Terrorists are not the decisive factor… the world advocates.

While terrorism remains a serious global issue, it may not be the sole or primary driver of conflict or instability in a given situation. This perspective acknowledges that various other factors, such as political grievances, economic inequality, social divisions, or state actions, can play significant roles, and sometimes even be more decisive than terrorism itself.

As psychology is regarded as “the science of human behavior”, it deserves a reasonable, and potentially productive, line of inquiry. Although the basic question of how best to define terrorism has itself been a vexing problem, for purposes of this analysis, we are concerned generally with acts of violence (as opposed to threats or more general coercion) intentionally perpetrated on civilian non -combatants with the goal of furthering some ideological, religious or political objective. Our focus on psychological dimensions, de-emphasises analysis of sociologically-based explanations (sometimes referred to as “root causes”) or macro-level economic and political theories. Moreover, the focus on terrorist acts de-emphasises analysis of the psychological effects, consequences or amelioration of terrorism.

Russia has become the first nation to recognise the Taliban government of Afghanistan since it took power in 2021, announcing on the first week of July, 2025 that it has accepted an ambassador from the Islamist group. “We believe that the act of official recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields”, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. Furthermore, reaffirming “We see significant prospects for cooperation in the trade and economic area with an emphasis on projects in the fields of energy, transport, agriculture, and infrastructure. We will continue to assist Kabul in strengthening regional security and combating the threats of terrorism and drug-related crime”.

Russia’s recognition is historically significant, particularly when the former Soviet Union fought a 09 Year war in Afghanistan, concluding with Moscow withdrawing its troops in 1989 following their defeat by the Afghan mujahideen, some of whom later founded the modern Taliban. In the aftermath of the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia was one of a few nations to maintain a diplomatic presence in the country. Russia removed its designation of the Taliban as a terrorist group in April 2025.

Although the Taliban Government has exchanged ambassadors with China and the United Arab Emirates, and has a long-standing political office in Qatar, those countries do not recognise it as the government of Afghanistan. The lack of recognition has not prevented Afghanistan’s new rulers from doing business with the outside world.

However, in 2023, a Chinese oil company signed an oil extraction, deal with the Taliban, to extract oil from northern Afghanistan’s Amu Darya basin as the radical Islamist group had attempted to bolster the South Asian nation’s increasingly impoverished and isolated economy.

The agreement with China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co is the first major international energy extraction deal the Taliban has signed since taking control of Afghanistan in 2021. The contract was signed in Kabul in the presence of Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and the Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan, Wang Yu. According to the contract, the Chinese firm had proposed to invest up to $150 million a year, which will increase to $540 million in three years, along with providing job opportunities for 3,000 Afghans.

Now, on the 08th. Of July, 2025, the United States of America (USA) has decided that Mr. Donald Trump administration will no longer consider Syria’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group led by Syria’s interim president, a foreign terrorist organisation, according to a notice from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The revocation of the foreign terrorist designation for the group, which is also known as the al-Nusra Front, comes amid a growing rapprochement between Washington and Damascus.

The revocation was signed on June 23 and will take effect on Tuesday, according to the notice from Rubio. The draft was posted in the federal register on Monday.

In a separate statement Monday, Rubio said the revocation of the designation “follows the announced dissolution of HTS and the Syrian government’s commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms. This action also builds on the momentum of the June 30 Executive Order ‘Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions’ and recognises the positive actions taken by the new Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria”.

The United States and Syria have not yet re-established diplomatic relations, although a number of administration officials have met with Syrian officials, including interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Al-Sharaa is the leader of the HTS, which was formed out of a former al Qaeda affiliate. HTS, with Al-Sharaa at its helm, led the shocking ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

As part of the executive order, the administration was reviewing Syria’s state sponsor of terrorism and foreign terrorist organization designations, a senior administration official said. The state sponsor of terrorism designation has been in place since 1979. The executive order also directed the State Department to review the Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) designations on the HTS and al-Sharaa.

A State Department spokesperson said Tuesday that HTS “remains identified as an alias of Al-Nusrah Front, which is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) at this time”. Al-Sharaa is still listed as an SDGT on the Treasury Department’s sanctions list.

Team Maverick