I think it’s perfectly fair to describe western publications’ fearmongering about the Taliban as what it is, though. Criticism of the Taliban is more than warranted- but when it’s coming from the same countries that were celebrating the mujaheddin (even in their movies) only a few decades prior and flying Islamic extremists in from all over the globe- when it’s coming from the countries which then afterwards militarily occupied Afghanistan for 2 decades while having tribal warlords/cartels as their collaborator-regime and which continues to destabilize the country through the bloody ISIS (ISIS-K)…

Yeah, western state, mainstream media, and NGO (granted, may as well have said “western state” 3x) crocodile tears about the Taliban are fearmongering. The Taliban is what the west inflicted on Afghanistan, and then everything they have inflicted since has managed to somehow be worse. Criticism of the Taliban from leftists and the global south is valid, but western media doesn’t have a leg to stand on, actually it’s worse than that, the west offers Afghanistan nothing but terrorism, dictatorships, and destruction, and they’re to blame for everything wrong with the Taliban and then some.