Living with Killing

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general audience.The fall of Kabul on August 15, 2021, was meant to markthe end of the war in Afghanistan. More than 3,500 troopsfrom the NATO-led coalition died in the conflict, togetherwith some 46,000 civilians and almost 70,000 Afghansoldiers and police. The victors were the Taliban, a non-state armed group that used insurgent tactics includingassassinations, suicide bombings and kidnappings toachieve success. Its leaders framed this extreme violenceas a triumph of good over evil, belief over unbelief,ideology over ambiguity. On their terms, they had fought ajust warMy research project will examine the personal weight ofthis public narrative from the perspective of men who killedon behalf of the Taliban. Using extended semi-structuredinterviews with insurgents, I will create life histories ofTaliban militants involved in killing at different stages ofthe perpetration process: propagandists, logisticians, footsoldiers and commanders. Through these life histories, Iwill examine how moral injuries and wounds of the soulincluding depression, post-traumatic stress disorder andperpetration induced trauma have impacted non-statearmed actors in one of the most significant wars of theearly twenty first century. Whether or not religious beliefand ideology mitigate feelings of guilt and shame withinthe Taliban will be one of the key questions I aim toanswer.