. See, even when they take over, the Taliban will be nicer this time, we were told.

The Taliban are animals. They are the lowest of the low, terrorists who rule through violence and intimidation. Girls and women are less than human beings in their world and must be hidden away. There is no kinder, gentler version of them. Women are forced to remain at home unless accompanied by a male family member. When in public, women must be covered. The Taliban is reinforcing that message by stating that women lose value if men can see their faces in public.

Some women have been reluctant to revert back to the days before American troops entered Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001. Women have been disciplined for refusing to wear a hijab or other coverings to hide their faces, and cover their heads. A spokesman for a key ministry of Afghanistan’s Taliban government said on Thursday that religious scholars agree that a woman must keep her face covered when outside the home.

Women have been banned from parks, gyms, and other public spaces due to a lack of total conformity to the strict laws in place. Women are denied education at universities and they are no longer allowed to hold jobs outside the home.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue spokesman, Molvi Mohammad Sadiq Akif, said Thursday that if women’s faces are visible in public there is a possibility of fitna, or falling into sin. However, not all Islamic scholars agree with such statements.

“It is very bad to see women (without the hijab) in some areas (big cities), and our scholars also agree that women’s faces should be hidden,” Akif said. “It’s not that her face will be harmed or damaged. A woman has her own value and that value decreases by men looking at her. Allah gives respect to females in hijab and there is value in this.”

Tim Winter, who is the Shaykh Zayed Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University, said there was no scriptural mandate in Islam for face coverings and the Taliban would struggle to find anything in Islamic scripture that backed their interpretation of hijab rules.

“Their name implies they are not senior religious experts,” he told AP. “The word Taliban means students. ”

He said the Taliban operate on the basis of textbooks used in village madrassas, religious schools, and that Muslim scholars who have been to Afghanistan during both periods of Taliban rule have been underwhelmed by their level of religious knowledge. “They have just been so isolated from the wider Muslim community.”

The word ‘Taliban’ means students. Apparently, this version of the Taliban aren’t very smart when it comes to religious expertise. Winter said that the Taliban is using textbooks from village madrassas, religious schools, and that Muslim scholars who have been to Afghanistan during both periods of Taliban rule have come away underwhelmed by their religious knowledge. Most of that blame goes to their isolation from the wider Muslim community.

Sharia law is back. Akif said that it is what the people want. He said that men no longer harass or stare at women as they did during the previous government. And he said the Taliban government has destroyed the evils of drinking alcohol and bacha bazi – a practice in which wealthy or powerful men exploit young boys for entertainment and sex. Color me skeptical that the pervy ways of those men have been put to a halt.

When asked if women can go to a park now, Akif said yes but only if there are no men there. “We don’t say that a woman can’t do sports, she can’t go to the park or she can’t run. She can do all these things, but not in the same way as some women want, to be semi-naked and among men.” In the extremism of this Taliban rule, “semi-naked” no doubt means a women without a hijab or head covering in place.

He said that the ministry uses a network of officials and informants to keep people in line.

“Our ombudsmen walk in markets, public places, universities, schools, madrassas and mosques,” he said. “They visit all these places and watch people. They also speak with them and educate them. We monitor them and people also cooperate with and inform us.”

That’s chilling. It sounds a lot like the morality police in Iran. We know how that is playing out.

Thanks, Joe.